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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 



9J^ 



Descriptive and Biographical Record of 



Madison County 



NEW YORK 



JOHN E. SMITH 



The Boston History Company, Publishers 

iSqcj 






•0\ 



INTRODUCTORY. 



It is not thought by the editor or the publishers of this work that 
apology is demanded for either its production or its character. While 
attempts have been made in past years towards placing in permanent 
form the interesting history of Madison county and its immediate vi- 
cinity, it is generally conceded that such attempts, although quite 
worthy in some of their features, have not as a whole resulted satisfac- 
torily. In undertaking the preparation of a work bearing the title, 
"Our County and Its People," as a successor to such books of local 
history as previously have been issued, the editor and his assistants 
clearly realized their position and the burden of responsibility they 
were assuming. It was fully comprehended that if a favorable verdict 
was expected from readers it could be secured with nothing less than a 
publication that would stand as the best of its kind, containing a com- 
plete, comprehensive and reasonably correct historical and biographical 
record of the county. An earnest and painstaking effort has been made 
by all who have shared in this task to reach that high standard. It 
remains with the public to determine how fat the effort has been suc- 
cessful. 

To those whose ancestors settled and have long dwelt in this locality; 
who have figured in its memorable historical incidents or shared in its 
important events; who have watched the growth and contributed to 
the welfare of the community; who have aided in developing its insti- 
tutions, in clearing and making productive its lands, and in founding 
its institutions, the skillfully told history of the region will have a pe- 
culiar interest and charm. Events and objects long familiar, perhaps, 
gain a new and more vivid fascination when the story of their creation 
or occurrence is placed upon the printed page, possibly linking them 
closely with vastly more momentous events of early times. The often 
rehearsed story of a local battle ground is read with renewed interest 
by one who learns that his neighbor's sire or grandsire there shed his 



iv INTRODUCTORY. 

blood. A road so often traveled that its every feature is permanently 
pictured in the mind, becomes more than a familiar highway when the 
reader learns its history as an Indian trail, or that his immediate an- 
cestors laid it out through the primeval forest. The very hills and 
valleys and streams assume a new and more interesting aspect when 
the historical record peoples them with the men and women of long 
ago. These are facts which enhance the value of all properly prepared 
local history and biography, through which the reader is made ac- 
quainted with the past of his dwelling place, and in which are preserved 
records that no community can afford to lose. 

Local history bears to general history a similar relation to that of a 
microscopical examination and one made with the naked eye. The 
former must take cognizance of a multitude of minute details which of 
necessity must be passed over in the latter. Minor facts of little value 
in themselves often assume great importance when considered with 
their attendant circumstances and surroundings. It is the gathering, 
compilation and arrangement of these many minor details that de- 
mand patience, time and skill. Descriptions of local events, unless of 
paramount importance, frequently went unrecorded in early years, 
thus doubling the task of obtaining them at the present time. The 
[■lacing on record of hundreds of dates and thousands of names is alone 
an arduous task and one demanding the utmost watchfulness and care 
to avoid error. Harsh criticism will, therefore, be tempered with mild- 
ness by the fair-minded reader who may find a single error among a 
myriad of correct statements. 

While the history of Madison county as a civil division of the State 
of New York extends less than a century into the past, it is replete 
with interest, and events of great importance took place within its lim- 
its, or near at hand, before the county itself was organized. On the 
other hand, it largely escaped the horrors of Indian warfare that char- 
acterized the greater part of the Mohawk valley. This was due to a 
great extent to the friendliness of the Oneida nation of the Iroquois, 
who inhabited its territory. Their nature was less savage than that of 
the other Five Nations and they remained to a great extent loyal to the 
white settlers. For this reason, and also because the subject was long 
ago exhausted in many interesting volumes, only brief space has been 
devoted to that subject. The same is true of the Revolutionary war 
and the war of 1812, the immediate consequences of which, as far as 
actual hostilities were concerned, affected the territory of Madison 



INTRODUCTORY. v 

county but little. It was thought that the space that might have been 
given to these memorable struggles was more valuable for history 
more deeply imbued with local color. 

In the preparation of this volume it was not expected that very much 
new material would be discovered. The historical field has been many 
times worked over, though frequently in a fraginentary or disconnected 
manner, or in parts of other volumes. The dominant purpose has been 
to so complete and arrange the story of the settlement and the later 
development of the locality as to give the reader a continuous narration, 
as far as consistent, and save him the task of searching through many 
incomplete volumes in scattered libraries for what he may here find in 
more concise form. Chronological sequence has been preserved in 
preference to a general classification of subjects, in the belief that 
through this method the reader will be better enabled to follow the 
course of events as a whole. This plan has been followed even to the 
insertion in the body of the work of records of most of the settlements 
and early events in the various towns and villages of the county, leav- 
ing for treatment in the final gazetteer of towns only some of the fea- 
tures of modern development and present conditions. Separate chap- 
ters have been given to only those broader and more important subjects 
of the professions — legal, medical, educational, etc. 

It is impossible to perform the otherwise pleasant task of expressing 
gratitude to the many persons who have given substantial aid during 
the preparation of this work. Especially is this true of the many hun- 
dreds of heads of families who have made it possible to gather the mul- 
titude of biographical records included in the third part of the volume, 
which constitutes a valuable and interesting part of the work. In 
these records no effort has been spared to preserve to posterity a mass 
of biographical material m which is told the story of the heroic and 
unselfish efforts of the fathers and the sons and daughters for the de- 
velopment of Madison county in every direction. The reader will find 
it profitable to read these sketches in connection with the general 
history, thus being enabled to arrive at a just estimate of the work as a 
whole. 

In relation to these sketches it is proper to say that the majority of 
them are devoted to families who have supported the work. To have 
attempted the gathering of records of every family in the county would 
clearly have been impossible, while any effort to discriminate by arbi- 
trarily selecting from among living residents those who might be con- 



vi INTRODUCTORY. 

sidered " prominent," would have been still more impossible and prob- 
ably would have led to much ill feeling. Thus, those who are paying 
for and will read this work are afforded an opportunity to preserve in 
a permanent manner some form of personal sketch. The data for the 
preparation of these sketches has been largely gathered by agents of 
the publishers and a type-written copy of every one has been sent to 
subscribers for correction. 

In expressing gratitude for aid to editor and publishers, it will not 
be considered invidious to especially mention Prof. Ralph W. Thomas 
for his carefully prepared history of Colgate University. A few of the 
many others who have shown a personal interest in the work are Paul 
S. Maine, county clerk; Prof. I.N. Clements, of Cazenovia; Hiram L. 
Rockwell, of Oneida; Alexander M. Holmes, of Morrisville; Peter 
Walrath, Milton De Lano, of Canastota (town of Lenox), and Luke 
McHenry of the town of Sullivan; H. T. Spooner and O. S. Gorton, 
of Brookfield; James Kennedy, of Stockbridge; M. N. Campbell, of 
Lebanon; Merritt Lyon, of Nelson; G. C.White, of Madison; M. L. 
Dennison, of Smithfield; Warren W. Ames, of De Ruyter; Warren 
Brown, of Hamilton, and others. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT 1-14 

CHAPTER n. 
INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS 14-35 

CHAPTER III. 
FIRST SETTLEMENT— TRAILS AND ROADS 35-30 

CHAPTER IV. 

ERECTION OF THE COUNTY, TOWN FORMATION AND EARLY 

SETTLEMENTS ..-- 31-50 

CHAPTER V. 

FURTHER TOWN SETTLEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT 50-64 

CHAPTER VI. 
TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT CONTINUED 65-88 

CHAPTER VII. 
FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT.... 88-105 

CHAPTER VIII 
FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT 105-135 

CHAPTER IX. 

SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF LENOX, FENNER AND 

GEORGETOWN - 136-157 



.yiii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 
GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY 158-173 

CHAPTER XI. 
THE CANAL AND RAILROAD ERA .173-190 

CHAPTER XII. 
POLITICAL CHANGES— THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD 190-206 

CHAPTER XIII. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON 207-323 

CHAPTER XIV. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— CAZE- 

NOVIA 223-245 

CHAPTER XV. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— HAM- 
ILTON ..- 246-270 

CHAPTER XVI. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— LENOX. 270-316 

CHAPTER XVII. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— SUL- 
LIVAN... .317-337 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED — DE 

RUYTER AND GEORGETOWN 338-355 

CHAPTER XIX. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— BROOK- 
FIELD AND LEBANON 3.5.5-374 

CHAPTER XX. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— MAD- 
ISON AND NELSON 374-389 



CONTENTS. ix 

CHAPTER XXI. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— SMITH- 
FIELD AND FENNER 389-401 

CHAPTER XXII. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— STOCK- 
BRIDGE .403-409 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
GENERAL COUNTY HISTORY FROM 1865 TO 1899 __. ..410-421 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF MADISON COUNTY ...433^67 

CHAPTER XXV. 
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR OF MADISON COUNTY. '467-530 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
THE MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION .530-538 

CHAPTER XXVII. 
GAZETTEER OF TOWNS 539-633 

PART II. 

BIOGRAPHICAL .633-649 

PART III. 

PERSONAL REFERENCES - 1-208 



INDEXES: 

General 209-284 

BlOGRAl'HlCAL - 234 

Personal References -■ ..234-338 

Portraits and Illustrations _. - 339 



CONTENTS. 



PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chapman, Benjamin Franklin facing 632 

Chappell, C. Will facing 302 

Childs, Perry G., facing 003 

Coolidg, James, .facing 380 

Ensign, George H., facing 639 

Farnam, Stephen H., facing 644 

Forbes, Gerrit A., .. .facing 501 

Hickox, W. Jerome, .facing 641 

Hubbard, Calvin, ..facing 268 

Miller, Edgar Lake, Dr., facing 642 

Payne, Elisha, facing .'5.56 

Smith, Gerrit, facing 392 

Smith. John E. , facing 646 



Ten Eyck, Henry facing 648 

Map, Outline, showmg Madison 
County and The Gore, facing 3 

Map of Fortification at Wood Creek 17 

Map, Old, of Central New York,... 
.facing 26 

Map, Outline, of Madison County, 
previous to the division of Lenox 
in 189G facing 32 

Map, showing Subdivision of Lenox 
in 1896 facing 286 

Muller Mansion. The, 147 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER I. 
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 

The State of New York was originally divided into ten counties, 
named as follows: Albany, Dutchess, Kings, New York, Orange, 
Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. These counties 
were erected November 1, 1683. On the 12th of March, 1772, Mont- 
gomery count}^ was created from Albany county under the name of 
"Tryon," and included nearly the whole of the central and western 
parts of the State. The name of Tryon county was changed to Mont- 
gomery in 1784, in honor of the American hero who fell at Quebec. 
From Montgomery county on February 16, 1791, was erected Herkimer 
county, and on the same date Tioga county was created. From these 
two civil divisions, which then included a vast extent of territory, was 
erected Chenango county on the loth of March, 1798. From Chenango 
county, Madison was set off on the 21st of March, 1806. The bound- 
aries of the county remained substantially as originally defined until 
1836, when that part of Stockbridge lying east of Oneida Creek was 
annexed to Oneida county. Madison county was named in honor of 
James Madison, fourth president of the United States. 

In the course of the events that led to the acquirement of New York 
State lands from the Indians a treaty was held at Fort Stanwix (Rome), 
November 5, 1768, at which the east boundary of the Indian domain 
was fixed on a line extending from a point on Wood Creek, near the 
mouth of Canada Creek, to the headwaters of the Unadilla, down that 
stream to its mouth, and thence south to the Pennsylvania line. This 
boundary was known as the Line of Property. Until after the close of 
the Revolutionary war, in 1783, the territory of Madison county was a 
part of the Indian domain lying west of this line. Another treaty was 



2 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

held at Fort Stanwix October 23, 1784, at which the Iroquois ceded to 
the Federal government a large portion of the lands lying west of the 
line of property; but with this we have little to do in this volume. By 
treaties made by the State of New York in 1785 and 1788, the Indian 
title to the major part of the two counties of Madison and Chenango 
(the latter then including the territory set off later for the former 
county) was extinguished; in 1795 other portions of the Oneida Reser- 
vation in Madison county were ceded to the State. 

On June 28, 1785, Gov. George Clinton, in behalf of the State, made 
a treaty with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras by which the State was to 
pay those Indians $11,500 in goods and money, for the cession of terri- 
tory bounded as follows: 

Beginning at the mouth of the Uuadijla or Tianaderha river, where the same 
empties into the Susquehanna; thence up the said Unadilla or Tianaderha river ten 
miles, measured on a straight line; thence due west to the Chenango river; thence 
southerly down the Chenango river to where it empties into the Sustiuehanna river, 
and to the line commonly called the line of property, established at a treaty held at 
Fort Stanwi.x in the year 1768; thence along the said line to the place of beginning. 

By this treaty the State acquired the territory in Chenango county 
lying south of the south line of the town of Norwich and east of the 
Chenango River, which was soon after sold to patentees and is without 
further special interest here. At the great treaty held by Governor 
Clinton on September 22, 1788, at Fort Schuyler (Utica), all of the 
lands then owned by the Indian nations taking part in the treaty, ex- 
cepting certain reservations, were ceded to the State. Under an act of 
the State Legislature, passed February 25, 1789, the surveyor-general, 
Simeon Dewitt, directed the survey in the lands acquired by the last 
named treaty and lying just north of those acquired '"by the treaty of 
1785, of twenty townships, each of which was to be five hundred chains 
square as nearly as circumstances would permit and subdivided into 
four equal sections and into lots of 250 acres each. These townships 
were to be numbered consecutively from one to twenty, and the lots 
from one to one hundred. In each township two lots were to be re- 
served lying near to the center of the town, one of which was to be 
designated as the gospel lot and the other the school lot ; these were to 
be used for the advancement of religion and education. 

This survey was finished in 1790, and the Commissioners of the Land 
Office were then empowered to select five of the choicest of these 
twenty townships which were to be sold only for gold or silver, or to 




Outline Map showing Madison County and The Gore, 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 3 

redeem certain bonds which the State had issued in the form of bills of 
credit. The commissioners were to fix the price of these five town- 
ships at such figures as would effect a ready sale and secure as large a 
revenue as possible to the State. The minimum price which could be 
accepted by them was three shillings per acre. After proper public 
notice of the sale was made as directed in the newspapers of Albany 
and New York, it took place in the latter city. Not many purchasers 
were in attendance and the valuable lands fell mainly into the hands of 
speculators 'at low prices, who immediately advanced the price to 
twenty shillings an acre. This tract has ever since been most famil. 
iarly known as the Chenango Twenty Townships, and sometimes as the 
Governor's Purchase. It extends in general terms from the Unadilla 
on the east to the Gore (described a little further on) on the west, and 
from the north lines of Smithville, Oxford and Guilford (Chenango 
county), to the south lines of Fenner, Smithfield and Stockbridge 
(Madison county), and Augusta and Marshall (Oneida county). In the 
effort to make the township lines straight, several small angular pieces 
of land were left bordering the Unadilla. 

The origin of the Gore was as follows: It was at first believed that 
the Twenty Townships extended west to the east line of the Military 
Tract ' (now the east line of Onondaga county), but owing to error in 
fixing the point of departure and to variation in the compass, there was 
left between the west line of the Twenty Townships and the Military 
Tract a long strip of land extending north and south the entire length 
of the Twenty Townships, and slightly wider at the north than at the 
south end. The accompanying outline diagram shows clearly the terri- 
tory of the Twenty Townships and of the Gore enclosed in the black 
lines, with the territory of Madison, Chenango and other counties in 
the dotted lines. For a number of years the Twenty Townships were 
spoken of by their numbers more frequently than by the names of towns ; 
but this custom has largely fallen into disuse. For convenience of ref- 
erence the following list gives the names by which the towns are now 
known, with the numbers by which they were originally designated: 

Township No. 1 is now known as Nelson, in Madison county. 
" 2 " " Eaton, " 

" " 3 " " Madison, " " 

' The Military Tract included the territory of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Cortland, and 
parts of Wayne, Steuben and Oswego counties. It was set apart for the payment of land boun- 
ties to Revolutionary soldiers, under State and United States laws. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Township No, 4 is now knc 



6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 



wn as Hamilton, Madison county. 
Lebanon, " 

Georgetown, " 
Otselic, Chenango 
Smyrna, " 

Sherburne, " 
N.Norwich, " 
Plymouth, " 
Pharsalia, " 
McDonough, " 
Preston, " 

Norwich, " 

New Berlin, " 
Columbus, " 
Brookfield, Madison 



Sangerfield, Oneida 
From this list it is seen that eight of the original townships were in 
what became Madison county; but as Brookfield included two of the 
numbers of townships, only seven of the present towns of Madison 
county were included in the original twenty. In that part of the Gore 
which is included in Madison county are the towns of De Ruyter and 
the southern and larger part of Cazenovia. The number of acres in 
each of the eight townships that became a part of Madison county, as 
shown in the patents, was as follows: 

No. 1, Nelson 27,187 acres. 

No. 2, Eaton__ 2S,24S 

No. 3, Madison : 24,024 

No. 4, Hamilton 24,400 

No. 5, Lebanon _ 26,200 

No. 0, Georgetown 24,384 

No. 18, Brookfield 22,565 

No. 19, " 20,750 

That part of Madison county lying north of the Twenty Townships 
and the Gore was reserved to the Oneida Indians in the cession of 1788, 
but a large part of it was acquired by the State in 1795. Later pur- 
chases, the last of which was made in 1840, reduced the once princely 
domain of the Oneidas to a pitifully small tract, according to the per- 
sistent custom of the State and Federal authorities in dealing with the 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 5 

natives. In 18-10 the Oneidas ceded all of their lands held in common, 
and received individual portions. 

This ceded territory was divided into large tracts, the principal one 
of which was the New Petersburgh Tract, which was leased of the In- 
dians in 1794, for a term of 999 years, by Peter Smith, from whom the 
tract took its name. The lease covered 50,000 acres and included 
nearly all of the territory of Smithfield and Fenner, that part of Caze- 
novia lying north of the Gore, a part of Stockbridge, and a large part 
of Augusta in Oneida county. This tract was included in the cession 
of 1795. Considerable of the eastern part of the tract had been leased 
to settlers by Mr. Smith previous to the extinguishment of the Indian 
title, the leases being for twenty-one years. In 1797 the Legislature 
made provision to grant patents to persons holding these leases, on 
their payment of $3.53^ per acre. In consideration of Mr. Smith's 
holding his lease from the Indians, he was allowed a reduction on the 
32,290>^ acres not leased by him, which made it cost him about $3 
per acre. The Petersburgh Tract was divided into four allotments, the 
first of which contained seventy-four lots, fifty-five of which were in 
Augusta (Oneida county), fourteen in Stockbridge, and five in Smith- 
field. The patents to lessees covered parts of this allotment, which 
thereafter ceased to be considered as part of the New Petersburgh 
Tract. 

The Canastota Tract included ninety-one lots in the town of Lenox 
and extended from Oneida Lake on the north to within half a mile of 
the Seneca Turnpike on the south. In 1805, while it was still a part of 
Chenango county, 10,000 acres, the major part of the tract, was appro- 
priated as a substitute for the gospel and school lands in the Chenango 
Twenty Towns, the proceeds of which had been without authority ap- 
propriated to the State funds. 

The Cowasselon Tract was purchased from the State in 1797 by Dr. 
Enoch Leonard. It comprises twenty-five lots lying in two tiers in the 
north part of Fenner between the Chittenango and the Cowasselon 
Creeks. From the fact that the tract is a mile wide it has been called, 
also, the Mile Strip. This was a cession from the Oneida Reservation. 

Various other tracts have been ceded from time to time in the towns 
of Lenox, Stockbridge and Sullivan. Among them are the East Hill 
Tract and the West Hill Tract in Stockbridge, the former including 
fifty and the latter forty-two lots. Also the Mile Strip, the Oneida 
Creek Tract, and the New Guinea Tract in the same town, all ceded on 



6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

different dates between 1822 and 1830. The Two-Mile Strip of twenty- 
four lots, in four tiers, two of which are in the west part of Lenox and 
two in the east part of Sullivan, the south line being the same as the 
south line of those towns. To the west of this tract are six lots com- 
monly known as West-of-Two-Mile Strip; also a tract of eight lots 
north of Two-Mile Strip; the Bell Tract of fourteen lots, purchased by 
an Englishman named Bell, extending along both sides of the Central 
Railroad from Canaseraga Creek to Chittenango Creek; the Forty Rod 
Strip, lying north of the Bell Tract, bought of the State by Jonas Fay; 
and the Varrick Location, purchased of the State by Richard Varrick 
of New York. The last three tracts are in the town of Sullivan. As 
settlement in the various parts of the county progressed these tracts 
were subdivided and sold to purchasers for homestead improvement. 

An act was passed by the Legislature relative to the sale of State 
lands, which was amended by another passed March 22, 1?91, under 
which the following applications were recorded and endorsed as ac- 
cepted, which bear relation to these townships: 

Leonard M. Cutting applied for No. 15, containing 25,000 acres, at 
the rate of three shillings and one farthing per acre, the first payment 
of 600 pounds to be made before October 1, 1791, and the remainder in 
two equal payments, the last one by the 1st of February, 1794. He 
further applied for Nos. 11 and 14, containing 50,000 acres, at three 
shillings and three pence per acre, one-sixth to be paid October 1, 1791, 
and the remainder in two equal payments, made April 1, 1792, and 
January 1, 1793. 

James Tallmadge and Ezra Thompson applied for No. 10, containing 
25,000 acres, at the rate of three shillings per acre, payments to be 
made the same as on Nos. 11 and 14, above noticed. 

Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger and John J. Morgan applied for 
Nos. 18 and 20, and the unsold portions of 19, containing 67,130 acres, 
the first two at three shillings and three pence per acre, and the last 
at three shillings and one penny, payable as above. 

John Taylor applied for the unsold portions of Nos. 16 and 17, con- 
taining 43,377 acres, at the rate of three shillings and three pence per 
acre, one-sixth payable in six months, one-half of the remainder in one 
year, and the other half in eighteen months. 

Col. William S. Smith applied for Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, and 9, contain- 
ing 150,000 acres, at the rate of three shillings and three pence per 
acre, one-sixth to be paid October 1, 1791, one-half of the remainder on 
January 1,1792, and the other half January 1, 1793. 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 7 

Alexander Webster, Edward Savage and John Williams applied for 
No. 1, containing 25,000 acres, at three shillings and three pence per 
acre, payments the same as in the last foregoing application. 

White Matlack and Jacob Hallet applied for Nos. 12 and 13, at three 
shillings and five pence per acre, payments same as the last foregoing 
application. 

Robert C. Livingston applied for No. 7, containing 25,000 acres, at 
three shillings and six pence per acre, payments same as in last forego- 
ing application. 

An application was made by Thomas Ludlow and Joseph Shippey 
for two townships (numbers not given) at three shillings and five pence 
per acre, payments same as those last above given. No. G was then 
the only township not covered by previous applications. 

It will be seen that the applications of Smith for six townships ; of 
Myers, Sanger and Morgan for two and part of another; of Webster, 
Savage and Williams for one, were all for territory that became part of 
Madison county; the other applications are here given for usefulness 
in reference. Some of those who applied did not, however, consum- 
mate their purchases. Those who did so, as far as relates to Madison 
county territory, were William S. Smith, six townships; patent dated 
April 16, 1794; Alexander Webster, Edward Savage and John Williams, 
one township; Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger and John J. Morgan, 
two and part of another townships, the patent for No. 1 dated June 4, 
1793, and Nos. 18, 19 and 20, to Morgan, May 3, 1793; Thomas Lud- 
low and Josiah Shippey, one township, patent dated March 2, 1793, for 
No. G, to Thomas Ludlow, jr. Upon the erection of Chenango county, 
the whole of the Twenty Townships was included in its territory. 
When Oneida county was erected, April 4, 1804, No. 20 was set off 
with it; and when Madison county was erected in 180G, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 
5, 6, 18, and 19 were included in its territory. 

Madison county, according to the census reports, contains an area of 
392,390 acres. Its surface, like most of New York State, is widely di- 
versified. The northern part is low and level, with large swampy 
tracts bordering upon Oneida Lake. The central part of the county 
forms the water-shed between the streams flowing north to the lake and 
south to the Susquehanna River, and is broken and hilly. The south- 
ern portion, though less elevated, is also hilly and constitutes a part of 
the rolling highlands of Central New York. The highest summits of 
the hills range from 500 to 800 feet above the valleys, and from 900 to 
1,200 above tide. 



8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Chenango, the Tioughnioga and the Unadilla Rivers affect this 
county to a considerable extent, the two former finding their sources 
here, and the latter constituting the eastern boundary of the town of 
Brookfield in the southeastern part. There are many smaller streams 
which are of greater importance in watering and draining the territory. 
Chittenango Creek rises in the highlands of Fenner, Nelson and Smith - 
field, and flows in a circuitous course through Cazenovia and Sullivan, 
forming for a few miles the west boundary of the latter town and emp- 
tying into Oneida Lake. Much of the scenery along this stream is 
beautifully picturesque, and it is far the most important water course 
in the county in respect of hydraulic power. Between Cazenovia and 
Chittenango, a distance of about eight miles, the descent is 740 feet, 
with one fall of 134 feet, affording valuable manufacturing sites at 
many points. 

Oneida Creek forms a portion of the eastern boundary of the county, 
has its rise in Eaton and Smithfield and in its upper courses furnishes 
some excellent mill sites. Its valley is rich, fertile, and beautiful, and 
was a favorite resort of the Oneida Indians, The southern half of the 
county is drained by the many small tributaries of the Unadilla, 
Tioughnioga and Chenango Rivers; the principal ones of these are 
Beaver Creek in Brookfield, and the headwaters of Otselic Creek in 
Georgetown. Canaseraga,' Canastota," and Cowasselon Creeks are 
mostly .confined to the two northern towns of the county, have little 
fall and all empty into Oneida Lake. 

Cazenovia Lake" is the principal inland body of water in Madison 
county. It occupies an elevated basin, 900 feet above tide water and is 
one of the most beautiful minor sheets of water in the State. It is sit- 
uated near Cazenovia village, is four and a half miles long from north 
to south, and its pure waters and picturesque surroimdings have at- 
tracted to its shores many families who have built summer homes. In 
the southern part of the county are several ponds, which were formerly 
utilized as reservoirs for the Chenango Canal. The shore of Oneida 
Lake forms the entire northern boundary of the county. This lake is 

* This name is given by Seaver as Ka-na-so-wa-ga, signifying " several strings of beads with 
a string lying across." Hough's Gazetteer of New York gives its meaning as " Big Elkshorn." 

2 In French's Gazetteer the name Canastota is given as Ka-ne-to-ta, signifying Big Pine. 
Hough's Gazetteer gives its meaning as "Pine tree standing alone." The name Cowasselon 
signifies " Weeping Squaw." 

3 This beautiful lake bears the Indian name, Owahgena, written by some authorities, Haw- 
gena. According to the Spaftord Gazetteer of 1834, it was formerly called Lincklaen Lake. 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 9 

about twenty miles long and discharges its waters at the west end 
through Oneida River to Oswego River and thence into Lake Ontario. 

Hatch's Lake is a beautiful minor body of water in the southwest 
corner of the town of Eaton. Once the headwaters of the Otselic, the 
construction of the Chenango Canal closed the outlet and took the water 
through Bradley Brook reservoir to the canal. The lake covers about 
136 acres and has no surface inlet, being fed with pure springs, and the 
scenery thereabouts is charming. 

Leland's Lake is picturesquely situated in the town of Eaton at the 
point of divergence of the Oriskany and the Chenango valleys. The 
water of this lake was also formerly taken for the canal. 

Madison Lake (or Pond) is situated in the southern part of the town 
of that name and is a charming small body of water, the picturesque 
scenery around which has made it attractive as a summer resort in re- 
cent years. 

The geology of Madison county, though possessing few of the im- 
portant characteristics that give some localities an almost startling in- 
terest, is still worthy of the reader's attention. The rocks of the Clin- 
ton group are the lowest in the county and border Oneida Lake. The 
Niagara and Onondaga groups are next above this and the three occupy 
the low lands of the northern part of the county. The surface rock 
south of the swamp is composed of the red shales of the Onondaga 
group, while along the base of the hills are beds of gypsum. On the 
northern slope of the hills successively appear the water limestone, 
Pentamerous limestone, Oriskany limestone, and Onondaga limestone. 
Next above these appear the Marcellus and Hamilton shales, covering 
more than half the surface of the county. The Tully limestone, Gen- 
esee slate, and the Ithaca group are found in a limited extent on the 
tops of the southern hills. 

The Clinton group, as found in the northern part of the county, fre- 
quently comes within plowing distance of the surface, or lies loose on 
the ground. The soil is occasionally colored red with the iron ore that 
characterizes this group and is found to a limited extent in this locality, 
but not, as far as known, in sufficient quantity and purity to make its 
working profitable. The Clinton group in this region is covered with 
alluvion. 

The Niagara limestone increases in thickness from east to west and 
in the eastern part of this county is not sufficiently pure for water lime, 
but in the western part of Sullivan has been successfully burned. It is 
also quarried in the western part for building purposes. 



10 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Onondaga Salt group makes its first appearance in this county 
near the Erie Canal in the eastern part. From that point westward the 
canal was cut through the red shale of the group. It increases in 
breadth on both sides of the canal proceeding westward and on the 
north side becomes as wide after a few miles as it is on the south side. 
The second deposit of this group consists of shales and calcareous slate, 
green or drab in color, and is seen at favorable points in Lenox. The 
third, or gypsum, deposit is the most interesting and valuable of the 
group, both because of its being the source of the brine of the Onon- 
daga and other salt springs in this section, and for its value as plaster. 
In Madison county it commences in association with a few other rocks 
not observed to the east and is found in masses, rather than in layers 
or beds. Next in importance to the gypsum, from the geological point 
of view, is the Vermicular limestone, which is essentially calcareous. 
It is porous, or cellular, perforated with curvilinear holes, and very 
compact between the holes; these cells vary widely in size and gener- 
ally communicate with each other. In the plaster quarries of Lenox 
the structure of the cells confirms the theory of their mineral origin. 
There are two masses of this rock, an upper and a lower one. The 
former commences at the ridge west of Oneida Creek and extends on 
westward ; its thickness is about four feet and the cavities are commonly 
large The lower mass is limited, its greatest thickness being about 
twenty feet. Fossils are rare in the entire group. The whole of the 
gypsum in Madison county is confined to the towns of Lenox and Sul- 
livan, excepting a small section of the northeast part of Smithfield, and 
o' the northwest part of Stockbridge. Of the quarries that have been 
opened (which are noticed in later town history) some are covered with 
masses of such thickness as to considerably diminish their profits. The 
first discovered was known as the old vSuUivan bed, near the turnpike 
gate. The plaster hills range from east to west through the county 
and extend south from the turnpike from two to four miles. 

The water lime group is named from the drab-colored limestone 
from which nearly all the water lime south of the canal in this section 
is made. To the west of Oneida Creek the stone burned consists of 
two layers, the upper one shelly, breaking into thin pieces; this burns 
with less heat than the lower layer. This rock forms the great mass 
of the gulf at the falls on Chittenango Creek, showing a thickness of 
over one hundred feet; there, and at other points in the county, it is 
quarried and burned. One of the most important localities and one of 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 11 

the very earliest, if not the first, discovered in the State, is about one 
and a half miles southwest of Chittenango village. 

The Pentamerous limestone, which takes its name from a fossil found 
in it, diminishes in thickness as it extends westward and terminates in 
Madison county. It is rarely pure and is not valuable. 

The Oriskany sandstone is clearly traceable from east to wett by its 
characteristic fossils. The edge of this rock is exposed at a point a 
little northeast of Perryville, lying immediately below the Onondaga 
limestone and forming a terrace extending to the village. At the falls 
at Perryville it is only a few inches in thickness. Boulders of it are 
common on the hillsides and tops in the towns of Madison, Eaton, 
Hamilton and Lebanon. 

The well known and valuable Onondaga limestone extends across 
the State, is extensively quarried for building purposes and to burn in 
many localities, and contains many interesting fossils. It is usually 
nearly pure and is one of the most valuable of building stones. It is 
the rock over which, as a rule, the waters flow north, forming the falls, 
great and small, at the western end of its range, the most noted of 
which in a local sense, are the one at Perryville and the one at Chit- 
tenango Falls. At Van Epps, near Perryville, the top of this stone 
forms a broad and extensive terrace, the mass being about ten feet 
thick. At Perryville the waters of Canaseraga Creek fall from the 
rock into a gulf excavated to a depth of more than one hundred feet in 
the water lime group; similar conditions exist at Chittenango Falls. 
The Corniferous limestone rests invariably upon the Onondaga lime- 
stone and is covered by the Marcellus shales. It is seldom pure, con- 
tains many characteristic fossils, but has little practical importance. 

The Marcellus shales are geographically divided into two masses, one 
of which contains limestone and characteristic fossils, while they are 
absent in the other. The limestone is very impure and dark in color. 
It diminishes in thickness east and west from Marcellus, and the pres 
ence of coal in small quantities along its out- crop has led to many exca- 
vations for that very useful mineral in Madison county and elsewhere. 
These shales are well exposed at the falls on- Oneida Creek, and are 
seen at. other points along its line. 

The Hamilton group takes its name from the town of Hamilton in 
this county, which contains no other rock. The group includes all the 
masses between the upper shales or Marcellus and the Tully limestone. 
It is of great thickness, ranging from 300 to 700 feet and extends from 



12 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Hudson River to Lake Erie. It consists of shale, slate, and sandstone, 
and their mixtures, and abounds in fossils, but is generally deficient in 
building material. It covers the whole of Brookfield, excepting a tri- 
angular projection towards the southwest end where the Ithaca group 
appears; the whole of Hamilton and Madison, the eastern half of Leb- 
anon, three-fourths of Eaton, the extreme south part of Stockbridge, 
the southern half of Smithfield, all of Fenner excepting the north and 
northwestern parts, the greater part of Cazenovia, and extends into 
De Ruyter. The most important exposition of this rock in this county 
is near Hamilton village, where various openings have been made. 
Quarries have also been opened and worked in many other places in the 
county, as elsewhere described. The hills around Cazenovia village 
are largely composed of the coarse shales of the group which, in min- 
eral character, constitute the greater part of the whole group; they 
turn brownish in color with exposure, decompose slowly, and are the 
common building material of their range. The hillside southeast of 
New Woodstock shows the same sandstone as at Hamilton, and the 
stone is quarried to some extent. The valley through which the Che- 
nango Canal passed drains a large part of this group, and the valle}^ of 
New Woodstock is excavated in the same part of the group. 

The Tully limestone is not seen in this county, but it doubtless exists, 
as it appears a little to the northwest of De Ruyter village, with the 
shales of the Hamilton group below it, and the Genesee slate above. 
This Genesee slate is seen along the road from Smyrna to De Ruyter, 
and in its range through Lebanon. The Ithaca group, while a more 
useful rock than the group below it, bears little interest in this county. 
The most northerly point where it is seen is near Nelson Flats, where 
a mass of about eight feet is exposed. 

Of the Quarternary Deposits there are but few points in this section 
where any striking superposition of layers is seen, owing chiefly to the 
comparatively few excavations. The best locality for observation is at 
Chittenango, where three distinct deposits are seen. The lowest mass 
is a yellow sand in layers; the second consists of round stones and 
blackish sand, and the third of red earth, apparently derived from the 
destruction of red shale. The height of the three deposits is about 
thirty-five feet. The same alluvial exists between Peterboro and Ham- 
ilton and in other places. 

Lake marl, as a product of calcareous rocks, exists in great quanti- 
ties in the towns of Lenox and Sullivan, and there is a large deposit 



DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT. 13 

south of Canastota. The largest quanity is in Cowasselon swamp, which 
covers more than 10,000 acres. A second source of marl is the calcar- 
eous alluvion, the product of which, in this county, is found on the 
high ground northwest of Peterboro. 

The well known Chittenango sulphur springs are the most important 
in Madison county; they are situated in the valley of Chittenango 
Creek, issuing from a hill of calciferous slate. The analysis of the water 
is as follows : 

Carbonate of lime _ 0.88 grains. 

' Sulphate of soda 1.66 

Sulphate of lime and magnesia _ 12.75 " 

Chloride of .sodium 0.14 " 

Organic matter _ _ trace. 

Besides sulphuretted hydrogen the water contains a small portion of 
carbonic acid gas. It has been beneficially used in the treatment of 
sickness. 

There is an interesting spring about two miles south of the village in 
the same valley, from which the water comes with a milky cast which is 
retained for many hours, becoming clear when boiled; it has a sulphur- 
ous odor. As the other sulphur springs of the vicinity give limpid 
water, this one has been given the name of Chittenango white sulphur 
spring. 

There is a salt spring a short distance west of Canastota in a marsh 
thirty rods north of the canal. A boring was made here nearly forty 
years ago developing water with a strength of nine degrees salometer; 
but there was little encouragement in the undertaking and it was aban- 
doned. 

The four northern towns of this county, vSuUivan, old Lenox, Fenner, 
and Smithfield, have loamy soils in predominance, compounded with 
clay and sand, in which in the swampy regions are great quantities oi 
muck and marl and calcareous gravel on the northern hill slopes. These 
soils are well adapted to the growing of wheat, which has in the past been 
one of the principal products. The soil of the southern towns in which 
clay predotninates, intermixed with gravel and shale upon the hills and 
gravel and alluvion in the valleys, is better adapted for the production 
of grass. Hops were for many years the large staple agricultural pro- 
duct of this county; but in more recent years, since prices have been 
low and uncertain, the dairying interest has increased in magnitude 
and is now a very important industry. The county long stood second 



14 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

only to Oneida in the quantity of hops produced. The fruit growing 
industry of the county is somewhat limited in variety, but the apple 
crop has always been large and the quality excellent. Pears, grapes, 
and other common fruits are grown, but not in large quantities. 



CHAPTER II. 
INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 

When the white European adventurers made their first advent into 
territory now constituting the State of New York they found it in pos- 
session of the Five Nations of Indians, to whom the French gave the 
name, Iroquois. These nations were collectively and commonly called 
by the English, the Iroquois Confederacy. They were located across 
the State, beginning with the Mohawks on the east, the Oneidas next, 
the Onondagas in the central part, the Cayugas next, and the Senecas 
in the western part. The central council fire of the Confederacy was 
kept with the Onondagas, and there were held most of their important 
gatherings and deliberations. Of these uncivilized, war-loving savages 
the Oneidas were the least barbarous, revengeful and blood-thirsty; this 
peculiarity was demonstrated in the early wars and especially in the war 
of the Revolution, when they remained either neutral or loyal to the 
colonists. The territory of Madison county was part of the domain of 
this nation, who followed the chase through its primeval forests and rip- 
pled the clear waters of its lakes and streams with their silently-moving 
paddles during unknown years before the white man came. 

The early discoveries in America and the recognized theory of Euro- 
pean nations that such discoveries gave valid title to lands found in pos- 
session of barbarians and savages, led to bloody conflict in the western 
world. England claimed supremacy here through the discoveries and 
explorations of Cabot, who sailed in 1697; France, under those of 
Champlain and others, and Holland by virtue of the coincident voyage 
of Hudson and the founding of a settlement on Manhattan Island. 
For many years the French were in the ascendant and it was only 
through prolonged and sanguinary wars that the western hemisphere 
was wrested from the impending domination of that nation. In all 



INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 15 

the wars for conquest in this country, the records of which the reader 
may find in many volumes of general history, the Iroquois Indians were 
a most potent and influential factor. Roaming at will, in pride and 
power, over the greater part of the continent, wherein they had con- 
quered one after another of their rival nations; brave and shrewd and 
savage in their futile attempts to check the encroachments of the white 
men, they had to be taken into account in every movement for territo- 
rial acquisition by the three great powers across the Atlantic. It was 
clearly seen by English, French, and Dutch alike that if either could gain 
the entire and unfailing fealty of the Iroquois, that power would speedily 
conquer the others. But in their ignorance of Indian character, their 
unthinking greed and selfishness, their dishonesty and treachery, 
neither of the European powers ever succeeded in wholly gaining the 
confidence and loyalty of the Five Nations — a fact that greatly prolonged 
the conflict. 

As settlement progressed, by the French at the north, the Dutch in 
New York, and the English in New England, the rich fur trade with 
the Indians sent golden harvests across the Atlantic, for which the 
powers were ready to battle, and the struggle began. With the details 
of those wars, except so far as the Oneida Indians were directly involved, 
we are not interested in these pages. The early attempts by the French 
to conquer the Iroquois were even more futile than their later efforts to 
secure an alliance with them, and when James the II. of England was 
driven from his throne in the revolution of 1688, open war speedily 
followed between that countr)' and France. This struggle closed with 
the treaty of Ryswick in 1697, the English having to a great extent 
retained the friendship of the Indians during its progress, and securing 
decided advantages under the treaty, if its provisions had been heeded 
by the French. They were not. Queen Anne's war followed in 1703 
and was ended only after eleven years of conflict by the treaty of 
Utrecht, April 11, 1713. 

Meanwhile, the Tuscarora Indians, a powerful nation of the South, 
had resisted the encroachments of the Carolina proprietors, who had 
assigned their lands to the German Palatines, and the Indians were 
almost destroyed in their fort on the River Taw on the 26th of March, 
1713, 800 of them having been taken prisoners and sold as slaves to the 
English allies. In the year just named the Iroquois made an expedi- 
tion to the South, during which they adopted the remainder of the 



is OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tuscaroras, making them the Sixth Nation, and assigning them terri- 
tory to the west of and in close proximity to that of the Oneidas. ' 

Under the treaty of Utrecht the French agreed not to attack the Iro- 
quois, who were acknowledged to be subjects of Great Britain, and 
both the English and the French were guaranteed free trade with 
them. After a period of nominal peace of about thirty years the Eng- 
lish and French were again at war in 1744, which continued until 1748, 
when, on April 30, it was concluded by the treaty of Aix-la Chapelle, 
which substantially renewed the former treaty. At that time, such 
progress in settlement had been made that the French, stimulated by 
the zealous and active Jesuits, numbered about 60,000, while the Eng- 
lish colonists reached over a million in number. In this latter conflict 
the Iroquois did not engage until 1746. The last named treaty was 
very imperfect; the old causes of dissen.sion and rivalry remained, and 
the two countries were again in conflict in 1755, and for a time France 
gained the supremacy and drew over to her side half or more of the 
Iroquois. They established a line of forts from Montreal to French 
Creek in Pennsylvania, and the breaking out of the war found the Eng- 
lish unprepared to meet the vigorous measures inaugurated by their 
enemy. Battles were fought in Nova Scotia, in the Ohio valley, at 
Crown Point, and at Niagara. Daring this period Sir William Johnson 
was active in the English interest and acquired an influence over the 
Indians that was potent in achieving the final triumph. Johnson was 
wounded in the engagement at Crown Point in 1754 and from that time 
to the end of the struggle a fierce border warfare was carried on, the 
details of which form many chapters of the deepest and most terrible 
interest in American history. 

In 1756 forts were built at Onawaroghhare^ (Oneida Castle in the 
town of Vernon) and at Onondaga, and a block house at Canaseraga. 
The fort at Oneida was 130 feet square, built of sixteen feet logs set 
four feet in the ground. It had two block houses at opposite corners, 
each of which was twenty four feet square below, while the upper part 
projected to allow its occupants to fire down upon an enemy. The 
block house at Canaseraga was similar to this. 

It was during this conflict also and on May 18, 1759, that General 

'In 1T63 Iheir principal village was at Canaseraga. in the town of Sullivan, Madison county. 
They had " several others about the Susquehanna," and numbered 140.— Sir William Johnson's 
enumeration of Indians, Col. Hist. 

- Colonial History. 



INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 17 

Amherst issued orders for the construction of "3 Posts to be made as 
follows: At the northeast end of Oneyda Lake — 50 men; at the west 
end of Oneyda Lake, 50 do; at Oswego Falls, 100 do. The above 
Posts to be retrenched with a ditch, and a block-house in the center, 
with flankers at each opposite angle on which swivel guns are mounted." 
These orders resulted in the construction of what was called the 
Royal Block House, which was on the south side of Wood Creek, near 
its junction with Fish Creek, and the fort at Brewerton, the sites of 
both of which are still recognizable. The location and form of these 
works is shown on the accompanying diagram. 




0/VO/VOAflA /?/VEK 



At a council held by Sir William Johnson at Onondaga, June 19, 1756, 
where permission was given Johnsop to build a fort or magazine at 
Oswego Falls, an Onondaga sachem promised him the aid of the Tus- 
caroras and Oneidas in building a road from the German Flats to 
" Canaghsaragy," and of the Onondagas in building one thence to Os- 
wego. ' 

The war which for many years threatened to overthrow the English 



18 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

finally resulted in their favor, and the treaty of Paris was signed in 
1763, leaving England in possession of Canada and the trans Missis- 
sippi territory. It was to settle the territorial disputes arising after 
this peace between the various Indian tribes and the colonies, that the 
so called Line of Property was established in 1768 and ratified by Sir 
William Johnson in 1770. But the fixing of this line did not perma- 
nently protect the Indians in the enjoyment of the territory set apart 
for them. As settlement increased, the greed of traders led to en- 
croachments that soon created trouble and prepared the way for hostil- 
ity by the natives towards the colonists in the approaching revolution. 
The Indians made bitter complaint of their treatment at a congress of 
the Six Nations held at Johnson Hall (Johnstown) in the summer of 
1774. At the same time the Six Nations agreed to a proposition made 
by the Montauk Indians to settle on their lands at Conawaroghere, which 
Johnson speaks of in November, 1762, as being "a new village of the 
Oneidas. " 

As the time approached when the fires of the Revolution were to be 
lighted, it was clearly seen that the colonists could hope for little aid 
from the Iroquois as a whole; indeed they had every reason to fear their 
enmity, with the exception of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. Upon the 
outbreak of the conflict, about 1,800 allied themselves with the British, 
leaving only about 200 who were friendly to the colonists. The terri- 
ble atrocities of the former, under the leadership of Brant and stimu- 
lated by many tories, whose deeds were scarcely less barbarous than 
those of their red friends, can never be forgotten. At a council held at 
Onondaga the whole Six Nations at first resolved to remain neutral, 
but the inducements offered by the mother country were too strong to 
be resisted. Joseph Brant, then one of the most prominent of the 
young men of the Confederacy, was sent to England, where he was set 
up as a hero and made the recipient of many honors and gifts. He 
was closely affiliated with the Johnsons also, and when he returned in 
the winter of 1776 he at once began organizing a force of Indians to 
aid the English. In the spring of 1777 he appeared at Oquaga (now 
AVindsor, Broome county) with a large body of warriors, and in June 
he ascended the Susquehanna to Unadilla. There he demanded food 
for his followers, drove off cattle, sheep and swine, and so frightened 
the inhabitants that they retired to Cherry Valley and other settled 
points. 

The attitude of the Indians under Brant was clearly exposed by that 



INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 19 

chief in an interview which was sought by General Herkimer at Una- 
dilla. He was told that "the Indians were in concert with the King, 
as their fathers had been; that the King's belts were yet lodged with 
them, and they could not violate their pledge; " and, finally, that they 
had " made war on the white people when they were all united, and as 
they were now divided the Indians were not frightened." The Indians 
were simply sharing the universal belief that the war would end with 
the defeat of the colonists. A few days after this interview Brant 
withdrew his forces from the Susquehanna and joined Sir John John- 
son and Col. John Butler, who had gathered at Oswego a body of tories 
and refugees preparatory to an attack on the Mohawk and Schoharie 
settlements. This motley army joined the troops of St. Leger, who 
were co-operating with Burgoyne, and attacked Fort Schuyler in Au- 
gust, 1777; the bloody battle of Oriskany was fought, in which General 
Herkimer fell, and the colonists under Colonel Gansevoort snatched 
victory from defeat and put the enemy to a disgraceful flight. 

After that battle Brant chastised the Oneidas for their neucrality by 
destroying their upper and lower castles, their crops and their wig- 
wams, and driving off their cattle; but the Oneidas retaliated by aiding 
in the subsequent destruction of the castles and villages of the Mo- 
hawks, which preceded the final extinction of the power of the great 
Confederacy. The siege of Fort Schuyler was raised on the 32d of 
August, 1777. 

A long series of Indian and tory atrocities on the New York and 
Pennsylvania borders followed these events, including the terrible mas- 
sacres at Cherry Valley, Wyoming and Minnisink, at length impelling 
Congress to strike a blow for the prompt and permanent overthrow of 
the Indian power. To this end was organized the historical expedition 
of General Sullivan in 1779 against the Senecas, in which he was or- 
dered "to cut off their settlements, destroy their crops, and inflict upon 
them every other injury which time and circumstances would permit." 
One of the three divisions composing Sullivan's army was commanded 
by Gen. James Clinton and was collected at Canajoharie. He endeav- 
ored to induce the Oneidas and Tuscaroras to join him, and would 
doubtless have been successful, but for an address sent them by the 
British general, Haldimand, governor of Canada; it was written in the 
Iroquois language and was so effective that with few exceptions those 
Indians remained at their homes. Before departing on this expedition 
Clinton and his forces ravaged the Mohawk country, burning villages 



20 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and crops and sparing only those of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. Sul- 
livan's forces met near Athens, Pa., started promptly on their mission 
and fought their first battle on or near the site of Elmira. Proceeding 
northward the victorious army swept over the rich Genesee country, 
where the powerful Senecas had made extensive improvements, leaving 
desolation and ruin in their track. The other hostile nations shared 
the same fate. Catharinestown, the home of Catharine Montour, the 
inhuman figure in the Wyoming massacre; Kendaia, Kanadaseagea, the 
capital of the Senecas at the head of Seneca Lake, with its sixty well- 
built houses and fine orchards; Kanandaigua, with its "twenty-three 
very elegant houses, mostly framed, and, in general, large ; " and its 
fields of corn and orchards of fruit; Genesee Castle, "with one hun- 
dred and twenty-eight houses, mostly large and elegant," all were de- 
stroyed. Forty Indian towns were burned, thousands of bushels of 
grain in fields and buildings, large and fruitful orchards, gardens filled 
with vegetables, and much other property were wiped out of existence. 
The purposes of the expedition were amply effected. The Iroquois 
power was broken; but before their final and complete submission they 
made one more effort to gratify their revenge. Crippled and humil- 
iated, they still turned a deaf ear to the pleas of Red Jacket, the great 
Seneca chief, to yield to their white conquerors, and in the ensuing 
winter organized an expedition under Cornplanter, fell upon the Onei- 
das and Tuscaroras, burned their castle, church and village, and drove 
them to seek safety among the white settlements farther east, where 
they remained until the close of the war, in active alliance with the 
colonists. 

In further retaliation for Sullivan's invasion of the Iroquois country. 
Sir John Johnson in the fall of 1780, gathered at La Chine Island in the 
St. Lawrence, a body of tories, Canadians and Indians, the latter under 
Brant, and on the 15th of October descended upon the Schojiarie valley, 
burned buildings, destroyed other property, took many prisoners and 
laid the whole region waste. Gen. Robert Van Rensselaer hastily 
gathered the militia and pursued the invaders, who fled to their boats, 
which had been left with their stores under a strong guard in a stock- 
ade fort previously built by the French on the east bank of Chittenango 
Creek, about a mile above the mouth of Black Creek. Van Rensselaer 
followed his enemy to Herkimer and from there sent a messenger to 
Fort Stanwix with orders for Capt. Walter Vrooman to take a strong 
detachment and proceed to Chittenango Creek and destroy the boats 



INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 21 

and stores of the enemy. This mission the young captain accomplished, 
but his command of fifty men was surprised on the 23d of October by a 
body of Butler's Rangers, sent by Johnson to intercept them. All but 
two or three of the party were killed or captured, some of the captives 
being mercilessly tortured by the exasperated Indians. Captain Vroo- 
man and the other survivors were taken to Montreal and held prisoners 
two years. These captives, or a part of them, returned to the scene of 
this event in 1790 and squatted on lands of the Oneida Reservation and 
later became the pioneers of the town of Sullivan. 

In the succeeding operations in the Mohawk valley and vicinity, the 
Oneidas performed valuable services for the colonial cause. In the 
battle at Fort Plain they were opposed to the forces of Brant and John- 
son and aided in their defeat. In the ranks with Col. Marinus Willett, 
for the defense of the valley in 1781, were many Oneidas battling faith- 
fully for their friends. Indeed, on every occasion where they could 
serve the colonists, this friendly nation of Indians never failed in loy- 
alty or bravery. 

With the declaration of peace in 1783, the New York authorities 
showed a disposition to drive from the State all the Indians of the Six 
Nations, the larger part of whom had been foremost in the bloody 
border wais; but the Federal government took a different view of the 
matter. Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee were appointed 
commissioners to adjust their claims and rights, and at a council held 
at Fort Stanwix in 1784, reservations were assigned to each of the 
nations e.Kcepting the Mohawks. Special legislation had previously 
been enacted for the Oneidas and Tuscaroras. On the 15th of October, 
1783, a series of resolutions was adopted by Congress relating to the 
Indians, one of which was as follows: 

Whereas, the Oneida and Tuscarora tribes have adhered to the cause of Amer- 
ica, and joined her armies in the course of the late war, and Congress has repeatedly 
assured them of peculiar marks of favor and friendship, the said Commissioners are 
therefore instructed to reassure the said tribes of the friendship of the United States^ 
and that they may rely that the land which they claim as their inheritance will be 
reserved for their sole use and benefit, until they may think it for their advantage to 
dispose of the same. 

The first known place of dwelling of the Oneidas was on an eminence 
in the present town of Stockbridge.' The time when this village was 
abandoned for the later Oneida Castle is unknown. The latter was 



32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

spoken of in 1762 as "a new village of the Oneidas." When the Tus- 
caroras became the Sixth Nation of the Confederacy, a portion of them 
were settled at the old village in Stockbridge, and others at Canaseraga. 
At the close of the war the Senecas gave them lands in the present 
county of Niagara, where they still remain. Their removal thither 
was made in 1784, in which year the Stockbridge tribe took possession 
of their village, which was called the "Upper Oneida Castle. " When 
the first white settlers came their cabins dotted the whole valley of the 
Oneida. In 1792 the Oneidas numbered about 550 and were described 
as being " very friendly." In 1875 they numbered 150, all excepting 
eleven living on the reservation. Several removals of portions of the 
nation to Green Bay, Wisconsin, have been made, the last of which took 
place in 1844. There are now not more than a score left at their old 
home. 

The long and arduous efforts made to civilize and educate the 
Indians, as described in the "Relations" of the Jesuits and the jour- 
nals of missionaries, are well known to all intelligent persons. As a 
whole those efforts were unsuccessful, though much good was accom- 
plished in certain localities. Among the most distinguished Indian 
missionaries, and one whose work was most productive of good results, 
was Rev. Samuel Kirkland,' who labored long among the Oneidas and 
acquired almost unbounded influence, which he exercised to the great 
benefit of the colonists during the Revolutionary war. 

In July, 1751, David Zeisberger and Gottfried Rundt held a council 

' Rev. Samuel Kirkland was born in Norwich, Conn., December 1, 1741, and received his edu- 
cation in Dr. Wheelock's Indian school. In 1761 he was sent among the Mohawks to learn their 
language. He entered Princeton College in 1702, and in 1764 returned to the Mohawk Indians to 
teach school and further study their language and customs. He received his collegiate degree in 
1765, and in that and the following year labored among the Senecas. On July 19, 1766, he was 
ordained at Lebanon as an Indian missionary, and in the following July took up his residence at 
Oneida Castle. For forty years thereafter he labored among that nation of Indians, acquiring 
almost unbounded influence over them, and exerting it successfully in preventing them from 
joining the enemies of the colonists during the Revolutionary war. During that struggle he acted 
as chaplain in the United States service, and was brigade chaplain in Sullivan's campaign against 
the Senecas in 1779. At the close of the war he remained with the Oneidas, and in 1788 assisted at 
the great Council for the extinction of the Indian title to the Genesee country The Oneidas gave 
him a tract of land, and the State regarded the value of his services so highly that it granted him 
in 1789 a section of land m the town of Kirkland, Oneida county, two miles square, to which he 
removed. In 1792 he made a liberal endowment of land for the founding of a school which was 
originally called the Hamilton Oneida Academy, and in 1812 became Hamilton College by incor- 
poration. Mr. Kirkland married in the summer of 1799, Jerusha Bingham, in Connecticut, an 
excellent woman, who returned westward with her husband and shared in his after labors. Mr. 
Kirkland died February 28, 1808. He was a man of the noblest qualities of mind and heart, a true 
friend of both the red man and the white, and one of the few missionaries whose labors among 
the Indians resulted in, to some extent, Christianizing and educating them. 



INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS. 23 

with the Oneidas, who had stopped them on their way to theOnondagas 
and opposed their proceeding further. In the council Brother Zeis- 
berger addressed them with Guch effect that the Indians relinquished 
their opposition, saying, " We are convinced that your business is not 
a bad one, and that your words are true." 

A mission was established at Oneida Castle in 1816 by Bishop Hobart, 
and Rev. Eleazer Williams, the putative son of Thomas Williams, a 
distinguished chief of the St. Regis Indians, was placed in charge. 
He was well educated and officiated as lay reader, catechist and school 
teacher. His labors resulted in converting a large number of the 
Oneidas to Christianity who had before belonged to the so-called Pagan 
party. These converts in January, 1817, sent to Gov. De Witt Clinton 
an address, signed by eleven of the head men of the nation, express- 
ing their desire to be known as the "Second Christian Party of the 
Oneida Nation." In 1818 this party sold a piece of land for the erec- 
tion of a chapel, which was dedicated as St. Peter's Church on Septem- 
ber 21, 1819, by Bishop Hobart, who confirmed in all 500 persons con- 
nected with this mission. Mr. Williams removed to Green Bay, Wis., 
with a part of the Oneidas and was succeeded in the mission by Solomon 
Davis, who removed to the same place with another portion of the 
nation. The chapel was removed to Vernon in 1840. 

A Methodist mission was established among the Oneidas in 1829 by 
Rev. Dan Barnes, who remained three years and labored very effect- 
ually for the conversion and moral improvement of the natives. A 
chapel was built in the southwest corner of the town of Vernon; it was 
sold with its site in 1833 by the body of Indians that left in that year 
for Green Bay. Another house was soon afterward built in the same 
locality. 

A Methodist Indian church and school building is still standing on 
the west road from Oneida near the Lawrence farm, which was used 
for services many years, but has not been occupied, excepting on occa- 
sional Sabbaths for some ten years. 

The Stockbridge Indians, who took their name from their native 
place in Massachusetts, were ministered to by Rev. John Sergeant, who 
came with them and founded a church immediately after their settle- 
ment at Stockbridge. The tribe then comprised 420 members, sixteen 
of whom constituted the original church. Mr. Sergeant served as 
missionary there for thirty-six years, and received from the Legislature 
a patent for a mile square of land adjoining Stockbridge, which was 



24 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

presented to him b}- the Indians. Mr. Sergeant died September 7, 1834. 
In 1822 a large part of this tribe removed to Wisconsin and there made 
considerable advancement in civilized customs. 

The Brotherton Indians were adopted by the Oneidas in the latter 
half of the eighteenth century. They were made up of a union of 
several tribes, or brothers, whence their name. They located mostly 
in the town of Marshall, Oneida county, and adopted the English 
language. 

As before intimated, the (Jneida Indians remained friendly to the 
white settlers during the greater part of the early wars. Their great 
chieftain, Slcenandoah, was then in power ; he was a man possessed of 
a vigorous mind, sagacious, wise and persevering, noble and command- 
ing in person and manner. He was at all times the white man's friend. 
His watchfulness once prevented the massacre of the inhabitants of 
German Flats, and in the Revolution it was his influence that induced 
the Oneidas to take up arms for the colonists. Soon after Rev. Mr. 
Kirkland established his mission, Skenandoah became a Christian and 
lived in that faith to the close of his life. He died March 11, 1816, and 
was believed to have been about 110 years old. His remains were 
buried in the garden of Mr. Kirkland and a monument to liis memory 
has been erected by the Northern Missionary Society. 

Whatever may be our preconceived theories of the right of conquest, 
the onward march of civilization, etc., with which we Anglo-Saxons 
are prone to minister to our own self-esteem, it is still pitiful to con- 
template the present condition and circumstances of the once numerous 
and powerful Indian nations of New York State. Their immense 
domain shorn down to a few insignificant reservations, their numbers 
reduced to a fraction of what they once were, their haughty and 
aggressive spirit subdued, the American Indians form an interesting, 
if saddening, example of the passing of a great nation. 

Of the Oneidas there are now living in this State about 250; there 
are about 400 of the Tuscaroras, while at Green Bay there is a remnant 
of the Stockbridges. Of the other New York Indians there are accord- 
ing to a late census about 3,800 remaining. 

It is interesting to note here that these Indians and others of the 
same nations on the western reservations have recently gained a claim 
against the government of about $2,000,000, largely through the long 
continued efforts of James B. Jenkins, of Oneida Castle. This claim 
arose through the exchange by the government of lands in Indian 



FIRST SETTLEMENT— TRAILS AND ROADS. 25 

Territory for other and more valuable lands now lying within the State 
of Kansas, and a promise to pay to the Indians a large sum of money 
representing the difference in value of the two tracts. After about 
forty years of contest the Court of Claims found in December, 1890, 
that about $2,000,000 was due the New York Indians. Further delays 
carried the case along to the latter part of 189S when judgment was 
entered by the Court of Claims; this was subsequently affirmed by the 
United States Supreme Court. 



CHAPTER III. 
FIRST SETTLEMENT— TRAILS AND ROADS. 

At the close of the Revolutionary war the territory of Chenango 
county, which then included the present Madison county, was without 
a permanent white settler. It was a beautiful, forest-covered region, 
trackless and unmarked by man, except for the devious Indian trails 
and the red men's rude improvements. Chenango county was erected 
on March 15, 1798, with eight towns, of which Brookfield, Cazenovia 
and Hamilton, now all in Madison county, were three. Brookfield then 
included what is now Columbus, Chenango county; Cazenovia included 
the present towns of De Ruyter, Georgetown, Nelson, Fenner, Smith- 
field, Lenox, and Sullivan; Hamilton included the present towns of 
Lebanon, Eaton, and Madison. 

The first permanent settlement in Chenango county was not made 
until 1784, the year following the close of the war, when Elnathan Bush 
came in a canoe down the Susquehanna from Cooperstown and located 
in what is now Afton, in the extreme southeast part of the county. It 
was two years later before further settlement was made by the pioneers 
of Bainbridge. A few squatters had lived transiently on the Oneida 
Reservation earlier than this. Settlement in this favored region, how- 
ever, was rapid when once begun. In 1800, two years after Chenango 
county was organized and six years after the first arrival, the county 
had a population of 16,087. By that time the pioneers of Madison 
county had penetrated almost to its remotest parts and were striking 
sturdy blows around their rude hearthstones. There was not a road 



26 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

across the territory of either Chenango or Madison county when the 
first white settler arrived in 1784, with the exception of one in the south- 
ern part extending from Bainbridge to the mouth of Page Brook, sev- 
eral miles south of Chenango Forks in Broome county. This was 
called the Chenango Road and many of the pioneers settled along its 
course. It was probably constructed by some part of Sullivan's army 
attached to Clinton's command in 1789. 

There were two principal routes by which the early settlers came in, 
known as the north and south water routes; the north by the Hudson 
and Mohawk Rivers, and the south by the Susquehanna. Many, how- 
ever, came over the long distance from New England on foot, carrying 
almost nothing but an ax. Others came with their families and small 
belongings on an ox sled or in covered wagons. The majority made 
the journey in winter, as it was easier in that season to reach remote 
points in the wilderness. Many who came in by the northern route, 
made their way from Whitestown through an almost unbroken wilder- 
ness, following such Indian trails as led them towards their destination. 
Clark's map of the Five Nations and mission sites, Sauthier's map of 
1779, and Guy Johnson's map of 1771, indicate a number of the Indian 
trails, a few of which had direct bearing upon the settlement of this 
immediate region. One of these left the Mohawk near the site of Utica 
and passed southwest through Oneida and on westward through Onon- 
daga. This crossed two trails within the limits of Madison county — 
one extending from the south of Salmon River along the westerly 
branch of Fish Creek, passing the east end of Oneida Lake and thence 
in a southwesterly direction to a point about midway between Ithaca 
and Elmira; the other passed in a northwesterly direction acrots the 
northern part of the county, passing near the point where Chittenango 
Creek becomes the west boundary of the county and thence to the foot 
of Oneida Lake, where it intersected another trail starting from the 
one above described. A trail also started from about the site of Utica, 
as shown on Sauthier's map, extended through "Old Oneyda Castle," ' 

' Referring to the present Oneida Castle. A village situated near Oneida Lake is designated 
the " New Oneida Castle." The Documentary History, I, 626, alludes to the line of this trail in 
17.57, which had then become a passable road, as follows: " The road goes to the Great Oneida 
Village, about two leagues from the Lake. A picket Fort with four bastions, had been con- 
structed in this village by the English. It was destroyed by the Oneidas in observance of their 
promise given at a council held between them and the Marquis De Vaudreuil. Each of its sides 
might have been one hundred paces. There is a second Oneida Village, called the little village, 
situated on the bank of the Lake There is no fort in the latter " In this connection the accom- 
panying ancient map is of great interest and is self-explanatory. 




Old Map of Central New York. 



EARLY SETTLEMENT— TRAILS AND ROADS. 37 

called on the map "Canowaroghare," and " Canadasseoa " (correspond- 
ing apparently with the position of East Boston) and Canaseraga Castle 
to Three Rivers. From a little southwest of Canaseraga a branch ex- 
tended to Onondaga. Another map indicates a trail extending from 
the site of Oneida village in a general westerly direction, passing 
through Canaseraga and on through Onondaga to Niagara. This and 
the last preceding described trail correspond, doubtless, with the trail 
which is well known to have crossed the northern part of Madison 
county, passing through Oneida Castle, Wampsville, Quality Hill and 
Canaseraga, leaving the county at Deep Spring. This road was im- 
proved in 1790, just as the first settlers were coming into the territory 
of Madison county, by William and James Wadsworth, who passed 
over it with oxen and cart on their way to the Genesee country. These 
narrow and winding trails could not long suffice for the travel of the 
pioneers, and local roads were opened and somewhat improved so rap- 
idly after settlement began, that in 1800 there were forty-seven laid 
out in the territory of Chenango and Madison counties; this was only 
six years after the first settler came in. 

The Mohawk River was of vast importance to the incoming early 
settlers for a number of years. It wa.s navigated by many so-called 
Durham boats, a flat-bottomed oblong scow, propelled by poles thrust 
against the bottom of the river. The crews consisted of five or six 
men and ten miles up the current was considered a good daj^'s journey. 
A Schenectady paper of 1803 gives the dimensions of one of these boats 
as follows:. "She is sixty-three feet keel, eleven feet wide, and two 
feet three inches deep. When loaded she draws two feet of water and 
carries twenty-four tons. She now brought down 350 bushels of wheat 
and will next trip bring 800." Many of the Durham boats were 
smaller than this one. 

The importance of the Mohawk as a navigable stream led to earl)' 
measures for its improvement. In 1791 Gov. George Clinton urged 
upon the Legislature the importance of improving the natural water- 
ways of the State, and in that year one hundred pounds was appropri- 
ated for a survey of the portage at Rome and of the river eastward to 
the Hudson, with a view of constructing locks where needed and a 
canal around Little Falls. In the following year the Western Inland 
Lock Navigation Company was incorporated, with a capital of $25,000, 
which was afterwards increased to $300,000. The improvements were 
made and for a number of years the region along this route was con- 



28 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

siderably benefited; but the tolls were high,' forcing the settlers to still 
use the roads that were frequently almost impassable. This fact and 
the great cost of maintaining the locks and other improvements ulti- 
mately, and notwithstanding several loans made by the State, caused 
the company to fail and its rights reverted to the commonwealth. In 
1791 it cost from $75 to $100 per ton for transportation from Seneca 
Lake to Albany; in 179(5 the cost was reduced to $32 per ton and to $10 
on return cargoes. These rates were almost prohibitive to very many 
pioneers, who toiled over the roads and at the same time made their 
influence felt for highway improvement. 

The road over which the Wadsworths had passed in 1790, as before 
noted, and which crossed Madison county, was improved by the State 
in 1793, when $2,700 was appropriated for roads on the Military Tract 
(which included Onondaga county) ; the principal road thus improved 
extended westward from Deep Spring and was the extension of the 
Wadsworth road. In 1794 an act was passed by the Legislature ap- 
pointing Israel Chapin, Michael Myers and Othniel Taylor, commis- 
sioners for laying out a highway from "Old Fort Schuyler," to the 
Cayuga ferry, " as nearly straight as the situation of the country will 
allow.'' This road was to be six rods wide. In the several acts relat- 
ing to this highway it is called the "Great Genesee Road." It gener- 
ally followed the line of the road before mentioned, which was called 
the State Road. In 1797 the Legislature authorized three lotteries for 
the purpose of raising $43,000 for the furthur improvement of roads. 
Of this sum $13,900 was expended on the Great Genesee road through- 
out its length from Utica to Geneva. The inhabitants along the route 
made a voluntary subscription of 4,000 days' work in aid of the im- 
provement. In writing to England on this subject, Capt. Charles 
Williamson, said: 

By this generous and uncotmion exertion, and by some other contributions, the 
State Commissioner was enabled to complete this road of nearly one hundred miles, 
opening it si.\ty-four feet wide, and paving with logs and gravel the moist parts of 
the low country. Hence the road from Fort Schuyler, on the Mohawk river, to 
Genesee, from being in the month of June, 1797, little better than an Indian path, 
was so far improved, that a stage started from Fort Schuyler on the 30th of Septem- 
ber, and arrived at the hotel in Geneva, in the afternoon of the third day, with four 
passengers. 

' In his Origin and History of the Erie Canal, George Geddes, wrote; "The higli tolls and 
other expenses of this navigation were so onerous that land carriage on the poor roads of that 
day still continued to be the usual mode of communication between the interior and the sea- 
board." 



FIRST SETTLEMENT— TRAILS AND ROADS. 29 

For the further improvement of this highway by private capital the 
Seneca Turnpike Company was granted a charter in 1800, authorizing 
$110,000 capital, and appointing as commissioners, Jedediah Sanger, 
Benjamin Walker, Charles Williamson and Israel Chapin. An amend- 
ment to the charter of 1801 gave the commissioners discretion to de- 
viate from the line of the old road. When it became known that they 
intended to straighten the line and avoid the Canaseraga Hill and 
Onondaga Hill there was active opposition to the westward of Chit- 
tenango, the inhabitants of Manlius and Onondaga fearing the selection 
of a northern route that would be to their great disadvantage. They 
sent a delegation to meet the commissioners at Chittenango. The 
clever citizens led the commissioners up the ravine to the northwest of 
Chittenango, which was practically impassable, and then along other 
equally unfavorable routes until the officials were weary and ready to 
return to Chittenango and allow the road to follow its own course. 
Eventually learning that they had been imposed upon, the company 
in 1806 secured a further amendment to their charter, authorizing 
them to "build a new road from Sullivan [Madison county] to the 
Onondaga Reservation near the Salt Springs to Cayuga Bridge," and 
$50,000 was added to the capital stock. This road was finished in 1813. 
The great Genesee Turnpike was completed to Buffalo in 1809. 

Mail was first carried through Madison county territory in 1797 or 1798, 
by a Mr. Langdon, who traveled on horseback from Whitestown to Gene- 
see. He was succeeded by a Mr. Lucas, and by 1800 the mail had become 
so large as to require a wagon for its transportation. The first four- 
horse coach with mail was driven through by Jason Parker, who re- 
moved in 1794 from Adams, Mass., to Utica and found employment as 
a post rider between Canajoharie and Whitestown. He began running 
a stage between those places in 1795 and thus announced his enter- 
prise : 

The mail leaves Whitestown every MDnday and Thursday at 2 o'clock p. m.. 
and proceeds to Old Fort Schuyler the same evening ; next morning starts at 4 
o'clock and arrives in Canajoharie in the evening, exchanges passengers with the 
Albany and Cooperstown stages, and the next day returns to Old Fort Schuyler. 
Fare for passengers, $2.00; way pa.ssengers, four cents a mile, fourteen pounds of 
baggage gratis. Seats may be had by applying at the post-office, Whitestown, at 
the house of the subscriber, Old Fort Schuyler, or at Captain Root's, Canajoharie. 

On the 3 1st of March, 1801, the Oneida Turnpike Company was in- 
corporated by the Legislature, with the purpose of constructing a turn- 



30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

pike road from the "dwelling house of Jonathan Dean, in the town of 
Augusta," through the Oneida and Stockbridge Reservations to the 
"dwelling house of John Lincklaen in the village of Cazenovia." 

By 1810 daily stages were running over the Genesee turnpike line 
and travel was extensive. In 1804 Parker and Levi Stephens were 
granted by the Legislature the exclusive privilege for seven years of 
running stages for the conveyance of passengers between Utica and 
Canandaigua. The fare was five cents per mile. In 1803 the Cherry 
Valley Turnpike Company was chartered and a road was constructed 
from Cherry Valley to Manlius, passing through the towns of Madison, 
Eaton, Nelson and Cazenovia. Prior to 180-4 the so called Peterboro 
Turnpike was constructed, which extended from Vernon through 
Peterboro to Cazenovia. The Hamilton and Skaneateles Turnpike was 
laid out in 1806, but was not completed until a few years later. It ex- 
tended from Richfield through Brookfield, Hamilton, Eaton, Erieville, 
and New Woodstock, and on westward to Skaneateles. Joseph Morse, 
a resident of Eaton, was largely interested in this road and had at one 
time $30,000 of the stock. To these various avenues of travel and 
transportation, which were of immense importance in the early times, 
was soon to be added the Erie Canal, which crossed the northern part 
of Madison county and gave the inhabitants greatly improved facilities 
for reaching the markets and for travel. 

By this time (1806) Chenango county had a population of not far 
from 30,000, the census of 1810 giving it and Madison county nearly 
47,000, and the annual influx of settlers was large. The local highways 
and bridges were being rapidly improved and extended ; saw and grist 
mills had been built on many of the turbulent streams, and the homes 
of the pioneers were risin* on every hand. Chenango county was a 
large one, more than fifty miles in length from north to south, and the 
time had arrived when the convenience of the inhabitants in reaching 
the courts demanded a division. 



ERECTION OF THE COUNTY AND TOWNS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ERECTION OF THE COUNTY, TOWN FORMATION AND EARLY SET- 
TLEMENTS. 

The act of the Legislature erecting Madison county was passed 
March 21, 1806. Its first section is as follows: 

Be it Enacted, That all that part of the county of Chenango lying north of the 
following described bounds, to wit: beginning at the southeast corner of the town 
of Brooktield, on the Unadilla river, and thence rvmning west on the south line of 
said town of Brookfield, to the east line of the town of Sherburne; thence north to 
the southeast corner of the town of Hamilton ; thence west on the south line of said 
town of Hamilton to the east line of the town of De Ruyter; thence west on the 
division line between the sixth and seventh townships in the said town of De Ruyter 
to the east line of the county of Onondaga; shall be and hereafter is erected into a 
separate county, and shall be called and known by the name of Madison, and that 
all the remaining part of the said county of Chenango, shall be and remain a county 
by the name of Chenango. 

The act further provided for the proper division of the town of 
De Ruyter, through which the new county dividing-line passed. Also, 
for holding a Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the 
Peace, three terms a year, in the new county. The two counties, 
Chenango and Madison, were given each two members of assembly, 
and were made a part of the Western district of New York and of the 
Sixteenth congressional district. A section provided for the confine- 
ment of prisoners in the Oneida county jail until one should be pro- 
vided. 

The following tabulated statement shows the genesis of the several 
towns of Madison county, and indicates which were in existence when 
the county was erected : 
Brookfield, formed from Paris (Oneida county), March 5, 1795. 

De Ruyter, March 15, 1798. 



Cazenovia, from Paris and Whites- 
town, March 5, 1795. 



Sullivan, February 33, 1803. 
Nelson, March 13, 1807. 
Smithfield, March 13, 1807. 
J Fenner (part of), April 32, 1833. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Hamilton, from Paris, March 
5, 1795. 

Sullivan, from Cazenovia, Febru- ; 

ary 32, 1803. \ 
De Ruyter, from Cazenovia, March / 

15, 1798. 1 

Cazenovia, March 5, 1795; / 

Smithfield, March 13, 1807. )' 

Smithfield, March 13, 1807. ] 

Lenox, March 3, 1809. I ,, ., 

„ ' ' . Stockbridge, May 20, 183G. 

Vernon. j & > ^ > 

Augusta. 



Eaton, February 6, 1807. 
Lebanon, February 6, 1807. 
Madison, February 6, 1807. 

Lenox, March 3, 1809. 
Georgetown, April 7, 1815. 
Fenner, April 33, 1823. 



Lenox, March 3, 1809. 



I Oneida, 1896.- 
f Lincoln, 1896. 

As will be seen by this diagram, there were only five towns in the 
county when it was erected — Brookfield, Cazenovia, De Ruyter, Hamil- 
ton and Sullivan. But five more were formed in the year following the 
county organization; since that date five others have been erected, 
making the present number sixteen. Coincident with the erection of 
the county, Sullivan was constituted a half-shire town in the new 
county, with Hamilton, which had formerly been a half-shire town of 
Chenango county, as the other. The early courts were held alternately 
in the school houSein Hamilton village and the school house near David 
Barnard's in Sullivan in the part set off for the town of Lenox. 

As a result of the first general election for Madison county, Erastus 
Cleveland, of Madison, and Sylvanus Smalley, of Sullivan, were elected 
members of assembly; their opponents were Jonathan Morgan, of 
Brookfield, and John W. Bulkley, of Hamilton. The first county offi- 
cers and justices of the peace were appointed by the then existing 
Council of Appointment and were as follows: 

First Judge, Peter Smith, of Peterboro. 

Associate Judges, Sylvanus Smalley and David Cook, of Sullivan; 
Edward Green, of Brookfield; Elisha Payne, of Hamilton. 

County Clerk, Dr. Asa B. Sizer, of Hamilton. 

Sheriff, Jeremiah .Whipple, of Cazenovia. 

Surrogate, Thomas H. Hubbard, of Hamilton. 

Coroner, Jabish N. M. Hurd, of Cazenovia. 




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Outline map of Madison County, previous to the division of Lenox in 1896. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 33 

Justices of the Peace — Brookfield, Oliver Brown, Daniel Maine, 
Henry Clark, jr., Jonathan Morgan, Samuel Marsh and Edward Green. 

Cazenovia — David Tuthill, Samuel S. Breese, Phineas Southwell, 
Perry G. Childs, Elisha Williams, Daniel Petrie, William Powers and 
Joshua Hamlin. 

De Ruyter — Eli Gage, Hubbard Smith and Eleazer Hunt. 

Hamilton — Joseph Morse, Simeon Gillett, Benjamin Pierce, Gen. 
Erastus Cleveland, Elisha Payne, Amos Maynard, Russell Barker, 
George Crane and Winsor Coman. 

Sullivan — Gilbert Caswell, Samuel Foster, Walter Beecher, Joseph 
Frost, vSylvanus Smalley, Peter Smith, David Cook, William Hallock, 
James Campton and Joseph Yaw. 

The first board of supervisors of the county was composed as follows: 
Brookfield, Stephen Hoxie; CaKcnovia, Lemuel Kingsbury; De Ruyter, 
Jeremiah Gage; Hamilton, Erastus Cleveland; Sullivan, Jacob Patrick. 
Complete lists of the supervisors of the various towns down to the 
present time, as far as they are accessible, will be found in the later 
Gazetteer of Towns. 

In 1810 Cazenovia was made the county seat by act of Legislature 
passed April 2, and Col. John Lincklaen and Capt. Eliphalet Jackson 
were appointed commissioners to superintend the erection of a court 
house and jail. (See Chapter XXV.) 

Settlement in Madison county territory began almost simultaneously 
in the northern and southern parts, in what became the towns of Brook- 
field and Sullivan. The town of Brookfield is the extreme southeast 
town in the county and the largest in area. It was formed from Paris, 
Oneida county, March 5, 1795, and originally included numbers 17, 18 
and 19 of the Chenango Twenty Townships. The former was set off 
in the formation of Columbus in 1805. Settlemeat began in the terri- 
tory of Brookfield in the spring of 1791, when Captain Daniel Brown, 
a Quaker from Stonington, Conn., came on with a few friends whom he 
had persuaded to accompany him, but who returned in the fall. 
Stephen Hoxie and Phineas Babcock came in at about the same time as 
agents of a company from Rhode Island and Connecticut. Captain 
Brown was sixty-six years old at the time of his migration and started 
westward with the intention of locating in the productive Genesee val- 
ley; but taking a southern route he and his companions toiled on with 
an ox team for twenty-one days, when in the latter part of June they 
arrived at the dwelling of Percifer Carr, who had settled on the east 



34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

bank of the Unadilla in the town of Edmeston. They were hospitably 
received, and the charm of the season, the beauty of the surroundings 
and the character of the land prompted them to remain; Mr. Brown 
selected for his homestead land on the west side of the Unadilla, a short 
distance above Mr. Carr's residence, on lot 83 of the 19th township, and 
there he built his dwelling on a hill a mile west of the site of Leonards- 
ville. He passed the remainder of his life there and died December 14, 
1814. Others of the little party of immigrants settled near by, among 
them David Maine, Samuel H. Burdick, Samuel Billings and Stephen 
Collins. All returned east in the fall excepting Mr. Brown. In the fol- 
lowing spring Captain Brown's family moved in and in that year he 
built a saw mill on Mill Creek, which was the first one in the town and 
one of the first in the county. The first town meeting was held in 
Brown's dwelling on the 7th of April, 1795. Captain Brown had two 
children by his first wife and twelve by his second, all but four of whom 
were daughters. One of them, Anna, married Nathan Steward, who 
came on from Stonington in 1794 and settled about two and one-half 
miles northeast of Clarkville. Another daughter, Fanny, married 
George Palmer, who settled in 1792 between Leonardsville and Clark- 
ville, near the river; there in 1793 he built the first frame house in the 
town. He removed to the Genesee country about the close of the war 
of 1812. Jabish' Brown, son of Daniel, left Stonington, June 12, 1794, 
and after a journey of seventeen days arrived in Brookfield with an ox 
cart and his family; he built a log house near his father's, but two years 
later removed a half mile south and erected a frame house. Both he 
and his wife died on that farm, he on July 18, 1843. Their descendants 
still live in the county. Nathan Brown settled on a part of the home- 
stead. Isaac married and lived on the homestead until near his death, 
when he removed to Leonardsville, where he died May 3, 1840. He 
has descendants in the county. 
/' Stephen Collins, before mentioned, settled in 1791 about one and one 
half miles south of Clarkville, on Beaver Creek; there he soon built a 
grist mill, which he sold to Daniel White, by whose name it was long 
known. It passed to his son, Daniel D. White, who operated it until 
the dam was destroyed about 1861, and it was not rebuilt. 

Samuel H. Burdick settled on the farm occupied until recent years 
by a descendant of his, where he died February 14, 1813. He had only 
one son. Samuel Billings, who came in 1791, kept a public house sev- 

* Spelled in later years "Jabez." 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 35 

eral years in the dwelling now occupied by William Whitford. He 
sold his property about 1S17 to William Brown and removed to the 
West. 

When Stephen Hoxie and Phineas Babcock, the agents before men- 
tioned, came on they stopped in Albany and purchased lots 79 to 86 
inclusive, and 92 to 96 inclusive, thirteen in all, in the southeast corner 
of the 19th township, for which they paid fifty cents an acre. In that 
year Mr. Hoxie built a log house. The patent for lot 96, which Mr. 
Hoxie selected for himself, is dated May 3, 1791, and is still in posses- 
sion of his descendants in this county. 

In 1792 vStephen Hoxie, John and Elias Button, Lawton Palmer, 
Thomas and James Rogers, Paul and Perry Maxson, Eleazer and Sim- 
eon Brown, Samuel Langworthy, Elder Henry Clark and Phineas Bab- 
cock, all members of the company before mentioned, came and settled 
on their lands — Hoxie on lot 96, the two Buttons on lot 83, Palmer on 
lot 95, the two Rogers on lot 83, the Maxsons on lots 93 and 94, Eleazer 
Brown on lot 84 and Simeon on lot 81, Langworthy on lot 80, Clark on 
lot 92, and Babcock on lot 79. John Button was the only one who brought 
in his family that year. He settled on the farm occupied in recent 
years by David Judge, where they resided until their death. In 1792 
he bought land on Mill Creek, with the site since known as Button's 
Falls, and there built the first grist mill in the town. This was a great 
convenience and was highly appreciated by the early settlers. This 
mill, together with the saw mill built by Daniel Brown, and one built a 
little later oii the same stream by Jabish Brown, were carried away by 
a freshet early in the century. A saw mill was built on the site of the 
Button grist mill, in 1848, by Hosea and David Welch, grandsons of 
John Button ; it was operated tmtil about 1865. Elias Button was a 
bachelor and lived with his brother until he reached the great age of 
105 years. He taught school about sixty years of his life and by some 
authorities is credited with being the first teacher in Brookfield. Asa 
Carrier is said, by French's Gazetteer, to have taught the first school in 
the winter of 1796, but it is certain that Mr. Button taught a school 
half a mile north of Button's Falls in the winter of 1796-7. 

Stephen Hoxie returned to Rhode Island again in 1792, leaving here 
his son John, then seventeen years old. He returned in 1793 with his 
family, horse and ox teams, the journey occupying six weeks. His 
grandsons, Stephen and Thomas, have in recent years lived on the 
homestead, half a mile above Leonardsville, where the pioneer died 
October 6, 1839, at the age of 101 years. 



36 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Lawton Palmer was a Rhode Island man and married a daughter of 
John Button, settling a little northeast of Five Corners and there died 
December 3, 1825. He donated from his farm the site of the old First 
Baptist church. His son Elias succeeded to the homestead and died 
there March 10, 1866. Lawton Palmer, son of the pioneer, was the 
first white child born in the town; born April 27, 1792. 

Thomas, James and John Rogers were also from Rhode Island, the 
former settling a mile west from Leonardsville on a farm now owned 
by his great-grandson, Deloss Rogers. He died there January 17, 1815. 
James settled on Button Hill and John at Leonardsville and died there. 
His son Thomas occupied the homestead. 

Elder Simeon Brown, one of whose daughters married James Rogers, 
was from iStonington, Conn., and settled two and one-half miles east of 
Clarkville, where his grandson, Justus R. Brown, subsequently resided, 
and now occupied by Clay Brown. He was influential in organizing 
the First Baptist church and was its pastor for thirty years. He was 
father of seven children. Eleazer Brown settled on land a part of 
which went into the John Searls farm. 

Paul, Perry, Ray and John Maxson were brothers. Paul and Perry 
settled at De Lancy's Corners and there resided until their death. 
Paul operated a distillery many years. Ray settled in Columbus. 

Elder Henry Clark settled near the Unadilla Forks; he was a Seventh 
Day Baptist preacher and organized at Leonardsville the first church of 
that sect in the town and was pastor many years. His farm was after- 
wards occupied by Dr. Henry Clark, who lived and died there. George 
Hall is the present occupant of the place. 

Robert Randall was a pioneer of 1792, coming from Stonington with 
his wife and nine children to Brookfield, where descendants still live. 
William and Roswell Randall were his sons and carried on mercantile 
business in South Brookfield, removing thence to Cortland, where they 
became prominent and wealthy. 

Ethan Babcock and David Gates left Leyden, Mass., in the latter 
part of April, 1793, and arrived in the Beaver Creek valley on the 25th 
of May, where Oliver Babcock had previously purchased the mill site 
h\ the north part of Clarkville, with two lots including the east half of 
the village site. Oliver Babcock was Ethan's father. They were the 
first to locate on the site of Clarkville and at once began clearing land. 
Having accumulated a quantity of ashes from the burning logs, they 
began making potash; it was the first made in this town In the fall 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 37 

Mr. Gates went to West Winfield, Herkimer county, and Mr. Babcock 
returned to his Massachusetts home, where he married. He came 
back the next spring bringing his wife and his brother Oliver and his 
wife. He now finished his uncompleted log house, which was the first 
one built in the Beaver Creek valley; it stood east of the academy lot. 
Oliver built one the same year, and there both resided until their death 
Ethan died April 4, 1859, and Oliver September 1, 1856. Oliver Bab- 
cock, sr., father of Ethan and Oliver, came in 1795 and built the first 
saw mill on the site of the Elijah Clark mill; the property passed to 
Elijah Clark in 1857, who built the grist mill. Hezekiah and Phineas 
Babcock, sons of Oliver sr., settled in the town, the former on the 
north line; descendants of these families still live in the town 

David Gates's settlement was made on fifty acres of lot 65, which 
was afterwards owned by his son Darius. He had eleven children, 
seven of whom lived to maturity and were somewhat prominent in the 
town. 

It was about this time that John J. Morgan and Jedediah Sanger be- 
gan to open the lands they had purchased in 1791 in townships 18 and 
30 and part of 19, to tenants on perpetual leases, a system that had a 
tendency to retard settlement, as it did in many other parts of this 
State. Mr. Morgan built a dwelling, which is still standing, in a beau- 
tiful spot on the west side of Beaver Creek about two and one-half 
miles south of Clarkville, where he passed his summers during many 
years. At his death, Morgan Dix became heir to these lands, which 
were, however, left under supervision to Gov. John A. Dix, who 
adopted the policy of selling them to actual settlers on easy terms. 
Wait Clarke, whose father, John Clarke, settled in the town in 1810, 
was agent for Governor Dix, in the sale of much of this property. 

Among the settlers of 1794 was Zadoc Beebe, who came with his son 
of the same name, up the Mohawk to Herkimer and thence on foot. 
After selecting lands they returned to Massachusetts and in 1796 
brought in their families with ox teams. The elder Beebe took up lot 
27, and the son and his brother-in-law, James Beebe, took up lot 28, 
both lots in the 19th township. Zadoc Beebe's children were six, all of 
whom settled near the homestead. 

Joshua Whitford also became a settler in 1794, taking up half of lot 
76, near the center of the town, where his grandson, Silas Whitford 
subsequently lived. One of his children was Deacon William Whitford 
who settled on lot 71, but after his father's death he removed to the 



38 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

home farm and there died January 26, 1850, leaving four children all 
living in this town. Other settlers of that year were Wiot Hinckley 
(this family now spell the name Wait) and John York; the latter set- 
tled on the east side of Beaver Creek midway between Clarkville and 
Brookfield. He had eight children. 

Samuel Gorton came to Brookfield in 1795, selected two lots and re- 
turned to his native place, Greenwich, R. I. In the following spring 
his sons, Varnum and Benjamin, came in on foot to prepare for the re- 
ception of the rest of the family. They made a clearing and built a 
cabin about three miles east of North Brookfield, at what is called Gor- 
ton Hill. The remainder of the family came in the fall, consisting of 
the parents ard ten more children. In the year 1796, also, Asa Frink, 
Nathaniel, Joseph, and George Denison, and Thompson Burdick came 
in company from Stonington with ox teams and all settled in the Bea- 
ver Creek valley — Frink at Clarkville, Nathaniel Denison on the west 
side of the creek, Joseph on lot 65 in the 18th township, and George on 
the same lot three-fourths of a mile southeast of Clarkville. Thomp- 
son Burdick settled about a quarter of a mile south of Clarkville ; he 
sold in 1809 to Eli S. Bailey. 

Thomas Keith and Alexander Brewster came in on foot in 1797; the 
former took up 350 acres and sold forty to Brewster. They built a 
cabin that summer, returned to Massachusetts in the fall and came 
back with their families in the next spring. Brewster sold his land 
many years ago to John Keith, who resided there until his death. The 
Thomas Keith homestead was owned in recent years by his son Henry. 

Elisha Burdick, from Westerly, R. I., came about 1796 and settled 
a mile north of South Brookfield. He had a numerous family, most of 
whom settled in that vicinity. 

Augustus Saunders, of Westerly, R. I., came as early as 1800 and 
settled three miles north of Clarkville, on 100 acres, owned in recent 
years by Dr. L. N. Griswold. He died in Clarkville March 33, 1868. 
Elisha Johnson settled in the town as early as 1800 and Harris Chese- 
brough about the same time. Johnson located half a mile south of 
North Brookfield, where his son. Col. Eli Johnson, afterwards resided. 
Chesebrough settled near West Edmeston. 

The following persons came into the town before and including the 
year 1800, locating in either what is now Brookfield, or in Columbus, 
which Vi^as then part of this town; most of these names appear in the 
records in connection with town ofiSces : 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 39 

1796. — Asa Brown, Peter German, Eleazer Goodwin, Jonathan Kings- 
bury, John Noyes, Jabez Brown, Moses Ward, John Wilbur, Nathaniel 
Haskel, Josiah Rathbun, Roswell Haskin, Gurden Thompson, Peter 
Mclntire, Eliakim Palmer, Benedict Babcock, Powell Hall, Eliab 
Underwood. 

1797.— Charles Welch, Edward Works, James Satterlee, Nath. Calk- 
ins, Peter W. Delancy, Joel Cutler, Nathan W. Brown, Thomas Giles, 
Denison Palmer, Jesse Palmeter, David Smith, Jesse Palmer, Richard 
Butler, Isaac Brown, George Palmer, Absalom Miner, jr., John Payne, 
Gilbert Strong, Samuel Billings, David Dickey, Ezekiel Scott, Joseph 
Garner, Amos Scott, Augustus Crandall, John York, Samuel Hall, 
Amos C. Palmer, Jared Clark, Ebenezer Kelsey, Eld. Marsh, Jonah 
Slocum, Simon Brown. 

1798. — John Hoxsie, Capt. Samuel Berry, John Follet. 

1799. — Thomas Kenyon, Edward Green, Peleg Palmer, David Cole, 
Edmond Scott, Clark Maxson, Joshua Breed, David Whitford, Stephen 
Clark, John Whitmore, Jonathan Morgan, Weaden Witter, Jonathan 
Hubby, Elias Underwood, Joshua Morgan, Charles Lee Usher, Nathan 
Clark, Clark Barber, Nath. Mane (Maine), Benjamin Brown, James 
Marsh, Nath. Marsh, Samuel Mosher, Charles Babcock, Nathan Stew- 
ard, Luther Brown, Thomas Bowman. 

1800. — Samuel Marsh, William Davis, Thomas Mills, Roswell Brand, 
Nehemiah Palmer, Samuel Langworthy, Caleb Miller, Amos Wheeler, 
William G. Greenman, Daniel Barber, Zebulon Brown, Gad Sutleaf. 

Josiah Livermore, from Brimfield, Mass., settled about 1804 on the 
site of North Brookfield, about where his grandson, Charles O. Liver- 
more, kept store in recent years, which is now conducted by Hibbard 
& York, and operated a tannery. He moved about 1824 to a farm 
about a mile east of North Brookfield. Capt. Nathan Baldwin was an- 
other early settler on the farm occupied in recent years by Asa B. 
Baldwin. He died April 13, 1807. 

There was a considerable early settlement of Quakers in the western 
part of the town. Among them were Joseph Collins, 1st, Solomon 
and Hezekiah Collins, a Mr. Sheffield, Gideon and Thomas Kenyon, 
and James Larkin. The place formerly called " Moscow " was largely 
built up by the three sons of Joseph Collins — Job, Peter, and Joshua — 
who were harness makers ; in later years the place was given its pres- 
ent name of De Lancy, in honor of John De Lancy. Peter Collins 
built a tavern, Albert Button a store, and Job and Joshua Collins had 



40 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

other shops usually found in a small village. The Quakers had a large 
society and were connected with one in Madison. They held meetings 
in Thomas Kenyon's house until their old church was built about 1820. 

On the 1st of March, 1797, according to the records, tavern permits 
were granted to George Palmer, Samuel Billings, Henry B. Morgan, 
Rodolphus Edward, Peter German, Jonathan Brovvnell, and Amos C. 
Palmer, each paying $5. 

During the progress of these settlements, made by the pioneers 
whose posterity have been instrumental in building up and improving 
the town, considerable advancement was made in the establishment of 
schools and churches, and various institutions of a business character. 

The First Seventh Day Baptist Church of Brookfield was organized 
as the result of a meeting held in July, 1797, by the many persons of 
this faith who had settled in the town from Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
and Petersburg, Rensselaer Co., N. Y. A committee was appointed to 
prepare articles of faith and covenant, and on October 3, 1797, there 
met according to arrangement ministers, deacons, and brethren from 
the church of Hopkinton, R. I., and Petersburg, and after consultation 
they organized under the title. First Sabbatarian Baptist Church of 
Christ in Brookfield, the following persons: Henry Clarke, William 
Davis, Luke Saunders, Joshua Ma.xson, Paul Maxson, James Crandall, 
Benjamin Davis, Samuel Greenman, Elisha Burdick, Clark Maxson, 
John Davis, James Wamsly, Weden Witter, Anna Davis, Elizabeth 
Burdick, Hannah Maxson, Judith Maxson, Hannah Maxson (wife of 
Paul), Nancy Maxson, and Caty Clarke. Henry Clarke was chosen 
pastor and William Davis, deacon. This was the first church in this 
town, and the third one in the county. The records show that there 
were sixty-eight members in 1803, and the growth of the society was 
continuous, about 100 being baptized in 1821, at which time it is be- 
lieved there were nearly 400 members. In January, 1823, the north- 
west settlement was set off in a separate church, and later in the same 
year the southwest settlement was also set off. The first pastor served 
twenty- four years and was succeeded by William B. Maxson, who served 
ten years. 

Almost coincident with the formation of this church, another was or- 
ganized at Clarkville by a number of persons who met June 28, 1798, 
and agreed on July 7 as the date when they would enter into covenant 
and sign articles of faith. The name of the society, adopted January 2G, 
1799, was the First First-Day Baptist Church in Brookfield. There were 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 41 

many of this faith in that vicinity. Following is a list of the persons 
who signed the covenant: Simeon Brown, John Button, jr., Thomas 
Dye, Thomas Griffin, Thomas York, Simeon Brown, jr., Jerusha Grif- 
fin, Tabitha Burdick, Theda Frink, Polly Griffin, Ruth Brown, Thank- 
ful Rogers, Lucretia Breed, Amy Breed, Amy Brown, all of whom 
were from the Second Baptist church of Stonington, Conn. ; Denison 
Palmer and Delight Palmer, from the Second Baptist church of Col- 
chester; Eleazer Brown from the Sidney and Guilford church; Edith 
Brown from the First Baptist church of Stonington; Lois Rogers from 
Richmondtown church; and Lucy Dey from the First Baptist church of 
Westerly. On June 7, 1800, Simeon Brown was called to the ministry 
and he was ordained October 15, 1800, serving until his death about 
1826. For several years meetings were held in the house of Elder 
Brown, until a meeting house was built, which was occupied until 1837. 
A new church was then erected in connection with the Seventh Day 
Baptists at Clarkville, which is still occupied by the two societies. In 
1817 twenty five members were dismissed from this church to form the 
Plainfield society.' 

The first Methodist Episcopal Church in Brookfield, at Clarkville, 
was organized early in the present century, but there are no records to 
give the exact year. The town was visited as early as 1800 by Rev. 
William Vredenburg, one of the preachers in the Chenango Circuit 
which was formed in 1798. A quarterly meeting was held in the town 

' The Second Brookfield Seventh Day Baptist church was organized January 33, 1823, by per- 
sons who withdrew from the First church above described. Rev. William B. Maxwell was 
chosen moderator of the council and John Davis, clerk. The number of members was seventy. 
Eli S. Bailey was the first pastor and served to ISIO. 

The First Sabbatarian Baptist Church and .Society in Brookfield was organized February 8, 
1802. The first trustees were Joshua Maxson and Ethan Clarke, for three years; Joshua Coon and 
Clark Maxson, for two years; Joshua Whitford and Abel Burdick, for one year. A meeting house 
was soon erected 30 by 46 feet, with a gallery. The trustees purchased of Nathan and Isaac 
Brown one acre of land for $72.50, which was a lot on the southwest corner of the original four 
corners at Leonardsville. The first edifice was occupied forty-seven years when it was burned, 
on the anniversary of the day the frame was raised, October 7, 1849. A new church was built the 
next year on the same site. 

The Second Baptist Church in Brookfield is situated at North Brookfield and was organized 
June 4, 1800, at the house of Thomas Leech, with the following members: Absalom Miner, Ruth 
Miner. Joy and Polly Handy, Jason and Sarah Mille'.-. Zadock and Lucy Beebe, and James and 
Anna Leech. Absalom Miner was subsequently educated for the ministry and preached his first 
sermon in this church. He afterwards settled in Wisconsin. The records of the society down to 
1806 are not in existence. At a meeting held June 3 of that year, Elder Joy Handy was the pas- 
tor. On January 14, 1809, the Second and Third churches met and agreed to unite into one body. 
In the spring of that year Elder Nathaniel Marsh was appointed to the pastorate. The church 
was incorporated December 12, 1816, under the name, The Second First-Day Baptist Church and 
Society. The first meeting house was built in 1815. The frame of this building was used in the 
construction of the second edifice, which was erected in 1848, and still stands. 



42 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

January 7, 1804. The present church edifice was built in 1850, but 
there was a meeting house certainly as early as 1827.' The society is 
still prosperous under the pastorate of Rev. I. J. Nourse. 

The first mill built in this town in 1795 by Oliver Babcock has been 
mentioned a little further back. Others soon came into existence to 
meet the needs of the pioneers in different parts of the town, in some 
instances forming the nucleus of the later hamlets and villages. Joseph 
Crumb and Stephen Clark built a grist mill in 1801 or 1802 about a 
mile above the site of the present one in Leonardsville; but the dam 
caused the water to set back and interfere with operating the mill at 
Unadilla Forks, and it was removed the same year to the site of the 
present mill. This mill was rebuilt about ] 839 by Samuel Brand and 
in 1858 by Thomas W. Stearns, the second having burned in 1856; it 
has had various proprietors since. Mr. Stearns also built in 1856 the 
saw mill adjacent to the grist mill, which he sold in 1869 to Hamilton 
J. Whitford, Myron Anthony and Charles H. Williamson. It is now 
operated by Albert Whitford. The first mill in the vicinity of North 
Brookfield was built about 1807 by a Mr. Balcom; it stood a few rods 
directly west of the latter one on the opposite side of the road. The 
first mill on the site of the present one was built in 1845 and was burned 
in the fall preceding the erection of the present one. Later manu- 
factures are noticed further on. 

The first merchant in Leonardsville and in this town was Reuben 
Leonard, from which family the village took its name; he began trad- 
ing in 1801 and long conducted a large business for the time. He also 
kept a tavern in early years, managed a distillery, a tannery and a large 
ashery; he was also the first postmaster. He failed about 1820. Ethan 
Burdick was a merchant a little later than Mr. Leonard, and failed a 
little earlier and was succeeded by David and Charles O. Munson in the 
same store, continuing until the death of Charles O. in July, 1831. 
David then sold to Otis Eddy and he three or four years later to James 
Van Valen. He sold about 1846 to William H. Brand and two years 
later N. V. Brand came into the business, buying out his brother six 
years later. Dennis Hardin began trading there about 1820 and con- 

' The Second Methodist Episcopal Church of Brookfield, at Leonardsville, was organized in 
March, 1875, under ministerial direction of Rev. Samuel Salsbury, who was then stationed at 
Clarkville; he continued his labor with this church until April, 187T. The church was incorpo- 
rated March 23, 1876, and Luke Hoxie, E. A. Green, F. W. .Mclntyre, William R. Gardner, and 
William S. Risley were elected trustees. The meeting at which the legal organization was ef- 
fected was held in Palmer's Hall, where the meetings had previously been held and where they 
were continued until the church edifice was erected in 1876. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 43, 

tinued many years, associated at different periods with his brother Dan- 
iel. Charles R. Ma.KSon was a successful merchant for a time and James 
H. Brand and Edwin Clark carried on the clothing business in a store 
built by them about 1853, and afterwards occupied by F. P. King; it 
was burned about 1862. Samuel Collins, William H. Brown, A. M. 
Griffin, and H. W. North successively traded in a building erected by 
the former. 

Samuel Marsh opened a store about a mile and a half southeast of the 
village of North Brookfield in 1804 on a road which was abandoned 
many years ago; he failed after about five years and was imprisoned for 
debt and died in jail at Whitestown. Samuel Livermore was the first 
merchant in the village, his store being on the site of Park's hotel. He 
traded there several years from about 1809. Laban Olby, a colored 
man, kept a grocery from 1815 to about 1844, on the site of Livermore's 
store. He was also a blacksmith, aided in building the Park's hotel in 
1844 and kept it five or six years. He had previously entertained 
guests as well as he could in an old log building. He removed to Nor- 
wich in 1863 or 1864. After Mr. Livermore left a Mr. Mills kept a 
store about five )'ears, after which there was no store in the place for a 
period. Isaac Marsh traded there from about 1834 to 1860, his part- 
ners at different times having been Solomon Gorton, Albert Beebe, 
David Fisk, and Daniel Bennett 2d. Asahel P. Treat opened a store 
about 1855 in the building afterwards occupied by S. A. Fitch, which 
he built. J. V. R. Livermore began business about 1850 in company 
with Lucius E. Beebe, and ten years later bought his partner's interest, 
and was later associated with D. S. Bennett, and his own son, D. D. 
Livermore. About five years later another son, Charles O. Livermore, 
joined him and eventually purchased the business. 

The first physician in Clarkville, if not in the town, was Dr. Eli S. 
Bailey, who was born in West Greenwich, R. I., September 23, 1783. 
In the fall of 1809 he removed to Beaver Creek valley with his brothers- 
in-law and a little later to Clarkville. As before stated, he was called to 
the ministry of the First Seventh Day Baptist church. He retired from 
practice in 1841. Dr. Farrell was practicing in Brookfield about the 
beginning of the century. In 1806 he built the house occupied in recent 
years by Russell Maxson. Welcome Clark was an early practitioner 
and continued until about 1826, when he was succeeded by his brother, 
Ray. Pliny Roberts succeeded the later. The first physician at North 
Brookfield was Rufus Holton, who settled there about 1806, a half mile 



44 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

south of the village. Dr. John Antes settled about 1838 and Dr. Elam 
Root was an early practitioner. There was no lawyer in this town until 
long after the erection of the county. 

While these settlements and other evidences of advancement were in 
progress in the southeast part of the county, similar conditions were 
developing in the opposite northwest part, in the town of Sullivan, 
which was set off from Cazenovia on February 22, 1803, three years 
before the county was formed, and received its name in honor of Gen. 
John Sullivan, the distinguished Revolutionary officer. The town was 
reduced in area more than one-half on March 3, 1809, by the erection 
of Lenox from the eastern part. It is the northwest corner town of 
the county and is bordered on the north by Oneida Lake. It is level 
in the northern part, hilly in the south, and includes across its north 
side the great Cowasselon swamp ; this is bordered on the southern 
side by the so-called Vlaie, or natural meadow, which is covered with 
a thick deposit of muck, underlaid with marl, and supporting a heavy 
growth of vegetation, without trees The remains of stumps indicate 
that this swamp has been covered with two growths of forest in past 
years. The channel in the Cowasselon and Canaseraga Creeks is now 
an artificial ditch, the cutting of which diverted those streams from 
their natural course and reclaimed several thousand acres of land. The 
value of the mineral products of this town has had an important bear- 
ing upon its settlement and growth. Marl and peat abound in the 
swampy regions and gypsum was discovered about the beginning of 
the present century by Jacob Patrick, on the farm owned in recent 
years by John Lillie, about three-fourths of a mile east of Chittenango, 
and was brought into commercial importance during the war of 1812 
and the embargo preceding it, when Nova Scotia plaster was excluded 
from the markets of the country. A plaster bed was opened here, 
probably as early as 1810. Thousands of tons of gypsum were quarried 
here, most extensivelj' on the farm of Capt. Timothy Brown, at Can- 
aseraga. The discovery of water lime in this town is said to have been 
accidental, and it was probably the first discovered in the State, though 
there is a claim that Onondaga county preceded it in this respect. 
Both date from the construction of the Erie Canal, the masonry on 
which was contracted to be laid with common lime, on account of the 
cost of hydraulic cement. Mason Harris and Thomas Livingston, of 
this town, were to supply a quantity of lime for the middle section of 
the canal, and it was then discovered that the product of these quarries 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 46 

would not slack when burned. Examinations and tests were made by 
men of scientific attainments, resulting in the discovery that it was 
equal to the best cements from other sources. The first discovery of 
the limestone was on what was known as the old Moyer farm, now 
owned by Charles Button and Franklin Walrath, about a mile south- 
west of Chittenango. 

Large quantities of quick and water limestone were subsequently 
quarried in that vicinity, but in recent years little has been done chiefly 
on account of the easier accessibility of the Manlius quarries. 

The White Sulphur Springs, noticed on an earlier page, are in this 
town ; they are situated about four miles south of Chittenango Station 
and two miles south of Chittenango village. 

The settlement of the town of Sullivan at the time it took place and 
by the persons who made it was due chiefly to the Revolutionary event 
that occurred within its limits, described in Chapter II of this volume. 
It will be remembered that at that time (the fall of 1780) Captain 
Vrooman and fifty men were surprised and captured by Butler's Rang- 
ers and those of the prisoners who survived were taken to Canada and 
held two years. Those captives had seen the fertile lands in northern 
Sullivan and in 1790 ten of their number with their families squatted 
on the Canaseraga flats on adjoining tracts of land. They were ejected 
in the following year as trespassers on the lands of the Oneidas, who 
complained to Governor Clinton. The dwellings of the squatters, 
after having been emptied of their contents, were burned. Settlement 
in this town, although it began early, was not as rapid as in other parts 
of the county on account of the Indian title to the lands, which was not 
wholly extinguished until 1830. As a consequence much of the town 
was an unbroken wilderness until long after a considerable part was 
fully settled and improved. The names of the ten squatters mentioned 
were James and Joseph Pickard, Jacob, David and Hon Yost Schuyler, 
Jacob Seeber, Garrett and George Van Slycke, John Paisley and John 
Freemyer, most of whom became early and permament settlers. The 
Pickards settled in the east part of the town. Jacob Schuyler settled 
about a mile above the site of Chittenango where he remained until his 
death. He kept the first tavern in the town excepting one presided 
over by an Indian named John Denny, at Canaseraga, and there built 
also the first frame house in 1800. He had sons, John J., David, Philip, 
James and Barney. Jacob Seeber, who was a captain and later a gen- 
eral in the militia, removed to Clockville. Garrett Van Slycke lived 



46 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

near Pool's Brook, near the Manlius line. In that locality John and 
Peter Christman, George Chawgo, and the Herrings, all Dutchmen 
from the Mohawk country, also settled early, and the region became 
known as Kinderhook. 

These pioneers were soon joined by many others, among whom were 
John G. Moyer, Capt Timothy Brown, Col. Zebulon Douglass, John 
Matthews, Philip Daharsh, Peter Dygart, Timothy Freeman, Martin 
Vrooman, Capt. Rosel Barnes, a Mr. Rector, Robert Carter, Mr. Owens, 
Joseph and Benjamin Hosley, Jacob Patrick, Judge John Knowles, 
John Adams, Robert Riddell, John Smith, John Walrath, the Beebe 
families, John Lower, Peter Ehle, David Burton, William Miles, John 
Keller, Ovid Weldon, Nicholas Pickard, John Owen French, Rev. Aus- 
tin Briggs, and Reuben Haight. Descendants of many of these are 
now residents of the town. 

The pioneers needed mills early and John G. Moyer built both grist 
and saw mills on the site of the paper mill a mile and a half above Chit- 
tenango. These were the first in the town; the grist mill was con- 
verted into a plaster mill as early as 1814, and later was in part fitted 
up for cloth works by John Knowles, jr. ; it was burned about 1826 and 
rebuilt by Mr. Knowles as a cloth and clothing works. 

The parents of Capt. Timothy Brown, who were on their way farther 
west, left him with a family who had settled in Sullivan. In 1819 he 
purchased the farm at Canaseraga subsequently owned by his grand- 
sons, Timothy S., John, Barton and Albert Brown. At the time of the 
purchase the farm was owned by Albert Queenall, a Hollander from 
the Mohawk country. Captain Brown became a leading citizen ; was a 
stockholder in the Seneca Turnpike, a contractor on the Erie Canal, 
and a prominent farmer, becoming before his death a large landowner. 
■ Col. Zebulon Douglass settled in 1796, on the turnpike two and a 
half miles east of Chittenango, where his grandson, Douglass Lewis, 
subsequently lived. He brought in his family in 1797 and became a 
well known and respected citizen. His later purchases made him a 
large land owner. A sketch of his life is given in Part II. 

John Matthews came from Massachusetts, settled half a mile south 
of Bolivar, and about 1810 purchased the grist and saw mills long 
known as Matthews's Mills, a little north of the center of the town ; he 
sold them about 1822 to his brother Samuel; they were subsequently 
burned and not rebuilt. He had six children by his first wife and 
one, Joseph, by his second; they married and settled in that vicinity. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 47 

Philip Daharsh settled at Bolivar and there died. He had a large 
family, but all left the town. Peter Dygart settled in the same local- 
ity with Jacob Schuyler and married his daughter; some members of 
this family left this vicinity and others are dead. Timothy Freeman 
and Martin Vrooman, settled on the turnpike, Freeman two miles 
southwest of Chittenango, and Vrooman between two and three miles 
east of that village. Bradford and Charles Freeman were sons of 
Timothy. 

Capt. Rosel Barnes was the first settler near Bridgeport and built 
the first frame house there, having previously kept a tavern in a log 
building; he subsequently removed to Illinois. The homestead passed 
to Leverett Barnes, his son, who also removed west. Other early set- 
tlers in that locality were a Captain Rector, a militia officer, who re- 
sided at Bridgeport until his death; Robert Carter and his sons, Robert 
and John ; Joseph and Benjamin Hosley, brothers, and others. 

Gideon Owens was the pioneer on the point of the lake shore a little 
east of Bridgeport, which perpetuates his name. Jacob Patrick settled 
before 1800 on the turnpike three-fourths of a mile east of Chittenango, 
on what was long known as the Patrick farm ; it was there that the first 
gypsum was found in the county. John Knowles came from Troy in 
1805 and settled on the plains two miles north of Bridgeport. He be- 
came a prominent citizen, holding the offices of associate judge, mem- 
ber of assembly, etc. John Adams was also from Tro)', coming a little 
earlier than Judge Knowles, and settled two miles south of Bridgeport, 
and later resided at Matthews's Mills, where he died. He was one of 
the early surveyors of this region. 

John Smith came from Massachusetts and settled at Chittenango 
about 1800, where he kept a tavern on the turnpike, just south of the 
creek. The tavern stood a little in rear of the site of the house occu- 
pied in recent years by George Walrath, and is still in existence, but 
unoccupied. Mr. Smith first took up the 200 acres in Chittenango vil- 
lage, which included the water power which ultimately operated the 
grist mill and cotton factory. About 1812 he arranged with Judge 
Jedediah Sanger and Judge Youngs, of Oneida county, to give them 
one-half of this land upon their paying for the whole. Smith was 
bankrupt and the deed was made in the name of his brother Jonathan, 
of New Woodstock. Soon after this arrangement was carried out the 
mills were built. 

Reuben Haight settled a mile north of Chittenango about 1800; later 



48 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

he removed to Michigan. Robert Riddell, from Sherburne, Mass., set- 
tled on the Chittenango about a mile below Bolivar, in 1805, and died 
there in 1808. There was a large family, who remained on the home 
stead until 1811, when they separated, the sons, Robert and David, 
remaining here; they were many years engaged in tanning and curry- 
ing, as noticed further on. Thompson, another son, died in this town. 

John Owen French, from Williamsburg, Mass., settled in 1805 
between Canaseraga and Chittenango, and there died in 1808, leaving 
sons Horatio, Jairus, Samuel and Thomas, all born in Williamsburg, and 
all becoming prominent citizens; they had farms near the homestead, 
and vSamuel was elected sheriff in 1843. David- Burton settled in Can- 
aseraga in 1806. 

John H. Walrath was a native of Minden, Montgomery county, and 
came to this town in 1808 from Rome, having a contract to construct a 
section of the Seneca Turnpike. In the following spring he settled on 
a farm on the west bank of Chittenango Creek, on the site of the foun- 
dry and machine shop, and there resided until his death, September Ifi, 
1816. He was only forty seven years old at the time, but had already 
attained a prominent place in the community, and his family have 
always been conspicuous for their good citizenship. His sons were 
Henry I., John I., Abraham, and Daniel; the latter was father of Peter 
Walrath, now of Chittenango. 

David and Joseph Beebe settled at Canaseraga and the family became 
prominent in that locality. John Lower settled about a mile west of 
Chittenango and died there at an early day. His son Richard was the 
first blacksmith at Chittenango, where he was succeeded by his son, 
Jacob. 

Peter Ehle was a Revolutionary soldier from Montgomery county, and 
settled in the southwest part of the town, where his great-grandson 
lived in late years. He died on that farm and was succeeded by his 
son Henry, born April 13, 1787, and afterwards removed to Chittenango 
and died there in 1870. Oliver Ehle, son of Henry, succeeded to the 
farm and died there in 1863. John P., eldest son of Peter Ehle, settled 
and died on a farm adjoining his father's, and Peter P., another son, 
settled in that locality, but later removed to Fenner, where he died in 
1847. George, another son, long kept the Dixon House in Chittenango, 
and removed later to Cazenovia, where he kept the Lincklaen House. 

Rev. Austin Briggs, a Methodist preacher from Connecticut, settled 
at about the beginning of the war of 1813, on a soldier's right in Man- 



SETTLEMKNT OF TOWNS. 49 

lius, but his title was not good and he soon removed to tlie lake shore 
in this town. Other families among- early settlers were named White, 
Eastwood, Crownhart, Dunham, and others. 

These and other settlers in Sullivan mentioned in Part II and else 
where in these pages, devoted their energies to the development of the 
town and the establishment of its institutions. Religious services in the 
Presbyterian faith were held here at about the beginning of the century 
and on the 11th of Septembsr, 1802, records show that the Bethzura 
Presbyterian Society met at the "house or barn " of Conrad Lower in 
Canaseraga, pursuant to a call of " Phineas Cadwell, a member of the 
Presbyterian congregation on the Genesee road (there being no minis- 
ter, elders, deacons, church warden or vestrymen belonging to the said 
society or congregation"), made August 31, 1803, and there elected 
Ebenezer Caulking and Oliver Clark, returning officers, and Walter 
Brasher, Oliver Clark, Phineas Cadwell, Harmanus Van Antwerp, Eb- 
enezer Caulking, and William Sternbergh, trustees. The first pastor 
of this church, as far as records show, was Rev. Ira M. Olds, who was 
ordained as minister over this society and also the church of Lenox, 
where he continued his labor until 1833. The remnant of this church 
residing in this locality formed the nucleus of a new society, which was 
organized soon afterward, and after a few years of feeble existence sub- 
stantially lost its identity by a partial union with the Reformed Dutch. 
Other early pastors of the church were Rev. Mr. Adams, who removed 
from the lake shore to the village about 1818; Charles Johnson and 
Revs. Huntington and Gazelee. The meetings were held in the so- 
called " Bethel," which was built about 1816 and used for both religious 
and school purposes and occupied a small park in Chittenango village. 
At a later date services were held on the second floor of the woolen 
mill, where Rev. Dr. Yates of the Polytechny, fitted up an apartment. 
This arrangement continued until the erection of the stone Dutch Re- 
formed church in 1828, which is still in use. The Dutch Reformed 
organization was effected January 12, 1838, the Presbyterians uniting, 
as before stated, for the building of an edifice. Baptists, Methodists, 
and Universalists also held meetings in the "Bethel" a number of 
years. Rev. Hutchins Taylor was employed for about a year after the 
organization, when he was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Andrew Yates; other 
early pastors were Revs. William H. Campbell, John C. F. Hoes, James 
Able, S. P. M. Hastings, James R. Talmadge and C. O. Thatcher. The 
Presbyterians withdrew from the Reformed church soon after its organ- 



60 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ization and about 1831 built the church in the village that was subse- 
quently sold to the Baptist society and later to the Catholics; it was 
finally burned. This society had dissension with the Presbytery and in 
1836 was struck from the roll, services were intermittent and the organ- 
ization passed out of existence. 

In the very early years of the century Canaseraga was the most im- 
portant point in town. In 1805 two stores were maintained there, one 
kept by Reuben Hawley (the latter the father of Gen. J. Dean Hawley, 
long a prominent merchant in Syracuse and now employed in the post- 
office in that city), and the other by William Malcolm; they were 
probably the first merchants in that place. At Chittenango there were 
only two taverns, one kept by John Smith, and the other, which be- 
came the Yates House, by Ball & Gary, with two or three dwellings. 
There was not a store in that village until 1813. The mills at Cana- 
seraga were built previous to 1805 in their original form; the present 
mills were not erected until 1855. All this indicates that the principal 
village growth in the town of Sullivan did not take place until after the 
organization of the county and, therefore, will be taken up in later 
chapters. 



CHAPTER V. 

FURTHER TOWN SETTLEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT. 

The territory of the town of Stockbridge was first settled by white 
men almost simultaneously with that of the two towns described in the 
preceding chapter, or about ten years before the opening of the present 
century. The town itself was not erected until May 20, 1836, when it 
was constituted of parts of Vernon and Augusta in Oneida county, and 
Smithfield and Lenox in Madison county. Its name perpetuates that 
of the Stockbridge Indians who formerly occupied its territory. The 
town is situated on the eastern border of the county just north of the 
center and is bounded on the north by Lenox and Vernon, on the east 
by Vernon and Augusta, on the south by Eaton and Madison, and on 
the west by Lenox and Smithfield. Its surface is a rolling upland, 
through which extends the deep, fertile and picturesque valley of 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 51 

Oneida Creek, extending north and south. The creek is bordered by 
two ranges of hills which rise from 500 to 800 feet above the stream, 
which have gradual slopes and are tillable to their summits. The 
course of the valley through this town has an average width of nearly a 
mile, but expands in the north part into the broad plain extending 
away to the north section of Lenox. Oneida Creek has its rise in the 
town of Smithfield, flows across that town from northwest to southeast 
and enters Stockbridge in the southwest part, joining the other branch 
of the creek south of the center of the town. The main branch is 
characterized by a succession of rapids and falls and furnishes numer- 
ous mill sites, as well as contributing to create scenery that is unsur- 
passed for quiet beauty. 

This town has extensive deposits of limestone and gypsum, both of 
which are quarried and burned or used in building. The gypsum is 
situated in the eastern hill range in the north part of the town, in the 
vicinity of Valley Mills, while the limestene is found in both hill ranges 
in the central and southern parts. The limestone rock contains a num- 
ber of somewhat remarkable caves, some of which have not been fully 
explored. Many statements have been published regarding the dis- 
covery of footprints of men and animals in the rock which forms the 
bed of a small stream which finds its waj' down the east hill a little way 
northeast of Munnsville. They are in fact due to the action of water, 
according to excellent authority, as proven by the existence near by of 
some of the characteristic fossils of the limestone formation. 

The soil of Stockbridge is generally a gravelly and cla3'ey loam, well 
adapted to hop-growing and mixed crops, and to grazing. The tract 
of land which constituted the home of the Stockbridge Indians was six 
miles square and laj' partly in this town and partly in Vernon ; it was 
purchased by them in 1784 and subsequently passed in parcels to the 
State. The last of these Indians left here in 1834, previous to which 
time they had adopted many civilized customs, both in their material 
and social practices. They learned enough of agriculture to success- 
fully till the ground, so that although most of the town was not open 
to settlement until a comparatively late date, much of it had been re- 
claimed from its primeval condition. The work of Rev. John Sergeant 
among these Indians was prolific of good, and as early as 1800 he had 
established and built a church which stood at Valley Mills for nearly a 
century. Many relics of the three Indian nations who inhabited this 
region, the Oneidas, the Tuscaroras, and the Stockbridges, have been 



53 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

found in this vicinity, some of which are of deep interest through the 
probability that they belonged to a race that preceded the Indians. 
The remains of what was supposed to have been a fort were early found 
on the west hill in the southwest part of the town, and several supposed 
Indian burial grounds have been discovered, all of which were once 
rich in relics. 

The whole of this town, excepting a strip about a mile wide on the 
south side, was included in the original Indian Reservation, and the 
first permanent white settlements were confined to lots in this strip and 
east of Oneida Creek. The remainder of the town was not settled 
until a much later date and the lots in the reservation were first occu- 
pied under leases from the Indians. 

The first settlement was made in 1791 and is credited to Nathan 
Edson, who came from New Hampshire with his sons, John, Barney 
and Calvin, and daughters Nancy, Sarah, Polly and Olive, the first 
named daughter being the wife of Robert Seaver, who also came in at 
that time. Nathan Edson took up the lot next north of the south- 
east corner lot of the town. In 1820 he removed to a small farm 
which he leased from the Indians in the north part and there re- 
sided until his death. All of his children married and settled on 
the lot first taken up by him; John in the northeast corner, and 
in 1806 removed to near Batavia, Whither he was soon followed by 
Barney. Alford, another son of Nathan's, came in soon after his father 
and located on the same lot, subsequently removing to the south part 
of the town and still later to another farm which he leased from the 
Indians; this was the former homestead of John True. Robert vSeaver 
removed to Genesee county. Sarah married William Divine, and Polly 
married his brother John. William Divine kept a tavern a short time 
on that lot, and afterwards moved to the western part of the State. 
John Divine, whose marriage was the first one in the town, died a few 
years later of consumption ; his widow married Daniel Thurston who 
succeeded to the same farm. Olive Edson married Zenas Cole who 
bought Calvin Edson's farm, and afterwards removed to Cincinnati. 
Willard Edson, a resident of Munnsville in recent years was a son of 
Alford and the last one of the family left in the town. 

Oliver Stewart moved into Stockbridge about 1796 and settled on the 
lot west of Edson, where William Howard lived in recent years, and 
resided there until his death. His daughter Lydia married as the sec- 
ond wife of Alford Edson, and he had sons, Charles, Samuel, Ezra J., 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 53 

Enos, and four daughters besides Lydia. All of the children first 
settled in this town, but none of the family is now left. The home- 
stead passed to a daughter of Charles Stewart who married William 
Babcock. Charles Stewart held several town offices. 

Jonathan Snow was a pioneer from the same neighborhood as Edson 
and came in soon after him, settling on the southeast corner lot of the 
town. His children were Oliver, and a daughter who married her 
cousin, Seth Snow, and lived near the homestead. None of the family 
remains in this vicinity. 

William Sloan, George Bridge and James Taft were from Washing- 
ton county, this State. .Sloan located on the south part of the Edson 
lot, which he purchased from a Mr. Gillett who bought it of Edson ; it 
was occupied in recent years by Andrew Hollenbeck. Sloan subse- 
quently went to live with his son Lyman in the edge of Smithfield and 
there died. His son William was a prominent citizen of Smithfield and 
held a number of town offices. Other children of the elder William 
Sloan were Josephus, the eldest, Abigail, Olive, John, Orange and 
Betsey. Abigail married Amos Bridge and Olive married William 
Farrington. 

George Bridge bought of Daniel Dickey the farm of Alford Edson, 
who had sold it to Dickey about 1797. Bridge resided there until his 
death and had five sons and two daughters. Two of his sons, Amos 
and Jonas, settled early in the north part of Eaton, and Jesse succeeded 
to the homestead, but subsequently removed to Bouckville. William 
Bridge remained a resident of Stockbridge and died January 37, 1877. 

James Taft purchased a small farm of Oliver Stewart, but soon left 
the town. 

Benjamin House was a pioneer from Connecticut and settled in the 
south part of the town where James Marshall subsequently lived. He 
was succeeded there by his son, Almyron. His daughter. Temperance, 
married Joseph Crosby, son of Stephen Crosby, and they resided on a 
part of the Crosby farm. None of the family remains in the town. 

Matthew Rankin settled early on a part of the Jonathan Snow lot, 
before mentioned, and there died. His sons, Aaron and Jairus, settled 
on the same lot west of Snow. Aaron subsequently went west. Jairus 
was a physician and the first to settle permanently in the town. He 
practiced in his profession at Munnsville until his death, which took place 
November 2, 1832, at the age of fifty years. He was a skillful phy- 
sician and much respected in every way. He also built the first saw mill 
at Munnsville in 1824. 



54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Among other early settlers, the date of whose arrival is not at hand, 
were Benjamin House, John Gasten, Waterman Simonds, Austin Car- 
ver, David Wood, on West Hill ; James Cook at Knoxville ; Anson Stone, 
William Powers, Philander Powers, Chauncey Beach, Isaac Richmond, 
Thaddeus and Lebbeus Camp, Philip Freeman, and others. Owing to 
causes before mentioned a large part of this town was not permanently 
settled until after the erection of the county, and will, therefore, be 
left for notice in a later chapter. 

The first town meeting was held at Munnsville, June 7, 1836, and the 
following officers elected: Henry T. Sumner, supervisor; Hiram Whe- 
don, clerk; Orin Wright, justice; Elisha A. Clark, William Page and 
James Cowen, assessors ; John Hadcock and Thomas Wilson, poormas- 
ters; Jesse Bridge, Luther Hathaway and John Potter, commissioners 
of highways; Orange R. Cook, Danforth Armour and Albert G. Bar- 
tholomew, school commissioners; William Temple, collector; William 
Temple, Levi Johnson and Jonathan Carter, constables; Aaron Rankin, 
Ores Ranney and Ephraim C. Brown, school inspectors; Clark Buck, 
sealer of weights and measures. 

Next in the order of settlement of the towns that were in existence 
at the date of the formation of Madison county was Hamilton, which 
was elected from Paris March 5, 1795, and named in honor of Alexan- 
der Hamilton, the distinguished statesman. The town originally in- 
cluded what are now the towns of Eaton, Lebanon and Madison, or 
their equivalent, lots Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the Twenty Townships. It 
was reduced to its present area in February, 1807, by the formation of 
the three towns above named. It is situated on the southern boundary 
of the county, east of the center. Its surface is a rolling upland, 
broken by the valleys of the Chenango River and its eastern branch. 
The former flows southerly near the west boundary of the town, and 
the latter crosses the town from northeast to southwest and unites with 
the main stream at Earlville. Numerous small tributaries of these 
streams water and drain the town. The existence throughout this 
town of the Hamilton group of rocks has been elsewhere described. 
This stone has been extensively quarried in the past years, and nearly 
all of the University buildings and many other structures in Hamilton 
village were erected from it. The soil of the town is rich and produc- 
tive in the valleys, and composed of sandy and gravelly loam ; on the 
hills a clayey loam prevails which is admirably adapted for grazing and 
the production of hay. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 55 

The Oneida and Stockbridge Indians found the territory of this town 
a favorite resort and regularly visited it as late as the close of the war 
of 1812, their southern trail extending through the western part. Many 
interesting and valuable Indian relics have been found in the town. 

Hamilton was one of the six townships patented to Col. William S. 
Smith, as described in an earlier chapter, on April 16, 1794. Town- 
ships 3, 3, 4 and 5 which formed the original great town of Hamilton, 
were soon transferred to Sir William Pultney, from whom Dominick 
Lynch, a New York merchant, who became a large land owner in and 
around Rome village, purchased the greater part of the 4th township, 
which included the territory of the present town of Hamilton, and it 
was surveyed for purchasers. 

The first settlement in this town was made in the spring of 1792, on 
the east branch of the Chenango, near the site of Earlville, by John 
Wells, Abner Nash, Patrick W. Shields and John Muir, who came to- 
gether from Paris, Oneida county, driving a yoke of oxen, two cows 
and two hogs. Wells and Nash had made a snow-shoe trip to that lo- 
cality earlier in the year, selected a location and built a log cabin. 
These two were originally from Amherst, Mass., while Shields and 
Muir were native Scotchmen. Mr. Wells brought in his wife and in- 
fant son and their route was defined only by marked trees. The cross- 
ing of the stream was made at the site of Hubbardsville with great 
difficulty, as it was swollen with recent rains. Mr. Wells settled on the 
east side of the river about midway between the sites of Poolville and 
Earlville. He immediately began keeping a tavern for the accommo- 
dation of the numerous persons who were passing by in quest of new 
homes ; it was on his land also that the first store was kept by Israel 
Church. Mr. Wells died on his farm December 26, 1831. Their son 
William, the infant brought in with them, died in September, 1830. 
Henry, another son, was the first white child born in town — 1793 — and 
died in 1837. The other children were Jerry, Daniel, Alonzo, Horatio, 
Betsey and Caroline. 

Abner Nash, who with Shields and Muir, settled on farms near that 
of Mr. Wells, died in Earlville in 1837. His son, Horace, born in 
Hamilton in 1794, was the second white child born in the town. Shields 
was a British soldier in the Revolutionary war. Muir died in Hamil- 
ton in 1823, and had children, James, father of Harriet and John; and 
David, father of Mrs. Albert Plumb. 

Reuben Ransom became a settler in 1793, and died April 12, 1818. 



56 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

One of the most prominent of the pioneer families of this town was 
that of Samuel Payne and his descendants. He was a native of Leb- 
anon, Conn., born in 1760, and descended from Elisha who, with his 
brother, landed at Plymouth in 1631. It was probably in 1794: that 
Samuel Payne, with his father Abram, settled on lot 19, his farm includ- 
ing the site of the University. His home was half a mile south of the 
village and there he resided until his death, August 19, 1843, aged 
eighty-three years. He married Betsey Slower, daughter of a Con- 
necticut physician, and a woman of superior education and refinement. 
She died in Hamilton January 1, 1859; they had no children. Samuel 
Payne was a man of exceptional mental endowments and of the highest 
character. He was the founder of the First Baptist Church of Hamil- 
ton, as noticed further on. He represented Chenango county in the 
Assembly in 1806 ; was a presidential elector in 1832, and received the 
appointment of judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a man 
of broad benevolence and before his death willed his farm to the Bap- 
tist Educational Society as a site for their seminary which developed 
into the present University. The father, Abram Payne, did not take 
up lands, but resided with his sons until his death in 1801. 

Elisha Payne, brother of Samuel, settled in this town in the next 
year, 1795, and purchased lot No. 3, which included the site of more 
than half of the village of Hamilton, which was in early years called 
Payne Settlement, the name being changed by Mr. Payne himself. 
When he arrived at his new home he built a log cabin on the site of 
the later Smith block, which he occupied a short time. Settlers were 
coming in rapidly and needed public accommodations and Mr. Payne 
soon erected a commodious frame house in which he kept tavern until 
another building was erected for the purpose in 1812. Mr. Payne fore- 
saw the importance of the place and was earnest in his efforts for the 
founding of a prosperous village. To a number of mechanics and oth- 
ers whose presence promised to aid in the advancement of the village 
he gave lands outright and helped them in building their dwellings. 
He gave the land for the park which adds so much to the beauty of the 
place; also land for burial purposes where the " old burying ground " 
was established. He invested largely in the Cherry Valley Turnpike, 
which passed through this town, aided in founding the academy and 
was one of the committee selected to choose a site for the Baptist Sem- 
inary, which he brought to Hamilton. He was one of the first judges 
of the Court of Common Pleas in Madison county and held the office 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 57 

about nine years, and occupied other positions of honor. He died 
February 4, 1843. His son, Charles Clark Payne, was the only one of 
his children to remain in Hamilton. It was at Elisha Payne's house 
that the first town meeting for Hamilton was held on the first Tuesday 
in April, 1795. 

Theophilus and Benjamin Pierce were brothei'S and natives of Corn- 
wall, Conn. They moved from Canaan, Columbia county, in 1794, to 
this town and purchased of Dominick Lynch lots 19 and 20, the two 
most westerly lots in the second tier of the 4th township. The farm of 
Theophilus passed to his son, Dea. Alvah Pierce. The consideration 
in this purchase was "^500 current money of the State of New York." 
In the year named they built a log house and in the winter of 1795 
brought in their families, accompanied by Jonathan Olmstead, Daniel 
Smith, Joseph Foster, James Cady, and Elisha Payne, all of whom were 
from the same locality and all married excepting Cady. Stopping for 
a time in the house of Samuel Payne, they all went to work and in a 
short time had log cabins of their own, Theophilus Pierce had five 
children, three of whom — William, Lucindaand Alanson — were brought 
to the town by the parents, and two — Sally and Alvah — were born in 
Hamilton. William married a sister of James Cady and settled on a 
part of his father's farm, and died there May 31, 1836. Lucinda mar- 
ried Nehemiah Pierce, who came from Cornwall about 1805 and they 
settled about three miles southeast of Hamilton village. Alanson set- 
tled and died in Westmoreland. Sally married Harvey Miles, of 
Lebanon, who died there in 1840, without children. Alvah married 
Caroline Whitmore, of Lebanon, and he went there to reside, but was 
three years in Fabius in milling business, and also was engaged in mer- 
cantile business in Hamilton from 1839 to 1844, in company with Arte- 
mas Osgood and William Cobb. He was also vice president of the 
Hamilton Bank from its organization until the death of the president, 
Adon Smith, when he was chosen to that position. 

Benjamin Pierce, brother of Theophilus and before mentioned, married 
Anna, sister of Jonathan Olmstead, the pioneer, and had eight children, 
four of whom were born in Hamilton. Benjamin died on the farm 
where he settled June 7, 1817. He held the office of justice of the 
peace several years and was much respected. His son Samuel settled 
in Hamilton village and at one period kept the Park House. Jonathan 
O., son of Benjamin, married a daughter of Uea. Samuel Osgood, of 
Eaton, and settled on the home farm, removing subsequently to the 
village, where he died in 1848. 



58 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

William Pierce, son of Theophilus, and Josiah and Medad Rogers, 
built, about 1810, the first grist and saw mills in Hamilton village and 
owned the property many years. 

Jonathan Olmstead settled on a farm adjoining Samuel Payne's where 
he resided many years and finally removed to the village and died there. 
His second wife was the widow of Dr. Bartholomew, of Waterville, and 
his third wife was her sister and the widow of Dr. Hull, of Eaton. 
Jonathan Olmstead's sister married Daniel Smith, who settled a short 
distance below Mr. Olmstead and resided there until his death, June 3, 
1836. 

Joseph Foster came from Wethersfield, Conn., and settled about a 
mile east of Hamilton, on the farm occupied in recent years by J. 
Spencer Foster, his grandson. He died there October 17, 1810, at the 
age of seventy-five years. His son, Nathan, came into the town in 1794 
and settled on a farm adjoining his father's on the west, but subse- 
quently removed to Ohio and sold the farm to his brother Joseph. 

William Pierce, a brother of Theophilus and Benjamin, came in a 
little later than his brothers and settled east of Hamilton village, where 
Charles Underbill recently lived. He died on that place. 

David Dunbar was a native of Charlton, Mass., where he was born in 
1774, and settled in Hamilton in 1795. He made the journey on foot 
and on his way stopped at Albany and made a bargain with Dominick 
Lyncl; under which Dunbar was to re-survey the town of Hamilton into 
lots of 250 acres; he did the work in the eastern part of the town. He 
settled first on lot 36 and subsequently on lot 28, at Hubbardsville, 
where he built a grist mill and saw mill, and the little settlement at 
that point became known as Dunbar's Mills, until the settlement of 
Calvin Hubbard, when the place took his name. Mr. Dunbar operated 
the mills until about 1850 and was also an extensive farmer. The mill 
property and farm passed to his son, James H., and the father retired 
to a small place in Hubbardsville and died in November, 1856. 

The first settlement was made on the site of Earlville as early as 1795 
by Col. Bigelow Waters and Charles Otis. The former located in the 
southern part of the town and the latter on the village site. Mr. Otis's 
house was on the site of the present Sawdy House, where Brown's Ho- 
tel stood that was burned in the great fire. 

The vicinity of East Hamilton was known in early years as "Colches- 
ter," from the fact that many of the pioneers were from Colchester, 
Mass. Settlement began there as early as 1796 by Reuben Foote. Ezra 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 59 

Fuller, George Bigsby, James Williams and Samuel Slower settled in 
the town in 1797 or before, and William Hatch, Calvin Ackley, and the 
Nash family as early as 1799. Stephen and Daniel Brainard were also 
pioneers. Calvin Ackley had a numerous family, and his brothers, Eli 
and Rodney, were among the early settlers. James Williams settled at 
Poolville, where he died in 18-10. Samuel Stower was from Connecti- 
cut and located on eighty acres on Broad street a little below the park 
in Hamilton village, where he died in 1820. William Hatch settled in 
what became the southern part of Hamilton village on the farm recently 
owned by Alvah Hopkins, and there kept a tavern ; in later years he 
kept a tavern in Cazenovia and died there. Elijah, Zenas and Thomas 
Nash were from Plainfield, Otsego county, and settled near Poolville in 
the south part of the town and left many descendants in the town. 

The two Brainards, before mentioned, were cousins and came in with 
Calvin Ackley, Ezra Fuller and George Bigsby, and built, on the Stephen 
Brainard farm, where William O. Clark now resides, a log cabin which 
they occupied until each had one finished for himself. Brainard was the 
only one who was married and in the following winter brought in his 
wife on an ox sled. 

Ebenezer Colson was an early settler near the site of Poolville, and 
came in soon after the beginning of the century, locating on the farm 
subsequently owned by Porter Swift and now by R. Hunt, where he 
died in 1856. Roswell, Lucas and another Craine, three brothers, set- 
tled in that vicinity, and William Lord located about 1810 a mile east 
of the village site. 

Dan Throop was an early settler, a native of Lebanon, Conn. An- 
drew Beach, came from Canaan, Columbia county, soon after 1800; he 
was a young unmarried man and settled on a farm that was occupied in 
later years by F. H. Ingalls and still owned b}^ him. In 1806 he built 
a tannery which was operated many years. 

These were the sturdy pioneers who, with their immediate descend- 
ants, subdued the wilderness in this town, founded their homes and 
gradually surrounded themselves with the comforts of civilization. 
Doubtless there were others who shared prominently in the work of 
early times, the records of whose careers are given, in many instances, 
in Part H. of this work. In the town records, now unfortunately 
destroyed, appeared the names of many settlers, most of whom held 
local office of some kind, which have been compiled and are here inserted 
for their value for reference and as an addition to those preceding: 



60 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1796.— Samuel Felt, Asahel Fitch, Noah Tyler, Samuel Brigham, 
John Stanclift, Richard Williams, Thomas Hart, Lucius Scott, Elihu 
Cross, Elijah Thompson, Samuel Curtis, Jonathan Brigham, John Mc- 
Cartney, William Brown. 

1797. — Daniel Hubbard, Amos Muzzey, James White, Ephraim 
Clough, George Brown, Simeon Stewart, Zopher Moore, Roswell Tyler, 
vSylvanus Palmelee, Darren Hall, Isaac Douglass, Hezekiah Andrus, 
John B. Berry, Elijah Bond, Samuel Lillie, Daniel Smith, Lyman 
Cook, Rawson Hammond, Jason Fargo, Israel Inman, Amos Graves. 

1798. — Jonathan Stephens, Jonathan Pratt, Oliver Gillet, Daniel 
Russell, John Marble, jr., Abijah Markham, jr., John Pattison, Samuel 
Watson, Enoch Hitchcock, Freeman Williams, John Brown, Seth 
Johnson, Josiah Rice, Samuel Woods, Augustus Corey, JohnT. Burton, 
Prince Spooner, Uriah Cross, Benjamin I. Haight, Borden Willcox, 
John St. Clair, Samuel Brownell, John W. Bulkley, Isaac Skinner, 
Warren Hull, John White. 

1799. — John Gray, Joseph Manchester, Nehemiah Thompson, Thomas 
Woodward, Zephaniah White, Ebenezer Ransom, Cyrus Finney, Robert 
Avery, Archibald Salsberry, William Ward, Elijah Brainard, Jeremiah 
Weeden, Job Manchester, Sprague Perkins, Datiiel Holbrook, James 
Jones, William Henry, Rufus Shepherd, Joseph French, Constant 
Avery, John Benedict, Joseph Head, Thomas Dibble, Abraham Hem- 
inway, Abizar Richmond, John " Keneda. " 

1800. — Ebenezer Rawson, Rufus Eldred, Josiah Hubbard, Stephen 
Woodhull, Elisha Pratt, Cyrus Howard, Nathaniel Rider, Benjamin 
Wentworth, Asa Finney, Eli Hull, Robert Avery, Levi Bonney, John 
Sanford, Charles Smith, William Sanford, Freeman Billings, Samuel 
Ackley, William P. Cleveland, Stuart Campbell, Russell Barker, Au- 
gustus I. Corey, Reuben Brigham, Apollos Drake, Thomas Buel, 
Noadiah Hastings, Edward Hull, Windsor Coman, Joseph Waters, Job 
Peckham, Abijah Harrington, Joseph B. Peck, David Williams, Samuel 
Roe, Joseph Fairbanks, " Jeirah " Finney, Judah Stowel, Aaron Wil- 
cox, Chauncey Isham, Daniel Hatch, Samuel Watson. 

1801. — Joseph Adams, James Hitchcock, Abijah Parker, Josiah 
Brown, Asa Pease, jr., Dunham Shapley, Joseph Usher, Josiah Jewet, 
Thomas Galloway, Eleazar Snow, Gardner Wyman, Ezra Chase, Mica- 
jah Chase, Jacob Thompson, Enos Gifford, John Douglass, Israel 
Church, Ebenezer Hill, Elisha Fuller, Rawson Hermon, Joel Gray, 
Levi Morton, William Henderson, Joseph Bennet, Jehiel Felt, Jehiel 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 61 

Wattles, Allen Campbell, Martin Roberts, Daniel Allen, Ziba Coman, 
William Randal, John Packhard, John Blanchard, jr., David Sexton, 
Bethiel Willonghby, Thomas West, jr., Thomas Anderson, John Cham- 
bers, Richard Butler, Sylvester Fuller, Moses Maynard. 

1802. — Obed Edson, Dan Ladd, Dan Ballard, George Peckham, Isaac 
Chauncey, Amos Burton, Timothy Rogers, Josiah Brown, Abraham 
Webster, Philan Wilcox, Israel Rice, John Burton, Robinson Shepherd, 
Joseph Crandal, John Fairlee, Jeremiah Babcock, Theo. Hardin, 
Elijah Utter, Thomas Morris, Josiah Wilcox, Samuel White, Daniel 
Nichols, Charles Peckham, Asahel Sexton, Green Bixby, Jonas Wood, 
Eleazar Isbell, William Hopkins, Alford Cornell, Martin Roberts, 
David Stall, John Waggoner, Luther Herrick, Samuel Coman, Leonard 
Pemberton, Samuel Coe, Silas Walker, Joseph Putney, Abijah Morgan, 
George Bixby, Jeremiah Mack, Thomas Anderson, Jonathan Dunham, 
Philip Mathewson, Jonathan Crouch, Loring Pierce. 

1803. — Ithamer Smith, Lucas Peet, Joseph Partridge, Thomas Mor- 
ton, Silas Soddy (Sawdey), Gailed Stephens, Micazor Claus{or Cloyes), 
Philip Woodman, William Raxford, jr., Levi Bonney, 1st, (Samuel 
Perry, Job Peckham, William Hustins, William Torrey, Angel Mathew- 
son, Patriot Pebbles, Samuel Howard, John Staples, Joseph Curtis, 
George McKeene, Thomas Leach, Ichabod Wheeler, Levi Bonney, 3d, 
Elisha Herrick, Jonathan Stephens, John Webster, Richard Homes, 
John De Groat, Samuel Brigham, John Graham, Aruna Moseley, Walter 
Parmore, Dane Ballard, Alford Corn well.' 

The first town meeting for Hamilton was held at the house of Elisha 
Payne on the first Tuesday in April, 1795, when the following ofificers 
were chosen: Joshua Leland, supervisor; Elijah Blodgett, clerk; Sam- 
uel demons, Samuel Berry, Simeon Gillett, jr., Luther Waterman and 
Elisha Payne, assessors; James CoUister, David Hartshorn, John Bar- 
ber and Elijah Hayden, constables and collectors; Joshua Smith and 
William McCrellis, poormasters; Josiah Brown, Samuel Payne and 
Ephraim Blodgett, commissioners of highways; vStephen F. Blackstone, 
William McClanathan, John H. Morris, Isaac Amedown, Samuel 
Brownell, Augustus W. Bingham, Bigelow Waters, Abner Nash, Na- 
thaniel Collins and Theophilus Pierce, pathmasters; Nicanor Brown, 
Samuel Sincler (St. Clair), Benjamin Pierce and David Felt, fence- 
viewers; Henry W. Bond, poundkeeper. 

' In the spelling of these names the records have been followed, though it is in many instan- 
ces probably erroneous. 



62 , OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The first school commissioners were elected in 1706, as follows: 
Samuel Payne, Elijah Blodgett and Luther Waterman. Under the act 
of the Legislature establishing the common school system, passed in 
1812, the following persons were chosen commissioners : John Kennedy, 
Daniel A. Brainard and Reuben Ransom ; at the same time Roswell 
Craine, Abraham Payne, Erastus Daniels and Nathaniel Stacy were 
chosen inspectors of common schools. 

The following election return of 1799 is of interest as showing ap- 
proximately the voting population of the town at that time: 

For Moses Kent for Senator, 295 

" Joseph White, " 391 

" Nathaniel King, " 10 

" Peter B. Garnsey, " 9 

" Joshua Leland, " 1 

' ' Nathaniel King for Assemblyman, 302 



Peter B. Garnsey, 
Joshua Leland, 
Jonathan Forman, 
James Clover, 
Moses Kent, 
Joseph White, 



.357 
. 33 
. 8 
. 4 
. 8 
. 8 



Among the pioneers of Hamilton were many Baptists and religious 
services in that faith were held regularly after June, 179C. On No- 
vember 16 of that year the First Baptist Church of Hamilton was or- 
ganized with seven members, ainong whom was Samuel Payne, who 
was conspicuous in the work. For a few years after its organization 
the church was ministered to by Elders Root, Butler, Salmon, Morton, 
and others, who resided in the vicinity or were frecjuently present as 
missionaries. The meetings in early years were held in school houses 
or dwellings, some of them in the towns of Lebanon, Madison and 
Sherburne, which were then in Hamilton. The first church building 
was erected in 1801, which was also the first one in the town; it stood 
in the center of the village at the north end of the park, and cost be- 
tween $3,000 and $4,000. It was burned on the morning of December 
31, 1808, and was immediately succeeded by another, which was dedi- 
cated November 13, 1809 ; this building stood near the site of the Eagle 
Hotel and was occupied until the present one was erected in 1843. In 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 63 

1816 twenty-four members of this society left it to form a church in 
Eaton.' R. C. Savage is the present pastor. 

Two church societies were organized at Earlville in the year 1803. 
These were the first Baptist Church in vSherburne (which places it, of 
course, in Chenango county), and the Methodist Episcopal Church of 
Earlville. The first named society was formed June 2-4 with fifteen 
members, at the house of John Benton. Previous to the organization 
meetings had been held at the houses of John Muir, H. Finn, Jonathan 
Pettit, and in the school house near Sherburne. The first house of 
worship was erected on the hill east of Earlville in 1818; the second 
one, in Earlville, in 1835. The Methodists formed as a class at the 
house of Joseph Crandall, a little north from Earlville on the road to 
Poolville. There were only seven or eight members, and Rev. Charles 
Giles was the first pastor. The organization of the church society took 
place at the house of Elam Felt January !), 1815, when the trustees 
elected were Elam Felt, Noah Hall and Asa Felt. Efforts were at once 
begun to raise money with which to build a meeting house, and in 1816 
the first Methodist house of worship in the town of Hamilton was 
erected in Earlville, at a cost of about $1,100. This building, small 
and poorly furnished as it was, was occupied until 1838, when a new 
one was erected; this was extensively repaired and improved in 1871, 
when about $5,000 was expended upon it. In its early history Earl- 
ville was included in the Hamilton Circuit. In 1835 the Oneida Con- 
ference made it a station, with Rev. Barlow W. Gorham, in charge. 
No other Methodist church was organized in Hamilton until after the 
formation of Madison county. 

What was at first known as the Second Congregational Society of 
Hamilton was incorporated September 24, 1798, on which occasion 
" the inhabitants of that part of the town of Hamilton . . . known 
and distinguished by the appellation of Colchester Society," met and 
elected Jonathan Stephens, Richard Butler, Lucius Scott, Reuben Foot, 
Isaac Skinner and Jared T. Hooker, trustees. A meeting house was 
built at Hamilton Center in the year 1800 for the First Congregational 

^ The Second Baptist Church in Hamilton was organized in 1819 by a number of members 
from the First Church, and in the same year joined the Madison .A-Ssociation, reporting forty 
members. The society was reorganized by a council April 15, ISIT. Up to the year 1834 the 
meetings were held mostly in school houses, under pastoral labor of Robert Powell, Elders Caleb 
Read, Simon Minor, and Rev. I. H. Walden. In 1835 a church was built a mile southeast of Pool- 
ville. From that time to about 1841 the church was without a regular minister, but Rev, S. P. 
Way was called and served four years. Since that time there have been numerous changes m 
the ministry. 



64 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Church of Hamilton, as the organization became known, in which the 
congregation worshiped many years. This church long ago ceased to 
exist, and the meeting house was removed to Poolville in 1842, where 
it was used a number of years for town purposes and was finally trans- 
formed into two dwellings. The other churches of this town were or- 
ganized after the formation of the county and are, therefore, left for a 
later chapter. 

Mercantile operations to supply the little community with household 
necessities began early in Hamilton. Charles Clark and Joseph Col- 
well, who came in about 1803 and boarded for a time with Elisha Payne, 
whose settlement has been described, each opened a store. Mr. Clark's 
stood on the lot next south of the Adon Smith residence, and Colwell's 
on the corner of what are now Broad and Lebanon streets. After 
about 1805 Clark was associated with James Dorrance for a time and 
later, until 1816, Charles T. Deering traded in that store. 

Thomas Greenly located in Hamilton in 1796 as the first physician 
and in the following January brought in his wife and child. Peter B 
Havens was the next physician in the village and practiced until about 
1800. Nathaniel King, a prominent citizen, was the first lawyer in 
Hamilton, settling in 1797; he held many public oflSces. Thomas Hill 
Hubbard, another prominent lawj'er and citizen, settled at the village 
in 1804-5. By the year 1806 the little settlement that was to develop 
into Hamilton village, had become quite active as a business center. 
The Park Hotel, erected soon after 1800 by Artemas Howard, was be- 
coming a well-known public house, with a long and popular career be- 
fore it; the few stores were attracting customers from a wide extent of 
territory ; lawyers and doctors were there ; preparations were in progress 
for the early erection of mills, and the number of comfortable homes 
was rapidly increasing. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 65 



CHAPTER VI. 
TOW.V FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT CONTINUED. 

Of the two other towns organized previous to the formation of the 
county, the first settlement of which has not yet been described, Caz- 
enovia is the more important. The other one is De Ruyter, and both 
were first settled in the same year. The town of Cazenovia originall}' 
included territory nearly as great in area as the present Madison county. 
It was erected from Whitestown and Paris on March 5, 1795, two years 
after the first setttlers located within its limits, and then included the 
territory of the present towns of De Ruyter, Georgetown, German, 
Lincklaen, Otselic, Pitcher, Sullivan, Lenox and Smithfield, the latter 
including parts of the towns of Fenner, Stockbridge and Nelson. The 
southern and larger part of the town was originally the north part of 
the Gore, described in an earlier chapter, which extended along the 
west side of the Twenty Townships; hence the town has a length from 
north to south of about fourteen miles, while its width is only five and 
a third miles at its widest point. 

Cazenovia is centrally situated on the west border of the county and 
is bounded on the north by Sullivan, on the east by Fenner and Nelson, 
on the south by De Ruyter, and on the west by Onondaga county. The 
surface of the town is varied and picturesque, consisting of a rolling 
upland, broken by the deep and rugged valleys of Chittenango and 
Limestone Creeks. The former enters this town near the center of the 
east border, flows in a westerly direction to the central part, where it 
turns with a wide sweep to the northward, in the latter part of the 
course forming the eastern boundary of the town for a considerable dis- 
tance and receiving the waters of Cazenovia Lake. At Chittenango 
Falls in the north part of the town the waters of this creek have a 
descent of 136 feet and through its course have a fall of several hundred 
feet, furnishing large and valuable water power at many points. The 
creek is a feeder for the Erie Canal, to which purpose it was devoted 
in 1840. Cazenovia Lake is one of the many minor beautiful inland 
s 



66 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

bodies of water in the State. It is situated in the north part of the 
town. It is four and a half miles long and from half a mile to a mile 
in width and is 900 feet above tidewater. Its waters are exceptionally 
pure and the surrounding scenery in a high degree attractive. 

The town is mainly underlaid with the rocks of the Hamilton group, 
but the Ithaca group comes to the surface in the southeast part and the 
Onondaga limestone in the northeast part. The limestone is exten- 
sively quarried in the vicinity of Chittenango Falls and makes a good 
quality of lime. In the northern and central parts the soil is gravelly 
loam, while in the southern part a clayey loam prevails, underlaid with 
hardpan. 

That part of Cazenovia lying within the Gore, with the other towns 
in that tract, and the town of Nelson, constituted a purchase made by 
the celebrated Holland Land Company in Madison and Chenango coun- 
ties. This company, which had no legal corporate existence, was what 
would be called a "syndicate" in these later days, and was made up of 
a number of wealthy citizens of Amsterdam, Holland, who associated 
together for the purpose of dealing in American lands. Theophilus 
Cazenove was the first agent in this country of the company, and con- 
tinued in that position until 1799, when he was succeeded by Paul Busti. 
The famous Holland Purchase in the western part of the State consti- 
tuted a part of the investment of this company. In the records of Caz- 
enovia village is preserved a valuable letter writter by Maj. Samuel S. 
Forman, under date of Syracuse, November 20, 1851, and addressed to 
the trustees of Cazenovia village in acknowledgment of the naming of 
a village street after him. The letter has been several times published, 
but no work upon this town would be complete without it. Mr. For- 
man wrote as follows: 

" In the winter of 1792-3, I became acquainted in Philadelphia with 
Theophilus Cazenove, Esq., and John Lincklaen, Esq., both from Am- 
sterdam, in Holland. Mr. Lincklaen, and Mr. Boon, of Rotterdam, in 
Holland (in connection with the great Holland Company), were anxious 
to embark in wild lands. They set out on a tour for that purpose and 
came up to old Fort Schuyler (now Utica), there they separated. Mr. 
Boon went northerly to view the lands twelve miles from Utica, and 
afterwards purchased 60,000 acres, and laid out a village, calling it 
Oldenbarnveldt, in honor to a great Dutch character of that name — now 
the village is called Trenton. Mr. Boon returned home and the late 
venerable and venerated Col. Mappa succeeded him in the agency. Mr. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 67 

Lincklaen took a westerly direction from Utica and viewed the ' Road 
Township" (now Cazenovia), and Township No. 1, now called Nelson, 
likewise the gore, now called De Ruyter, Lincklaen, Pitcher and 
Brakel, containing altogether 120,000 acres. Mr. Lincklaen informed 
me that he had hired two hardy men to accompany him to explore his 
purchase and that they were eleven days in the wilderness; himself, 
then young and slender, enjoying excellent health and activity, and 
fond of being out planning improvements. 

' ' Messrs. Cazenove and Lincklaen observed to me ' as you have lately 
returned from a long tour to the southward, how would you like a 
northern one ? ' and made me proposals which I accepted. At this time 
I had just returned from nearly a two years' tour to the Natchez, ac- 
companying a connection with a large family who had a contract with 
the vSpanish Government, when Spain held that country. I met Mr. 
Lincklaen by appointment in New York in April, 1793. He requested 
me to purchase a large assortment of merchandise and every article 
that I thought would facilitate the settlers in a new country. The 
object was for the encouragement of settlers, and not for the profit of 
the store. We proceeded on to Utica. Here was the starting place 
Fifteen hired men with a few days' provisions in their knapsacks ant 
axes on their shoulders, a pair of oxen to a cart loaded with pro- 
visions for men and beast, implements of husbandry, &c., &c., was 
sent on the Genesee road as far as Canasaraga. Mr. Lincklaen and 
myself on horseback in a few days accompanied the train. At Chit- 
tenango we left the Genesee road, turned south up the creek about 
one mile, following an Indian path zig zag up a heavy hill, the axe 
men widening the way so as to let the cart go on. By the time we 
arrived to the summit of the hill night overtook us. Now prepar- 
ation was made for the night; the oxen made fast and the horses also, 
a large fire was made. The next thing to be done was to take out 
our jackknives and the cook to exhibit his bread and raw pork. Each 
one catered for himself. Some eat the pork raw ; some sharpened a 
long stick and put the pork upon it and roasted it in the fire. Next 
for sleeping; the trunk of a large tree was our headboard, our feet 
near the fire, and the ground our bed. We all arose early. After 
partaking our bread and pork, business commenced again with open- 
ing the cartway. The teamster said another yoke of oxen was neces- 

' So named because the proceeds arising from the sale of lands therein were to be applied to 
the construction of roads. 



68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sary, so Mr. Lincklaen dispatched him back to Whitestown to buy 
them. Mr. Lincklaen then proposed for him and me to proceed on 
with one horse to the lake, as the teamster had my horse, we would 
'ride and tie' and keep the Indian path, and leave the hands, supposing 
that by night they would come to us. On our arrival at the outlet at 
the south end of the lake, we discovered a small bark cabin and some 
signs of men. The horse ' Captain ' was turned loose on the little prairie, 
the saddle and portmanteau, &c., laid in the hut. We strolled about, 
viewed the grounds, Mr. Lincklaen highly gratified to find it better for 
building than he expected. When night drew nigh we made for the 
bark cabin ; presently three men came in, total strangers. After the 
usual salutations they had recourse to their wallet and displayed their 
bread and raw pork ; they, perceiving we could not follow suit, very 
kindly tendered to us their hospitality, which we very cordially ac- 
cepted. We explained to them who we were and our situation and gave 
each other our respective names. They proved to be our near neigh- 
bors, living from three to five miles off, which in those days was con- 
sidered near by. Their names was Joseph Atwell, Charles Roe and 

Bartholomew, all from Pompey Hollow. No tidings from our 

people ; sleeping hour has arrived, preparations for sleeping. The three 
strangers a foot on a fishing excursion. Mr. Lincklaen and myself had 
one saddle and portmanteau for our pillows, with ' Lion ' near by, ' Cap- 
tain ' on the prairie. Before we awoke our fishermen took French 
leave of us. About 8 o'clock a. m., }^et no tidings. Mr. Lincklaen con- 
cluded that it would be prudent for him to make back tracks to know 
the cause of the delay of the foresters, and leave ' Captain ' and faithful 
' Lion ' with me. Now I am entirely alone in the wilderness in the 
northwest parts of Herkimer county, N. Y. About 10 a. m. I thought 
it would be prudent for me to follow Mr. Lincklaen. I took the bridle, 
caught the ' Captain ' and leading him to the hut, put saddle and the 
heavy portmanteau with $.500 in silver on the horse. The money had 
depreciated, so that it could not here buy me a piece of bread. I com 
menced my retrograde movement, ' Lion ' preceding me. I walked 
and led the horse; presently I beheld two men approaching me. On 
advancing to me they gave their names, Jedediah Jackson and Joseph 
Yaw, two commissioners appointed by a company in Vermont to go and 
' spy out ' the land in township No. 1. They said they had met Mr. 
Lincklaen and that he referred them to me for further directions to the 
town now called Nelson. I had the pleasure about 2 p, m. to meet a 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 69 

man with a budget of eatables and drinkables which Mr. Lincklaen had 
sent me from our magazine cart. Our ' Lion's ' olfactory nerves were 
so keen that he had to be held back by the collar till his turn came. 
The cause of this great delay was the breaking of the axletree of the 
cart near where we left it. 

"When all the men and cart arrived at the spot which Mr. Lincklaen 
had selected for the present location, being a little west of a small 
ravine, and nearly opposite where Ledyai^d Lincklaen, Esq., now 
resides, at the south end of the lake,' the first business was to build a 
large log house, containing one room for a store, one for Mr. Lincklaen 
and one for a kitchen, and also another large one for a farm house. 
These men located in the beautiful white oak grove between the ravine 
and the outlet of the lake. A large warehouse in front of the store, 
and a few rods off was also determined on and subsequently built. 
These preparations for building were begun about the 8th day of May, 
1793. . . . Mr. Lincklaen expected that the Road Township . . 
would have been surveyed and laid out in farm lots before he came on 
to open the sales. He dispatched James Green (the Major) with a 
pocket compass to direct him through the wilderness some forty miles 
to Oxford for Mr. Lock, the surveyor, to come immediately and lay 
out this township, Mr. Lincklaen having advertised that the first ten 
families who moved on should have one hundred acres of land for one 
dollar per acre. This generous proposal brought on very unexpectedly 
that number of families from adjacent towns between Utica and Caz- 
enovia.^ Some fine young people, it was said, abbreviated their court- 
ship to take advantage of these proposals. The workmen had not com- 
pleted their log house when the families, or some of them, came on, 
and found no place to shelter them ; but the workmen had the gallantry 
to give up the large tent for their accommodation and increased their 
exertions to shelter themselves in their own building. When Mr. Lock 
came on to survey the land the woods were alive with settlers to pick 
their lots. Some were so fortunate as to secure berths in the surveyor's 
service, and deposited their money in the office till called for to apply 
on their purchases. As soon as the number of lots could be ascertained 
they would hasten to the office to have it entered.' The competition 

'The residence of the late L. Walters Ledyard, " The Oaks." on the south shore of the lake, is 
very near the first log cabin site built by these pioneers in 1793. 

2 Among those were Archibald Bates, Isaac Nichols, Benjamin Pierson, Noah Taylor, William 
Gilleti and Anson Dean. 

'Of the settlers on this purchase Major Forman elsewhere says: ''I believe that there was 



70 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

became so great that the sales were suspended for a time for fear of 
making mistakes. 

"The price of the land opened at one and a half dollars per acre, 
except as to the ten families above mentioned. 

"The terms of payment were ten dollars cash down, balance in ten 
years with annual interest, and conditioned for certain improvements. 
Two miles were reserved off the north end of Road Township, and 
laid out in ten acre lots for the benefit of the villagers. . . I believe 
the village plat was not laid out until the next summer, 179i.' 

"It was first intended to lay out the village on the west bank of the 
lake ; but the north line of the company went only to the north line of P. 
G. Childs, Esq. 

"Judge Wright of Fort Stanwix (now Rome) began to layout the vil- 
lage, but was called home before completion. After him the late Cal- 
vin Guiteau, Esq., completed it. The village was named in honor of 
Theophilus Cazenove, Esq., the Holland Land Company's agent resid- 
ing in Philadelphia. The location of the village must be regarded as a 
fortunate one, being almost surrounded by water, viz. : the lake on the 
west and on the south by the outlet of the lake, which, uniting in the mill 
pond with Chittenango Creek, flows easterly and then northerly, furnish- 
ing a never-failing head of water, with a gentle fall of 700 feet within 
about eight miles, including, however, in the descent, a beautiful cas- 
cade of 140 feet, forming fine sites for hydraulic purposes, the whole 
distance having solid beds of stone and gravel and capable of propelling 
machinery at every few rods, which it seems your enterprising citizens 
have already, to a considerable extent, improved for years past, and new 
erections are of late being made, and all the distance made of easy 
access by a plank [now macadamized] road through the valley, which 
was formerly considered wholly waste land. The prospect is now that 
you will become a large manufacturing city and will vie with Lowell. 
Of all the litfle group of sixteen or seventeen who encamped 
in the woods on Chittenango Hill about the 6th or 7th of May, 1793, I 
don't know that another lives. Probably not. Colonel Lincklaen and 
myself being perhaps nearly the youngest. Among these were James 

but one person who took up a lot of land during the first four years, while I continued in office 
who could not write his name." 

* The village of Cazenovia lies only partly in the tract originally purchased by Mr. Linck-, 
laen, the center of the present Seminary street being the north line of that purchase. Afterwards, 
when it became desirable to use land to the north of this line for the village plat, some 10,000 
acres of the New Petersburgh tract was purchased. 




JOHN LINCKLAHN. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 71 

Smith, Michael Day, John Wilson, James Green, David Fay, Stephen 
F. Blackstone, Philemon Tuttle, David Freeborn, Gideon Freeborn and 
AsaC. Towns." 

If the predictions of municipal greatness made in this letter nearly 
fifty years ago have not been fulfilled, the beautiful village beside the 
storied lake has gained in picturesque attractiveness under wise and 
generous treatment by her citizens, and in social conditions found in 
few small communities. 

The need of mills was felt from the beginning of settlement and in 
1794 Mr. Lincklaen built both a saw and grist mill, the first ones in 
the town. The grist mill stood on Chittenango Creek about a quarter 
of a mile above its junction with the outlet of the lake. It was subse- 
quently sold by the company to Dr. Jonas Fay and was soon afterwards 
burned, with a distillery. Later mills were built on the site of the 
Chaphe mills. 

After Mr. Lincklaen's death, which took place February 9, 1832, his 
adopted son, Jonathan Denise Ledyard, succeeded as agent for the 
Holland Company, and in 1832 purchased the unsold lands belonging 
to the company. 

John Lincklaen, who was so prominently connected with the settle- 
ment of Cazenovia, was a man of strong character and high principles, 
with abilities far above the ordinary. Jan von Lincklaen, his Dutch 
name, was born in Amsterdam, Holland, December 24, 17G8, and 
passed his boyhood principally in Switzerland, where he received his 
education. From the age of fourteen he spent several years in the 
Dutch navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant. In 1792 he emigrated 
to America, having obtained employment with the Holland Land Com- 
pany through the influence of Pieter Stadnitzki, who had some unde- 
fined interest therein. He surveyed some of the lands of the company 
and in the following year, 1793, was made the agent. He conceived 
the plan of laying out a town and naming it in honor of the first agent, 
which plan he carried out. He was a man of broad, practical ideas and 
at once entered upon the work of improving the town, laying out roads, 
building bridges and mills and warehouses, and encouraging settle- 
ment in every way possible. He acquired an interest in the western 
lands of the company, and as a foreign organization could not then 
give valid title to lands in this country, the celebrated tract known as 
the Morris Reserve, containing more than 3,000,000 acres, was deeded 
to individuals who were in this case Herman Lej' Roy, John Lincklaen, 



72 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Gerrit Boon. The site of Mr. Lincklaen's dwelling on the bank of 
Cazenovia Lake is well known. It was a picturesque spot and its selec- 
tion evinced the good taste of its owner. The house he erected there 
was burned in 1806, when he chose another site at the foot of the lake, 
where he erected a substantial brick house still standing. He had dur- 
ing his life in this country, many distinguished friends and acquaint- 
ances. He was intimately associated with Peter Smith and his eminent 
son Gerrit, and was greatly respected by both. About 1814 Mr. Linck- 
laen became deeply influenced by religion, leaning for a time towards 
Unitarianism on account of some of his most intimate friends being 
members of that denomination. He soon, however, adopted the Trini- 
tarian belief which he held until his death. In the building of the "old 
church on the green " he was prominent and generous and filled his 
later years with good works. He married in 1797 the eldest sister of 
J. D. Ledyard, who succeeded him as agent of the Land Company. 
Mr. Lincklaen died of paralysis February 9, 1832, at the comparatively 
early age of fifty-four years. 

Samuel S. Forman went to Cazenovia with Mr. Lincklaen, as he has 
written, and as a merchant with the Holland Company, in partnership 
for a time, and later alone, continued several years. He was a native 
of Middletown Point, N J., where he was born July 31, 1765, and was 
a son of Samuel and Helena (Denise) Forman. After the close of the 
Revolutionary war he worked as clerk in a store for his uncle, Lieut. - 
Colonel Forman, and brother-in-law. Major Burrows. A little later he 
engaged with his brother-in-law. Major Ledyard, and Col. Benjamin 
Walker, who were in the wholesale hardware and commission business 
in New York city. He was afterward in mercantile business on his 
own account at Middletown Point, and in 1789 joined the expedition to 
Natchez, as he has stated. He organized a militia company at Caze- 
novia and was appointed major of the regiment to which it was attached. 
In 1808 he married Sarah McCarthy, of Salina. His only son died in 
infancy, and his only daughter became the wife of Dr. Abraham Van 
Gaasbeck, of Syracuse. Major Forman removed into Onondaga county 
and died August 18, 1863. His elder brother, Jonathan Forman, was 
also an early resident of Cazenovia and took up lands in what became 
the town of Nelson, but never settled on them. He was a lieutenant- 
colonel in the Revolutionary army and a brigadier-general in the State 
militia. He settled later in life at Pompey Hollow, where he died in 
1800. His wife was Mary Ledyard, and he was grandfather of Gov. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 73 

Horatio .Seymour, and a relative of Joshua Forman, founder of Syra- 
cuse. 

Archibald Bates was one of the pioneers who accompanied Mr. Linck- 
laen into the town. He settled on a farm about two miles east of 
Cazenovia village and died there. Day Fay also was one of the com- 
pany who followed Mr. Lincklaen to the town and settled near Mr. 
Bates. He died October 29, 1826. Asa Fay was a brother of Day Fay 
and settled in the same locality, where he died July 8, 1861. 

William Miles settled in the south part of the town. Other settlers 
of 1793 were Noah Taylor, whose wife was the first white woman set- 
tler, Ira Peck, Nathan Webb, Shubael Brooks, Samuel Tyler, a man 
named Augur, and Isaac Nichols; the latter, as well as Mr. Taylor, 
were in company with Mr. Lincklaen in his migration, and settled on 
the east shore of the lake. His daughter, born October 8, 1793, was 
the first white child born in the town. 

In 1794 Lewis Stanley settled in the town, coming in from Connect- 
icut with his father's family and settling near the village. He died in 
1857, aged seventy-six years. David Smith settled in that year; he 
was a native of Massachusetts and removed when seventeen years old 
with his parents to Clinton. He located about a mile south of New 
Woodstock on the farm owned in recent years by Luther Hunt. He 
soon sold fifty of his 150 acres to Edward Curtis, who became a settler 
a little later. In 1817 or 1818 Mr. Smith built the hotel in New Wood- 
stock, and occupied it until 1831, when he was succeeded by his son 
Erastus and his brother-in-law, Asa Merrill; two years later two 
brothers of Erastus Smith, Jonathan and Jerman, took the house. 
David Smith died July 7, 1844. Jonathan Smith, a brother of David, 
settled in the town a year or two later, taking up 150 acres in the west 
part of the village of New Woodstock, which included all of that part 
of the village site lying south of the Hamilton and Skaneateles Turn- 
pike. He there built a house which was used as the first tavern in the 
village and was kept by him many years. He left no children. 

William Sims, Isaac Morse and Chandler Webber were other early 
.settlers in this locality. The latter died in June, 1837. Isaac Morse 
died September 24, 1858, at the age of eighty-six years. Abraham Til- 
lotson, from Hebron, Conn., settled in 1795 two miles south of Caze- 
novia village on the farm subsequently occupied by Gardner Perkins. 
Within a year he removed to Pompey East Hollow, about two miles 
west of the village, where he carried on farming and brick making 



74 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

about twenty years, a part of the time in company with his son Eph- 
raim. He had five children, most of whom settled in the town, but all 
are dead. Ephraim had several children, four of whom settled in the 
town. 

Walter Childs, from Woodstock, Conn., was a settler in 1796, taking 
up 100 acres on the west side of Cazenovia Lake, on the turnpike to 
Manliusand four miles west of the village; he died there in 1857 at the 
age of eighty-one j'ears. His son, Willard T., died in infancy, and 
another son, Aldis, is a resident of Syracuse. The other four children 
settled in Cazenovia. 

Jacob Ten Eyck was born in Albany and removed to Cazenovia in 
1797, where he was employed as clerk in the store of Samuel S. Forman. 
After six or seven years of this service he opened a store on his own 
account, which he conducted until about 1830; at the same time he had 
extensive business interests in Chautauqua county. When he retired 
from mercantile trade he succeeded Perry G. Childs as president of the 
Madison County Bank and occupied the position until the expiration of 
the charter of the institution. When Mr. Ten Eyck settled in Cazeno- 
via he was about twelve years old. He married a daughter of Joseph 
Burr, an early resident of Cazenovia. Both he and his wife died in 
1853 in Savannah, within three days of each other, of yellow fever. 

Jeduthan Perkins became a settler prior to 1800 in what became known 
as the Perkins district, south of Cazenovia village, where he reared a 
prominent and influential family. Francis Norton came from Con- 
necticut in 1800, and in about 1811 removed to the south part of Nelson, 
where he died in 1858. James Covell settled about 1800 in the extreme 
northern part of the town, but removed about 1830 to Chautauqua coun- 
ty, where he died. Hendrick De Clercq was a native of Holland, and em- 
igrated and settled in Cazenovia in 1800. His wife was Mary Ledyard, 
who came from Connecticut on horseback in 1798. Levi Burgess was 
another settler in 1800, and died here in 1863 at the age of ninety-one 
years. 

Joseph Holmes, born in Munson, Mass , removed from Chesterfield, 
N. H., in 1801, and settled in the vicinity of New Woodstock where he 
died in 1859 at the age of eighty years. Caleb Van Riper settled in 
the same year at the head of the lake, where he had a tannery in earlj' 
years, which long since disappeared with the saw mill at that point. 
He died in 1845 at the age of eighty one years. 

The year 1803 saw the advent of a number of pioneers, among whom 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS 75 

were Edward Parker and Phineas Southwell, who came originally from 
Massachusetts, but removed to Cazenovia from Boonville, N. Y., and 
settled at the head of the lake. Parker died in 1840. The Southwell 
farm was the site of an Indian clearing of fifteen acres, on which have 
been found numerous relics. 

Robert Fisher and Isaac Warren settled in the town about 1803, at 
New Woodstock. Warren subsequently removed to and died in De 
Ruyter. John Savage settled at New Woodstock a little later, taking 
up land which included the site of the Baptist meeting house. He was 
a carpenter and died in 1851, aged eighty- eight years. 

Samuel Thomas came from Litchfield, Conn., in 1804 and settled in 
Cazenovia village, where he was engaged in harness making until his 
death in 1861. His eldest son, Samuel, who was in company with him 
from about 1833, succeeded him and continued the business, with the 
exception of about four years, till his death in 1870, when is son took 
it and still continues. This is one of the oldest business industries in 
the county that has remained in one family. 

Deacon Isaiah Dean came from Gal way, Saratoga county, in 1804 
and took up a farm on the west line of the town, where William Hunt 
resided in recent years. He died there in 1873. William Moore, born 
in Connecticut, was a settler in 1805, locating about three miles south 
of Cazenovia village, on the farm subsequently owned by his brother- 
in-law, Daniel Damon, who came from Western, Mass., a few years 
earlier. Moore afterward moved to, Smithfield and ihence in 1814 to 
Nelson, where he died in 1853. Daniel Damon married Kezia Litch- 
field of Cazenovia and died in 1832. 

Christopher Webb, from Canterbury, Conn., settled in 1806 on lot 39; 
he died in 1837. 

Ebenezer Knowlton of Dartmouth, N. H., took his wife and one child 
to Cazenovia in 1806, setling on the site of the village, where he carried 
on chair making and the manufacture of linseed oil. His oil mill was 
established in 1815 and was the first one in this section of the country. 
Later and to about 1848 it was operated by his eldest son, Edmond. 
The chair business was started at a very early day by Nehemiah White, 
and was discontinued with the oil mill. 

Rev. Roswell Beckwith settled in Cazenovia in 1807; he was a Baptist 
minister and died in 183G. Bishop Tucker settled early in the southeast 
part of the town about two miles east of New Woodstock, and his chil- 
dren located on farms near by. Abiel Ainsworth, many years a deacon 



76 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and prominent member of the Baptist church, and Reuben Bryant were 
also early settlers; the latter located a mile east of Cazenovia village. 
The names and something of the lives of many other pioneers and later 
residents of this town will appear as we proceed and in Part II. 

The inhabitants of this town, in common with those of other locali- 
ties, adopted measures very soon after their homes were established, to 
to provide their families with religious teaching. Within six years 
from the date of the first settlement, a religious organization was per- 
fected, and meetings had been held almost from the first. On Novem- 
ber 13, 1798, a meeting was held at the school house near the lake for 
the purpose of electing trustees for the Presbyterian congregation, at 
which Samuel S. Forman, Jedediah Turner, sr., Samuel Coats, sr., 
Asahel Jackson, Jeremiah Clark and Joseph Williams were elected, to 
be known as " The Trustees of the First Presbyterian Congregation of 
the town of Cazenovia." The trustees held their first meeting Novem- 
ber 17, 1798, when it was resolved to circulate a subscription paper to 
raise funds in cash or produce, payable at John Lincklaen's mill near 
the lake, for the support of preaching. About a month later when the 
trustees again met the subscription stood as follows: 

Jeremiah Clark _ $31.00 

Samuel Forman _ 77.50 ■ 

Jedediah Turner 19.00 

Samuel R. Coats 39.00 

Asahel Jackson. _ 81.00 

Joseph Williams 45.50 

$293.00 
Samuel S. Forman was chosen treasurer. On March 2, 1799, the 
trustees agreed to invite Rev. Joshua Leonard " to tarry with us awhile 
and preach." 

At a later meeting it was agreed to allow him " $6 per Sabbath and 
pay all his expenses of board and horse-keeping, provided he does not 
settle with us." In April, 1799, after meetings had thus far been held 
in various places, sometimes inconveniencing many attendants, it was 
determined to raise a further sum of money and establish regular preach- 
ing at one place. Authority was therefore given the trustees to raise 
not to exceed $400 a year for three years for this purpose. This society 
organized May 17, 1799, under ministration of Rev. John Leonard, with 
the following members: Jedediah Turner, Jacob Dannals, John Tap- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 77 

pan, .Samuel Ruggles Coats, Anne Howd, Mary Dannals, Eunice Coats 
and Alethia Root; in the same month Mr. Leonard was engaged at a 
salary of $300 a year, and he was installed June 6, 1798, at the house of 
Simeon Garrett. New trustees were then elected and instructed to 
place a pulpit and seats in the school house which then stood just across 
the outlet bridge, where the present street turns toward the railroad 
station. Pastors succeeding Mr. Leonard were Revs. John Brown, 
1813-29; Charles White, 1839-32; Eleazer S. Barrows, 1833-41; James 
Radcliff Davenport, 1844-46; E. J. Gillett, 1847-49; George S. Board- 
man, 1850-65; Nathaniel P. Campfield, 1865-68; David Torrey, 1869- 
80; Wilton Merle Smith, 1881-84; Douglas Putney Bernie, 1885-90 
The present pastor is Rev. S. E. Persons. A parsonage was built in 
1816 at a cost of about $1,000. The first church building, erected in 
1809, was occupied without material change until 1834, when improve- 
ments were made costing nearly $800. In 1841 a number of members 
left this society and formed a Free Congregational church, which built 
and worshiped in what became the Concert Hall. The session house 
connected with the Presbyterian church was built in 1854, and a new 
parsonage costing about $5,000 was erected in 1870. 

The Baptists in this town organized a society almost simultaneously 
with that of the Presbyterians. Among the Baptists who settled near 
the site of New Woodstock were a number of active, zealous young 
men from Woodstock, Conn. Soon after the arrival of Rev. Joshua 
Leonard, as before mentioned, they were favored occasionally with 
preaching by Elder Nathan Baker, a licentiate from Pompey. In 1800 
Elder James Bacon came on from Torrington, Mass., and through his 
efforts a church was organized the following year. On the 18th of 
March of that year the little band met and, as the record says, "hav- 
ing conversed about articles, both as to doctrine and practice, found 
ourselves so far agreed that we voted to send for a council to come and 
look into our standing." They then numbered only ten, but six others 
were baptized that spring, and the sixteen were fellowshiped June 17, 
1801, at the house of Isaac Morse. Elder James Bacon was an old man 
and was succeeded in 1804 by Rev. John Peck, who continued there 
thirty-one years. Among later pastors of the church were Revs. John 
F. Bishop, Daniel Putnam, I. K. Brownson, John Fulton, N. Mumford, 
B. Morley, H. Garlick, P. C. Bentley, A. Le Roy, J. N. Tolman, and 
the present pastor. Rev. J. J. Keyes. A small log meeting house was 
built by this society in 1802, which was occupied until a few years later 



78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

when the church united with the Presbyterians in building a frame edi- 
fice. This was soon outgrown and in 1815 the present building was 
erected; it has been much improved since that time. In 1820 a num- 
ber of members of this old society withdrew to form a church in Caz- 
enovia village. No other church was organized in this town until after 
the formation of the county, though services were held in early years 
by the Methodists. 

The records of this town from its formation in 1795 to 1804 are not in 
existence, which deprives the historian of the lists of early officers and 
probably of other material of value. The oldest record found gives the 
proceedings of a meeting held at the house of Capt. Ebenezer Johnson 
on the first Tuesday in March, 1804. At this meeting Luther Water- 
man was chosen moderator, and it was " Resolved ^ to reimburse Lem- 
uel Kingsbury, the sum of six dollars and eighteen cents for bad taxes." 
It was further "Resolved, that members of this meeting may wear 
their hats while attending said meeting, and that for the accommoda- 
tion of the people, we adjourn and meet on the common. Met accord- 
ingly and proceeded to choose town officers by ballot." The principal 
officers chosen were as follows: Supervisor, James Green; town clerk, 
Eliphalet S. Jackson; assessors, Ebenezer Lyon, Oliver Bugbee and 
Asa Dana; commissioners of highways, Isaac Morse, Asahel Jackson, 
Asa Dana; collector, Elisha Williams. 

It was further resolved at this meeting, "that there be twenty Dol- 
lars of the town's money delivered to the town clerk for the purpose of 
procuring books for the use of the town, and that he be requested to 
draft off such of the old books as he shall think necessary, and as a 
compensation, he shall receive whatever it shall be judged to be worth 
by the Supervisor and Justices of the Peace of said town." It is a fair 
inference that the town clerk neglected to carry out his instructions re- 
garding the records, which will account for their absence in the early 
years. 

It was further resolved, "that a bounty of twenty dollars shall be 
given by the town of Cazenovia for each wolf which shall be killed the 
ensueing year by an)' one or more of the inhabitants of said town;" 
another resolution provided for shutting up hogs. Road districts and 
pathmasters were then named and the meeting adjourned. 

A special town meeting was held June 12, 1804, at the house of Eb- 
enezer Johnson, at which important measures were adopted relative to 
the perplexing question of where to locate the county seat. A com- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 79 

mittee of three was appointed to meet the commissioners appointed by 
the Legislature to act in the matter. The names of the committee 
were as follows: Dr. Isaac Lyman, Jeremiah Clark, Jeremiah Griffith. 

The old records are full of data regarding the opening of new roads, 
building bridges and other public improvements. For example, in the 
year 1803 the amount paid out for repairing bridges was $13L At the 
annual town meeling for 1805 it was voted to divide the town into 
three districts, for each of which was to be nominated an assessor and 
a commissioner of highways. The sum of $20 was appropriated for 
maintenance of a pound, which it was voted to build in the north part. 

The post office in Cazenovia has an interesting history which i-s, for- 
tunately, traceable back to the beginning of its existence. It was prob- 
ably opened by iVIr. Lincklaen soon after his arrival and may have been 
partially maintained at his expense until its revenue was sufficient for 
the purpose. The document here inserted, which is still preserved, 
indicates that the office was under government control as early as Jan- 
uary, 1800, and is of deep interest in itself: 

P. O. at Cazenovia, N. Y., in Acct. current with the General D. O. from 1st 
Oct., 1799, to 1st Jan'y, 1800:— 

Dr. 

To postage of letters which remained in office last qr § 1-56J2 

" postage of unpaid letters received from other offices this qr 18.68 

'■ postage of letters undercharged from other offices this qr - _ 12}^ 

' ' postage of paid letters sent from this office thisqr 33. 59 Ji' 

$58.96}^ 
To balance as above, being amount of postage collected on letters this 

qr 51.661^ 

" amount of postage on newspapers and pamphlets this qr 96 

53 621^ 
Cr. 

By postage of letters overcharged and sent this qr 58 

" postage of letters now remaining in this office, 1.72 

" balance carried down 51.661., 



.53.961^ 

" Corns, on 51 D. 66 }.^ c. Letter Postage, at 30 per cent $15 50 

'• Com. on — D. 96 c. Newspaper Postage at 50 percent 48 

15.98 

" bal. due to the General P. O. paid Mr. Lincklaen, Esq , as 

per receipt, 36.64i^ 



80 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Rec'd Cazenovia, Dec. 31, 1800. of Samuel S. Forman, P. M., in this place, 
thirty dollars and ninety-two cents, being the balance due this qr. as per acct. 

J. Lincklaen. 

The post-office was kept in Mr. Forman's store, but was removed to 
the store of Jabish N. M. Hurd as early as 1803, when Mr. Hurd was 
postmaster. He was succeeded in 1821 by Jesse Kilbourn, who kept 
it nineteen years. The later postmasters have been Justin Dwinelle, 
about two years; William Phillips, a short period; Rensselaer Jackson, 
to 1853; George Brown, 1853 to 1861; Seneca Lake and C. Hyde 
Beckwith, the latter holding it only about six months, not being con- 
firmed by the Senate; E. Bowen Crandall, 1867; John W. Howson, 
1871 to 1883; F. M. Taylor, who was soon succeeded by Andrew Dardis; 
he died while in office, as also did his successor, William Crandall. 
John W. Howson was then again appointed in 1891 and held the office 
until 1896, when George W. Salisbury was appointed and is now in the 
office. 

This town has been the site of a number of manufacturing industries 
of considerable importance, which, with the great changes of modern 
time in the production of goods of various kinds, have passed away; 
but, aside from the mills built by Mr. Lincklaen, before mentioned, 
none of the early industries was established before the erection of the 
county. Before that year (1806) a considerable mercantile interest had 
come into existence and the inhabitants could find at their doors nearly 
all the necessities of their households. The store opened by Mr. For- 
man was in a part of the first log building erected, near the foot of the 
lake, in close proximity to the site of the residence of L. W. Ledyard. 
The agreement between Mr. Lincklean and Mr. Forman in connection 
with this store and other operations relative to the settlement was as 
follows : 

Articles of agreement made and concluded on in Philadelphia this seventeenth 
day of March, 1793, between Mr. Jno. Lincklaen of the one part and Samuel S. For- 
man of the other part. viz. : the said Forman engages to go with the said Lincklaen 
in the back parts of the State of New York, to form a settlement and take charge 
of all Merchandize as is assigned to hira, transact the business under the directions 
of said Lincklaen, and in his absence said Forman to superintend generally the busi- 
ness to the best of his abilities. 

The said Lincklaen on his part engages to pay the said Forman for his services Five 
hundred Spanish Milled Dollars per annum; one-half payable in six months from 
the commencement of the year, and the other half at the expiration thereof, in the 
city of New York, or the place of establishing the business, to be at the said Forman's 
option. Also the said Lincklaen engages to pay all expenses of said Foreman, viz. : 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 81 

Travelling expenses, boarding, washing, lodging and every other expense that un- 
avoidably accrues while in the employ of said Lincklaen, and also will further give 
said Forman one hundred acres of land within the township where the store and 
settlement is to be fixed. 

This agreement to continue for one year only, commencing on the twenty-fifth 
day of March instant in New York — the said Forman agrees to give up the said Land 
if the parties hereof do not agree for more than one year, or said Forman do not put 
a .settler on it — the said Lincklaen agrees to pay said Forman's expenses back to 
New York (City) on the dissolution of their agreement. 

In Witness whereof, the Parties have hereunto interchangeably sett their hands 
& seals, the day and year first above written. 

Signed, sealed and ^' ^- B.— The word a/l [which we have marked with 

-, V ' J ■ n I an * for convenience of reference! in the twentieth 

delivered in the ' 

of ' ''"^ from the top on the preceding side was inter- 

lined before the signing. 

J. Lincklaen Antz. 
Samuel S. Forman. 



P. Jacob Sciiwartze. 



The store established by Mr. Forman was subsequently acquired by 
himself and he continued in the village as a merchant about thirty 
years. The last store building occupied by him stood on the southwest 
corner of the public square. He removed to Peterboro and later to 
Syracuse. 

Jabish N. M. Hurd settled in the village about 1800 and was a mer- 
chant in a store that stood on the northwest corner of the square next 
to the site of the Presbyterian church ; he continued in business until 
about 1827, when he removed to Albany and there died. Eliakim 
Roberts was in trade in the village as early as 1803, on the southeast 
corner of the square, on the site of the Stanton House. Jacob Ten 
Eyck was also in mercantile business in the village from about 1804 and 
conducted a large trade to about 1830. Jesse Kilbourn, from Litch- 
field, Conn., settled in the village in 1806 and engaged in mercantile 
trade which he continued to his death in 1842. He was a prominent 
citizen, held several offices and was elected to the Assembly in 1832. 

As will be seen from the foregoing pages of this chapter, the town 
and village of Cazenovia in 1806, when Madison county was formed, 
was a stirring, prosperous, though small, community, that was rapidly 
increasing in numbers. Two or three lawyers were already seeking, 
and probably finding, business in the village, and Dr. Isaac Lyman 
began practice in his profession in 1799 The Masonic Order, which 
so closely follows in the footsteps of the pioneers in every part of the 
country, formed United Brethren Lodge No. 78, on the 9th of May, 

6 



82 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

17Q9, with Jeremiah Clark, master, and the forest was being cleared 
away to make room for the attractive homes that soon appeared through- 
out the town. 

The only remaining town to be noticed, that was organized previous 
to the formation of the county, is De Ruyter, which was erected March 
15, 1798, from Cazenovia and then included the present towns of 
Lincklaen, Otselic and Pitcher, which were set off at the time of the 
formation of Madison county, and Georgetown, set off April 7, 1815. 
On this date a small part of Cazenovia was annexed. The town was 
named from Admiral De Ruyter, of the Dutch navy, and at the sug- 
gestion of John Lincklaen, the pioneer. It is in the southwest corner 
of the county and bounded north by Cazenovia, east by Georgetown, 
south by Lincklaen, and west by Fabius and Cuyler. Its present terri- 
tory lies wholly within the Gore. The surface is a hillj' upland the 
elevations rising from 400 to 500 feet above the valleys, through which 
extends the valley of the upper Tioughnioga; this stream, with numer- 
ous small tributaries, flows in a general westerly direction, giving the 
town abundant water and drainage. The soil on the hills is sandy and 
gravelly loam of good quality, watered by frequently appearing pure 
springs, rendering it admirable for grazing. In the valleys is found a 
rich alluvium, well adopted to the various grains. The farmers of the 
town, as will be seen further on, have always given their principal at- 
tention to dairying. 

The northwest part of the town is underlaid with the rocks of the 
Hamilton group, and in the other parts the Ithaca group comes to the 
surface. Neither of these rocks has been extensively quarried in this 
town. What is now a branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad (formerly 
the Utica, Ithaca and Elmira and later the Elmira, Cortland and 
Northern) extended across the northern part of the town and through 
De Ruyter village. 

Settlement was begun in De Ruyer in 1793 by Elijah and Elias Ben- 
jamin, brothers, and Eli Colegrove, the Benjamins coming from 
Dutchess county and locating in the northwest corner of the town on 
150 acres which constitute the farm of Benjamin Merchant. Elias 
soon moved to the Philander Burton place a mile north of the village 
sice. Both brought their families with teams of horses. Elijah had 
three sons who came with him, Elias P., David, and Elijah E., and five 
other children were born after his settlement. He sold his improve- 
ments in 1808 to Benjamin Merchant and removed to Cuyler. Elias 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 83 

P. Benjamin married a daughter of Joseph Rich, of De Ruyter, settled 
on Mr. Rich's farm and operated his mills. David Benjamin married 
another daughter of Mr. Rich and also settled on the farm, whence he 
removed about 1820 to Ohio. Elijah E. Benjamin settled on his father's 
farm in Cuyler, but subsequently removed to De Ruyter, where he 
lived to a great age. He had thirteen children, one of whom was 
Horace Benjamin of this town. Frederick Benjamin, born in De 
Ruyter in 1794, was the first white child born in the town. After be- 
ing twice married he removed to Belvidere, 111., about 1836 and there 
died. Charles Benjamin, son of Elijah, settled in De Ruyter, followed 
shoemaking and died in the village. 

Elias Benjamin, the other pioneer of that name, was a shoemaker and 
followed that occupation some years on the Burton farm ; he subse- 
quently removed to Lincklaen and thence to Truxton, where he died 
leaving no children. 

Eli Colegrove was from Rhode Island and settled near Elijah Benja- 
min's homestead; he afterwards moved to another farm a little farther 
north and died there. His original homestead has been divided into 
smaller places. 

A prominent settler of 1795 was Joseph Messenger, who located 
about a mile north of the village and built a double log house in which 
in 1796 he opened the first tavern in the town. For many years his 
house was a popular resort for the many who were seeking homes in 
this county and on the Military Tract, who always found there a hospi- 
table reception. In the same year Samuel Thompson settled on the 
Thomas Doan place and resided there until his death at the age of 
ninety years. He was a crack shot and a noted hunter, which gave 
him the local appellation of Leather Stocking. Among his children 
were Langdon, Hiram who was killed by a falling tree, Jefferson, Har- 
riet (married Epaphras Leet), Laura, and a daughter who became Mrs. 
Pulford. William and Thompson Burdick, brothers, were pioneers of 
1795, and settled a little south of the site of the reservoir. They raised 
large families and were ancestors of the numerous families of that 
name in this vicinity. At about this time, also, Russell Walker settled 
in the vicinity of the Burdicks; he was grandfather of Henry S. Wal- 
ker, now a merchant of De Ruyter village. 

Daniel Page, Gideon Foster and Eleazer Gage were pioneers of a 
little later date, the former coming from Dutchess county and settling 
in the village, where he built the first public house in the corporation; 



84 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

it was a Io«f building, which was replaced about 180(3 by a frame struc- 
ture which stood until recent years. Mr. Page was a practical surveyor 
and did not remain long in the town, but a hotel was kept in the build- 
ing he occupied at intervals until 1863. Gideon Foster died in the 
spring of 1796 from hernia produced by over-exertion, and was buried 
on the farm of Elijah Benjamin; this was the first death in the town. 

Eleazer Gage brought in with him his sons Justus, Jeremiah, Ira and 
Ebenezer, all of whom had previously married, and settled about a mile 
north of the village site. Justus settled where Charles Weeks now 
lives and died there in 1830. Capt. Jeremiah located where Dwight F. 
Taylor now resides, two miles north of the village ; he kept a tavern 
there several years, but removed to the village a few years before his 
death, which took place in 1844. Ebenezer settled where Horace 
Wells recently died. Ira was the first school teacher in the town, be- 
ginning in 1799 in a log building which stood on the farm occupied in 
recent years by Isaac Higley, which had been erected for a dwelling; 
he removed in early years to Ohio. The Gage families were once 
numerous in this section, and had many members who were much re 
spected. 

In about the year 1800 Jonathan Shed, from Brimfield, Mass., settled 
in the northeast part of the town at the corners that still bear his name. 
Matthew Wells settled about the same time, and Darius Benjamin and 
Samuel Bowen soon after. Mr. Wells wasanativeof Hopkinton, R. I., 
and removed thence to Rensselaer county, N. Y., and from there to 
De Ruyter, settling three miles north of the village, where he died in 
1853. Darius Benjamin was a brother of the two pioneers of that name 
and settled within the present village corporation; his farm was sub- 
sequently divided into village lots. 

Levi Wood, from Munson, Mass., lived for a time in Brimfield in 
that State, and came to this town in 1803; he brought in his family the 
following year and located on lot 55. About the same time Sylvester 
Crumb came on from Rhode Island and settled on what has ever since 
borne the name of Crumb Hill, four miles east of the village; he died 
there at an early day. 

Joseph Rich was from Woodstock, Conn., and settled in this town 
about 1807, purchasing the Elias Benjamin farm, as before stated; this 
became the well known Burton farm. He and his wife both died there, 
and their two daughters (their only children) married sons of Elijah 
Benjamin. Mr. Rich built in 1807 a saw mill and in 1809 a grist mill 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 85 

on the branch of the Tioughnioga, which flows through the farm; the 
the site of the mills was about a mile north of the village. They were 
the first mills in the town. These mills were operated until the con- 
struction of the reservoir for the supply of the Erie Canal, which de- 
stroyed the privilege. The grist mill was converted into a cheese 
factor}', elsewhere noticed, the original mill having been rebuilt in 1836; 
the saw mill was taken down and the frame used in building an addi- 
tion to the grist mill. There was another saw mill on the site of the vil- 
lage, which was built soon after settlement began, on the site of which 
a later one was built b)' Joseph Crumb; there was also an early grist 
mill at the village. 

Jonathan Bentley and Benjamin Merchant were pioneers of about 
the year 1808. The former was from Rhode Island originally, but re- 
moved to Washington county, N. Y., while yoimg. When he came to 
De Ruyter his two sons, Hamilton S. and Zadock T., accompanied 
him. He located on fifty acres in the north part of the town and there 
died in 1841. Benjamin Merchant was from Woodstock, Conn., and 
purchased Elijah Benjamin's farm, where he resided a few years and 
died from an epidemic disease. His son Bradley succeeded to the farm 
and also died there. Bradley had sons, M. R. and Rollin, who lived 
in De Ruyter, and Warren, who moved away. 

At about the date now under consideration a large number of Friends 
(Quakers) left the Hudson River country, Saratoga, Westchester and 
Dutchess counties, and settled in De Ruyter and in the adjoining towns 
of Cuyler and Truxton. Prominent among them were Job Webb and 
Benjamin Stratton, from Hudson; Abram Sutton, who became a prom- 
inent citizen and was father of Allen Sutton, and carried on a large 
tanning business with his sons many years; John Shepard, from Sara- 
toga; James Hunt, father of William, Elihu, and other sons who became 
heads of families; Nathaniel Wright, from Saratoga county; John 
Pierce, from New York; Reuben Barnard, from Columbia county, who 
settled on Crumb Hill; John Gifford, a preacher from Troy, who set- 
tled two miles south of Crumb Hill; Ephraim Arnold, a tanner, who 
settled in Quaker Basin, and Beman Hoag also located in that section; 
Capt. Francis Bunker, who had commanded a vessel on the Hudson, 
settled with his family about a mile north of the village; David Wood 
and John Hewitt, from Saratoga county; Richard North, from Colum- 
bia county, who settled first in the village and removed to the south 
hill; Joseph, Thomas and Benjamin Mitchell, brothers, the latter a 



86 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

clothier, from Dutchess county; Dr. Ephraim Otis, an eminent physi- 
cian from Saratoga county, settled a mile south of the village; Stephen 
Bogardus, from Columbia county; Benjamin Wibert, from Saratoga 
county; Enos and Amos Peasley, brothers, Elijah Cornell, father of 
Ezra Cornell, founder of the great university that bears his name; 
Joseph and Benjamin Tripp and David Ring, from Columbia county; 
James Derbyshire, from Saratoga county; Joseph Underwood, from 
Dutchess county. All of these settled within the limits of De Ruyter 
town and formed a respected and useful element of citizenship. Friends' 
meetings were begun about 1806-7 in a log house near the north 
bounds of the village, and in 1815 a Friends' meeting house was built 
in Quaker Basin, about two miles east of the village, in which meet- 
ings were regularly held for three-quarters of a century. The original 
church was demolished in 1898 and the Methodist chapel built on the 
site. The society divided in 1837, and those who called themselves 
the Orthodox branch built a meeting house in 1830; but it was used 
only a few years, many of the sect having removed from the town. 

Elder Joseph Coley was an early settler and a Baptist minister, who 
located a mile north of the village. He was a prominent citizen and 
acted in the interest of John Lincklaen in selling land to the Friends. 
He died near New Woodstock in 1856, aged ninety-one years. Zenas 
Rider came from Dutchess county and settled a little north of the vil- 
lage as early as 1808, and died there. Many other early settlers of the 
town are noticed further on and in Part II. 

Two churches at least were formed in De Ruyter previous to the 
erection of the county in 1806. The first religious meeting of Baptists 
was held November 5, 1798, over which Elder Joel Butler presided, at 
the house of Joseph Messenger. Two were baptized and on the follow- 
ing Sunday two more. A few others soon united with these and on 
December 9 they met and organized by adopting articles of faith and 
practice; in the same month they were recognized by a council. At 
that time there were twenty-three members. In January, 1801, Nathan 
Baker, a licentiate, was ordained as preacher. In June, 1804, Caleb 
Smith was chosen deacon, a position which he occupied with great 
acceptance until his death in 1856. During the years 1817-18 a lot was 
purchased a little east of the village and a frame church erected. This 
was occupied until 1842, when a new and more commodious edifice was 
finished ; it is the one still in use. Among the early pastors were Revs. 
Richard H. Benedict, Joseph Maltby, Lewis T. Seaman, Joseph Coley, 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 87 

J. C. Holt, William Denison, Luman W. Webster, William A. Wells, 
J. B. Pixley, W. H. Douglas, Benjamin Crandall, Thomas Fisher, E. 
W. Bliss, D. Leach, and a long list of others, many of whom served 
only a year or less. At the present time the congregation is small and 
the pulpit is supplied largely by Hamilton students. 

There has always been a large element of Seventh Day Baptists in 
this town. In 1795 William and Thompson Burdick, the pioneers al- 
ready mentioned, began the so-called " Sabbath-keeping " settlement 
about three miles north of the village site. These were soon joined by 
Jonathan, Luke and Pardon Coon, Matthew Wells, aud Jonathan Bent- 
ley, Sylvester Crumb and many others who located in this vicinity and 
in adjoining towns. By 1815 the sect here was a numerous one, and 
meetings were held in barns, school houses and dwellings, in which 
Elder David Davis and others took the lead. On September 15, 1815, 
a meeting was held for the purpose of organization and a covenant was 
signed by twelve men and thirteen women. For about ten years meet- 
ings were held alternately in De Ruyter and Lincklaen, and in 1837 the 
membership numbered 127. In 1831 the Lincklaen church was organ- 
ized by members dismissed from this society. In 1835 the society built 
the substantial church edifice it has ever since occupied. Although 
this church has been at times without a regular pastor, meetings have 
usually been regularly held, and the society is still in an active and 
prosperous condition. Present pastor, Rev. L. R. Swinny. 

Although a little out of its chronological order the early Methodist 
church may properly be noticed here. Meetings of members of this 
sect were held in the town at a very early date, and in 1817 it became a 
preaching station on the Cortland Circuit. In 1830 a Union church 
edifice was built to which this denomination contributed and meetings 
were held therein regularly. The church is on the Cuyler charge. 
The present church edifice was erected in 1884, the former one having 
been changed into a business building. There was a Methodist church 
formed in early years at Shed's Corners, which is still in existence. A 
Universalist society also was formed there many years ago, but it grad- 
ually declined and has gone out of existence. The building is now used 
for a dwelling. 

The town of De Ruyter at the time of the formation of Madison 
county, as the foregoing pages indicate, was quite fully settled and many 
farms were partially cleared and supplied with comfortable homes. A 
few early schools were being taught, the first mills were in operation, 



88 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

around which was forming the nucleus of a more numerous settlement, 
the household wants of whom were supplied by Samuel Bowen who 
opened a store soon after 1800 in a little building which stood just north 
of the Tabor House site. A man named Gray built the first frame 
store before 1805 and other merchants soon followed. The burning of 
the town hall destroyed the town records of De Ruyter, making it im- 
possible to describe the public proceedings of the authorities in early 
years. 



CHAPTER VII. 
FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT, 

When the much-desired division of Chenango count)' was accom- 
plished in 1806, the inhabitants of the northern part of the former great 
civil division felt the highest satisfaction in the knowledge that in their 
future they would not be compelled to travel long distances for the 
transaction of public busmess and to attend the courts, and, as we have 
seen, their public spirit was exhibited in their prompt attention to the 
establishment of a new county seat, the erection of court buildings and 
the inauguration of the county government. 

Meanwhile, as population continued its rapid increase, the further 
division of the five then existing large towns became imperative, and 
the people did not delay action in the important work. No less than 
five new towns were erected in the year following the formation of the 
county, 1807; these were Eaton, Lebanon, and Madison, erected Feb- 
ruary 6, and Nelson and Smithfield oa March 13 Settlements had 
already been made in all these, beginning in 1792-3, to which attention 
must now be given. 

The town of Eaton was formed from Hamilton on February G, 1807, 
is situated centrally in the county and bounded on the north by Smith- 
field and Stockbridge, on the east by Madison, on the south by Leba- 
non, and on the east by Nelson. It was named in honor of Gen. Will- 
iam Eaton, a Revolutionary soldier, who, after filling consular positions, 
returned to Brim field, Mass., whence many families migrated to this 
vicinity. Its area is a little less than 28,000 acres. The Chenango 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 89 

River flows across the town from the northeast corner, and its valley 
comprises a large part of the area, the sloping sides and level bottom 
lands being rich and fertile and giving variety and beauty to the scen- 
ery. In the northern part the slope is towards the north and the drain- 
age flows to Oneida Lake. In the vicinity of Eaton village are a num- 
ber of springs which are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and in all 
parts of the town are numerous springs of pure water, which water the 
pasture and meadow area and create streams which in past years turned 
many wheels of industry. Alder Brook rises in the town of Nelson 
and flows easterly through the southern part of Eaton and empties into 
the Chenango at Eaton village; it has numerous mill sites. Leland's 
Ponds and Woodman's Pond are three beautiful small bodies of water 
in the southern part, which were drawn upon to supply a reservoir con- 
structed in 1836 to supply the Chenango Canal, which curves into the 
southeastern part of the town. The flow from Hatch's Lake and Brad- 
ley Brook Pond in the southwest corner was taken for the same pur- 
pose. These waters have always been noted for their abundance of 
fish and were favorite resorts of the Oneida Indians, whose trail to the 
Susquehanna passed the Leland's and Woodman's Ponds; the stream 
flowing southward from the southernmost of the ponds was known as 
Pine Woods Creek. 

The soil of Eaton is clayey and gravelly loam on the hills, and in the 
valleys gravelly loam and alluvium. The region was formerly covered 
mainly with the hard maple tree and great quantities of excellent sugar 
were produced. In early years general farming was followed, but dur- 
ing the past half century dairying has been the principal agricultural in- 
dustry. This town introduced the first cheese factory and creamery in 
Madison county, thus leading in a movement that revolutionized the 
farmer's occupation. 

Eaton was Township No. 2 of the Twenty Townships and was part 
of the purchase made for Sir William Pultney by English agents. 
William Smith was the agent in the purchase of this, as well as other 
towns, as described in an earlier chapter, and the township was pat- 
ented to him in April, 1794. When Smith subsequently resigned his 
agency he was succeeded by Robert Troup and in the arrangement 
Smith had reserved to him the tier of lots west of the center. 

John and James Salisbury, brothers, who were with the first settlers 
in the adjoming town of Lebanon, entered the limits of Eaton, on lot 
94, in the fall of 1792, and made a clearing, but the severity of the ap- 



90 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

proaching winter drove them back and they never returned to their 
humble improvements. The first permanent settler in Eaton was 
Joshua Leland. a native of Sherburne, Mass., born in 1741 and mi- 
grated to this town in 1793, and began clearing a farm. He was soon 
joined by John H. and Benjamin Morris who aided him in his work. 
In the fall he went back to his former home and in the following spring 
took his family to the wilderness home, which had been made habitable 
by the Morrises during the winter. This place was on lot 94 and later 
became known as the Dunbar farm. The journey in was extremely 
difficult and when the family were within a few miles of their destina- 
tion the cart sank in the mire and Mr. Leland was compelled to go and 
get the Morrises to help him out. The point where the cart was thus 
mired became the later homestead and the locality is still known as 
Leland's Pond. Mr. Leland kept the first public house in Eaton, his 
humble house supplying a welcome hostelry for many of the local 
pioneers; it stood on the site of the later Dunbar residence. Mr. 
Leland also built the first grist mill at the foot of the Leland Lake in 
1795, and before the close of that year added a saw mill. To operate 
these mills a dam was built behind which the water overflowed a large 
tract of lowland, causing dissemination of malaria; this resulted in the 
purchase of the mills by the town within two or three years and the 
destruction of the dam. The heavy forests of hardwood in that region 
enabled the pioneers to make large quantities of potash and Mr. Leland 
was the first to engage in the business, the product finding a ready 
market and generally for cash. Mr. Leland was killed June 22, ISIO, 
while taking a load of potash to Albany, the barrels rolling upon him 
while descending a hill in Cherry Valley. He left a large estate to his 
family. He had six sons, the first letters of whose given names were 
the vowels — A, E, I, O, U and Y — thus: Amasa, Ezra, Isaac, Orrison, 
Uriah and Yale. There was a seventh son, Joshua, and three daugh- 
ters. 

In 1795 Mr. Leland induced other families from Sherburne, Mass., 
to locate near him; these were Benjamin Morse, Simeon Gillett, Levi 
Bonney, Elijah Haydon and Daniel Alby. In the same year Benjamin 
Morse's son, Sawen, was born, the first birth in the town. The first 
death was that of Simeon Gillett, which took place in 1796; in the same 
year the first marriage was performed, uniting Mr. Gillett's daughter, 
Dorcas, with Lewis Wilson, who had just come from the east. 

In 1796 Samuel Sinclair, Joseph Morse, William Mills, Humphrey 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 91 

Palmer, Deacon McCrellis, and perhaps a few others, became settlers 
in the town. Mr. Sinclair succeeded Mr. Leland in keeping the tavern 
at the old place and became quite popular as a landlord. The Morse 
family soon became and have ever since remained one of the most 
prominent and worthy in the town. Ellis Morse, son of Joseph, born 
in 1789, died in 1869, was a liberally educated man of excellent busi- 
ness capacity, high character, and was frequently called upon in past 
years to fill local offices. He built the still existing fine old stone resi- 
dence in 1819, where hospitality and domestic happiness were ever 
present. The son, Calvin, was born in 1799 and lived to become the 
oldest resident, retaining to a remarkable degree his active faculties. 
He held various public offices. A younger son of Joseph Morse went 
to Pennsylvania in 1820, became a large manufacturer, and died there 
about 1870. Eunice, daughter of Joseph, married Dr. James Pratt, the 
first and for a few years the only physician in Eaton. Bigelow Morse 
removed to Fabius, and Alpheus remained in Eaton to accumulate a 
fortune as a manufacturer, much of which was lost in the later failure 
of his woolen mill at Alderbrook. Gen. Henry B. Morse, of the Civil 
war, and later a resident of Hot Springs, Ark., was a grandson of the 
pioneer; so also were Alfred A., who fell at Cedar Creek; Walter, a 
member of the manufacturing firm of Wood, Taber & Morse, of Eaton; 
Rev. Andrew P., a Presbyterian minister; Gardner, manufacturer and 
miller in Eaton village, town clerk, member of assembly, etc. ; Darwin, 
and Frank B., merchants in Eaton; Albert W. , scientific farmer and 
inventor. Benjamin Morse, the other of the pioneer settlers, passed 
the remainder of his life in Eaton, but most of his descendants went 
west. Hezekiah Morse became a settler a little later; he was elected 
supervisor in 1809, was prominent in the establishment of schools and 
a leading citizen; he subsequently removed to Oxford. 

Thaxter Dunbar settled in Eaton with his father in 1799 and lived to 
be almost a hundred years old. John H. and Benjamin Morris who 
helped Joshua Leland in building his log house, before mentioned, 
probably removed farther south in the year of their settlement. Their 
brother, Thomas Morris, settled on the site of Morrisville, purchasing 
land which included it, and the little settlement that gathered there 
was for some years known as Morris Flats. He built his first log house 
which occupied a part of the site of Mead's drug store and his first 
frame house on the site of Otis P. Granger's residence. He died April 
27, 182-t, and no lineal descendants now live in this vicinity. 



92 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Benjamin, Windsor, Stephen, and Ziba Coman settled in this town in 
1797, near the "Center" (Eagleville), where they labored persistently 
to found the most important village in the town. They were compelled 
to see the failure of their efforts, as business was inevitably to central- 
ize along the turnpikes, one of which passed through Morrisville and 
the other through Eaton. Names of this family appear frequently in 
the records of early times as office-holders, business men and church 
workers. Benjamin died in 1852, and Stephen in 1870. 

Other settlers of 1797 were Rawson Harmon, Rufus Eldred, Cyrus 
Finney, and Dr. James Pratt; others who located perhaps a little later 
were William Mills, John Pratt, Lorin Pearse, Caleb Dunbar, Isaac 
Sage, William Hopkins, Seth Snow, Elijah Hayden, Daniel Hatch, 
David Gaston, Constant, Robert, and Cyrus Avery, Joseph French, 
Abiather Gates, and a Mr. Patterson. Rawson Harmon, Rufus Eldred 
and Cyrus Finney settled near the site of Eaton village. Many of these 
families were conspicuous for faithful and unselfish effort in the welfare 
of the small community previous to the beginning uf the present cent- 
ury, and made comfortable homes for themselves and their posterity. 

John and Matthew Pratt came from Vermont and settled at what be- 
came known as Pratt's Hollow, near which they built a grist mill amid 
many difficulties. The mill itself stood about half a mile out of Pratt's 
Hollow, and was soon followed by the building of a saw mill and a 
large distillery. They also owned several houses, built and stocked a 
store and erected one of the very early woolen mills in the county. 
The firm of Pratt Brothers was for many years favorably known over a 
wide extent of territory and they became quite wealthy; but in later 
years met with reverses. About 180G a number of Protestant Irish 
families settled in the Pratt's Hollow region, among whom were the 
Tooke, Kern, Fearon, Tacabury, Philpot and other families. 

William Hopkins was an early settler in the west part of the town, 
where he and his sons, Anthony, Isaac, Palmer and Harlow, cleared and 
cultivated an excellent farm. Seth Snow settled west of Eaton village, 
where he built a double log house and kept tavern. His brothers, 
Simeon and Eleazer, settled a little later. Elijah Hayden settled near 
the village, and Daniel Hatch about a mile southeast, on the Hamilton 
road. David Gaston settled in Morrisville and was one of the early 
judges. 

Benjamin, Elisha, Nathan Slater, and Dr. vSlater settled early in 
Eaton. David Bennet settled near Hatch's Lake on the north side; he 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 93 

was father of Daniel and Olney. Abiel Payne was an early settler near 
the site of the reservoir; he was father of Stillman and Truman. Perry 
Burdick and Thomas Fry located before the close of the last century 
in the vicinity of West Eaton, and Dr. Abner Camp, Captain Whiton, 
Nathan King and Samuel Lewis at other points. 

In 1803 Isaac Sage built the first tavern at Log City,' on the east 
side of the road to Lebanon and opposite the site of the later Exchange 
Hotel. There also Robert and William Henry began keeping store in 
1805, and in 1804 Rufus and Zenas Eldred built the first distillery, and 
set up the first carding machine. B. Carter built the first tannery at 
Eaton village as early as 1808. Although a little out of chronological 
order, the settlement of Bennett Bicknell in Morrisville in 1808 may 
properly be mentioned here, as he began the manufacture of combs at 
that early date, and was prominent as a merchant and hotel keeper. 
He was a native of Mansfield, Conn., and carried to Morrisville with 
him considerable means which he freely used for his own business and 
the public improvements then needed. He held the office of assembly- 
man. State senator, member of congress, county clerk, and was a cap- 
tain and major by brevet in the militia. He died in June, 1841. 

David Darrow, the progenitor of the families of that name in this 
section, settled the same year and became one of the most successful of 
the farmers in the vicinity of West Eaton. He died in November, 
1870. Thomas Lumbard, from Hampden county, Mass., settled in 
1803 near the site of Eaton village, but removed to Smithfield after 
five years, where he died in April, 1813. He had a family of nine 
children, who became prosperous and respected. The families of other 
early settlers and of later prominent citizens are noted further on and 
in Part II. 

Only one church was organized in this town previous to the forma- 
tion of the county; this was the Congregational church, which was 
inaugurated at the house of John Mixer, Eaton Center, on the 26th of 

' A stranger who had traveled hither, and was generously entertained by the hospitable 
people, was found to be the prince of good fellows and withal a wag. In the midst of their jolifi- 
cation, he took a flask of "good cheer," ascended one of the low-roofed log buildings, and in the 
presence of admiring comrades, delivered a short and witty harangue, flourished his bottle, and 
drank to the health of " Log City," which was answered by the waving of hats and three rousing 
cheers. The spirit of the occasion lingered in the feelings and was carried home by each one 
present, and he in turn retailed the good joke perpetrated on the settlement to his neighbor. 
The story grew in importance, was passed from mouth to mouth, till the name of Log City, one 
of the chief stopping places on tlie Skaneateles Turnpike, became familiar as a household word 
from the eastern to the western limits of New York State.— Hammond's Hist. Madison County, 
p. 300. 



94 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

June, 1805. The members were John Mixer, Thankful Mixer, Jehiel 
Chapin, Joshua Leland, Waitstill Leland, James Pratt, William Ran- 
dall, Edward Bliss, Phineas Lucas, Polly Bement, Louisa Gates, Sarah 
Anderson, Lydia Avery, Polly Holt and Hannah Bliss. Here are found 
a few additional names of pioneers in this vicinity. The name adopted 
for the organization was The First Congregational Church of Eaton, 
and the society was admitted to the Oneida Association, September 10, 
1805. Rev. Jonas Thompson was the first pastor and served twelve 
years, during which period the school house was used for the meetings. 
The first charter was obtained March 18, 1817, but was allowed to 
lapse, and when the second one was obtained in June, 1818, the society 
had changed its creed character and the name taken was The First 
Presbyterian Society. Three years later in September, 1821, it was 
decided again to be governed by Congregational doctrine and practice, 
but to remain in the Oneida Presbytery. The first house of worship 
was erected in 1817, and cost about $1,700; it was extensively altered 
in 1843 and again in 1859, and was enlarged in 1871. Among early 
pastors of the church were Revs. Silas Parsons, Washington Thacher, 
Evans Beardsley, Nathaniel S. Smith, E. D. Willis, John R. Dodge, 
Moody Harrington, H. L. Hammond, William B. Richards, Frederick 
S. Jewell, Byron Bosworth, William B. Hammond, John R. Lewis, 
Horace F. Dudley, William Windsor, William W. Belden, D. D., and 
William A. Smith. 

Education was early fostered in Eaton through the medium of Dr. 
James Pratt's school, begun in December, 1797; it was a peculiar insti- 
tution, being moved from one point to another each month, thus giving 
its benefits to different parts of the town. It was held the first month 
in Eaton, at Joseph Morse's, and the next at Joshua Leland's. The first 
school house was built at the Center, near Dr. Pratt's residence. Fanny 
Forrester (Emily Chubbuck), the famous authoress, was an early 
teacher in this town, of which she was a native, but she did not begin 
until after the erection of the county. A school was taught in Eaton 
village, besides Dr. Pratt's, in 180-t by a Miss Osmond ; the house stood 
on the cemetery ground and was burned about 1806. A Mr. Roberts 
taught the next school in a private dwelling a mile below the village. 

The first town meeting in Eaton was held in the school house at the 
Center, on March 3, 1807. Simeon Gillett was moderator, and the fol- 
lowing were chosen the first officers: Robert Avery, supervisor; David 
Gaston, clerk; Martin Roberts, collector; Josiah Wilcox, poundkeeper; 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 95 

Ziba Coman, Benjamin Morse and John Hall, assessors; Hezekiah 
Morse and Abram Ellis, poormasters ; Seth Hitchcock, John Pratt and 
Robert Avery, hig-hway commissioners; Martin Roberts and Nathan 
Mixer, constables. 

The usual resolutions were voted upon and passed, restraining hogs 
and rams from running at large at certain seasons, and for maintaining 
the simple town government in other directions. At a meeting held 
March 5, 1811, a resolution was adopted requiring every farmer to cut 
all Canada thistles on his land "in the old of the moon," in the months 
of June and August, under the penalty of $10, after having received 
three days' notice; a similar penalty was imposed for not cutting bur- 
docks after the same notice by the authorities. 

In the town meeting of 1809 the principal topic of discussion was the 
so-called County Road. A vote was passed to " petition the legisla- 
ture to have the County Road taken up from the first station of said 
road to the now dwelling house of David Gaston, and established on or 
near the now travelled road from the said first station to the said dwell- 
ing house of David Gaston." A petition for this purpose was circulated 
in the town. 

In 1810 it was resolved in town meeting to adopt proper measures to 
have the site of the court house and jail fixed, and efforts were made in 
favor of this town as the county seat. The town meetings were held 
for a number of years in the school house "near Dr. James Pratt's," 
and afterwards in the court house and in the Presbyterian church in 
Morrisville. 

In 1813 it was voted in town meeting that " any man having Canada 
thistles growing on his land shall mow them down twice in the sum- 
mer, once in June and once in August," under penalty of $5, on prose- 
cution of the same, and the pathmasters were placed in charge of Eph- 
raim Goodell to see "they performed their duty in regard to Canada 
thistles." Numerous resolutions appear in the town proceedings at this 
period regarding the then proposed half-shiring the county, against 
which policy this town was bitterly opposed, as indeed were most of 
the others. In 1814, for example, it was voted that " we are decidedly 
opposed to half-shiring the small county of Madison, in any place what- 
soever, and we still believe the site ought in justice to be removed from 
Cazenovia to a just and equitable center, and likewise decidedly opposed 
to have any part set off from the small county of Madison for the pur- 
pose of erecting a new county or enlarging any other." All of which 



96 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

indicates that the settlers in this town had their troubles many years 
ago, in common with humanity at large. 

Thus we have seen that at the date of the county organization the 
town of Eaton was far advanced in its settlement with a class of inhab- 
itants above the ordinary and numbering among' them several who, 
with their immediate descendants, became conspicuous in various direc- 
tions throughout the county. Schools were in successful operation, 
one church was in existence, roads were opened but were still almost 
impassable at certain seasons, and a small start had been made towards 
the founding of the numerous industries that in later years gave the 
town considerable importance. The town was still without a post- 
office, without a lawyer, but these blessings were soon to be realized. 

Turning now to the adjoining town of Lebanon, we find that it was 
set off from Hamilton February 5, 1807, and received its name in ac- 
cordance with the suggestion made in the State Legislature by Gen. 
Erastus Cleveland, of Madison, who championed the bill dividing the 
original town of Hamilton into four towns, as it was then composed of 
four townships, the fifth forming the town of Lebanon. It is centrally 
situated on the south border of the county and bounded on the north 
by Eaton, on the east by Hamilton, on the south by Chenango county, 
and on the west by Georgetown. It contains a little more than 26,000 
acres, its area remaining as at first fixed. Its surface is hilly and com- 
prises the highlands between the valleys of the Chenango and the Ot- 
selic. The Chenango valley extends into the eastern part, expanding 
into a mile in width, giving a considerable tract of fertile and beauti- 
fully situated land, which is bordered by steep hillsides. Numerous 
small streams flow through parts of the town and are tributary to the 
Chenango. The Hamilton group of rocks underlies most of the town, 
with the higher groups appearing in the western part; the latter has 
been quarried in a limited way for cellar walls. The soil on the hills 
is gravelly loam, underlaid with hardpan, and in the valleys is rich 
alluvium. Lebanon is almost exclusively an agricultural region, man- 
ufacturing and trade interests never having been important. In past 
years hop growing has been followed with profit, but not to a great ex- 
tent, while dairying has for many years been the principal industry. 
The New York, Ontario and Western Railroad crosses the town in a 
southwesterly direction, with a station at Lebanon, and connects at 
Earlville with the Chenango Valley branch of the West Shore road, 
and at Smith's Valley with the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton which 
extends a short distance into the town in the northeast part. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 97 

Lebanon was one of the six towns patented to Col. William S. Smith 
in 1794, who soon afterward transferred the greater part of it to Sir 
William Pultney, reserving a large tract bordering on the Chenango 
River. This condition resulted in there being two separate agencies 
that were active in promoting settlements. In 1791, the year in which 
Mr. Smith's purchase was made but previous to its consummation, he 
commissioned his friend, Joshua Smith, born in Franklin, Conn., to 
select lands for him in the Twenty Townships. Joshua Smith visited 
this region in that year, making the journey on horseback, built a log 
house for future use a short distance south of the hamlet of Smith's 
Valley, and returned east to report to his superior. Mr. Smith subse- 
quently returned to Lebanon, married and reared a family, and re- 
moved later to Monroe county. 

Col. William S. Smith was graduated at Princeton College in 1774 
and served as aid to Baron Steuben, receiving a colonel's commission 
for meritorious conduct. His wife was Abigail Adams, daughter of 
the second president of the United States. He was minister to Eng- 
land during Mr. Adams's administration. At the time of the Burr con- 
spiracy his acts excited suspicion, which prompted him to place his 
landed estate in this vicinity in the hands of his brother, Justus. His 
suspected connection with Burr's operations brought no results and 
Colonel Smith returned to Smith's Valley to live. He was elected to 
Congress from the Seventeenth District in 1813 and was re elected in 
1815. He had three children — Baron Steuben, John Adams, and Car- 
oline; of these John Adams studied law in the office of Judge Hubbard 
in Hamilton. It is said that nine brothers and sisters of the Smith 
family have resided at different periods in Smith's Valley. After Jus- 
tus B. Smith had begun his service in the sale of the lands here, his 
brothers, James and John, and five sisters joined him in the settlement. 
Colonel Smith died at Smith's Valley in 1816, and Justus B. died in the 
same year; he was a bachelor and lived on the east side of the river 
three-fourths of a mile below Smith's Valley station. 

The earliest settlement in the town, however, was made by Jonathan 
Bates, who came from Vermont in the fall of 1792, with Enoch Stowell, 
from New Hampshire, and John and James Salisbury, whose settle- 
ment in Eaton was noticed a few pages back. Bates and Stowell lo- 
cated on the north line of Lebanon on lot 7, Bates where Joshua Cram- 
phin lived in recent years, now occupied by William Stringer, and 
Stowell where his son Horace now resides. During that fall the}' 



98 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

cleared twenty acres of land, living meanwhile in a bark shanty. They 
passed the winter in Bainbridge with Vermont friends and in the spring 
Bates returned with his family and lived on the farm he first located 
imtil his death, in April, 1827. He was buried near the line between 
Lebanon and Eaton. His son Henry succeeded to the homestead and 
died there in 1831. David, an elder son, was a cooper and lived many 
years in the town. Enoch Stowell returned a little later and married 
a sister of Benjamin Church ; Mr. Church soon followed Stowell into 
the settlement and located a little below him; he died in June, 1859. 

Settlement in Lebanon was rapid and 1794 saw the incoming of a 
number of pioneers; among them were David Hartshorn, Samuel and 
David Felt, brothers, and probably others. Samuel Felt settled on the 
west side of the Chenango in the vicinity of Earlville, and died in July, 
1803; David died in August, 1810, both in middle life. Samuel had 
sons, Jehiel, Samuel, Elam, John, Jabin, Sylvester and David, most or 
all of whom lived for a time in this vicinity. David Felt also had a 
large family. 

David Hartshorn had previously prospected here and when he came 
to settle in 1794 brought his family of wife and one child, John; they 
located a little south of Wheeler's Mills, on the west bank of the Che- 
nango a little above Smith's Valley. He kept a tavern several of the 
early years. John Hartshorn, the eldest son, was the first postmaster 
at Smith's Valley, appointed about 1817; he removed to Syracuse in 
1820, and there passed the remainder of his long life. Jacob Harts- 
horn and Joseph Phelps, the latter a brother-in-law of David Harts- 
horn, settled a little later in the north part of the town. 

These pioneers suffered many privations and hardships during their 
first season, particularly in the winter months. To get grain ground 
they had to make the journey to Whitestown, the path defined only by 
marked trees and often almost impassable. Under these circumstances 
boiled wheat and hulled corn were much used on the table. Samuel 
Felt, with much labor, made a large mortar from a section of an elm 
log, in which he and his neighbors pounded their grain. 

In 1797 Lent Bradley settled on lot 4, on the north line of the town, 
where John Bennett lived in recent years, now occupied by Edward 
Purcel, and died there. Solomon Jones was a settler also as early as 
1797. John W. Bulkley located as early as 1798; also David Shapley 
just north of the present stone school house, and Dunham .Shapley 
southeast of that school house. Arunah Moseley settled west of the 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 99 

reservoir about the same year. The Shapleys and Moseley were Shak- 
ers, from the Community in New Lebanon, Columbia county, and left 
it clandestinely with three women members whom they subsequently 
married. David Shapley settled about a mile below the location of 
Jonathan Bates, before noticed, where his son Lewis lived and now his 
grandson, Spencer Shapley. Dunham Shapley settled about a mile 
southeast of his brother's place. Moseley settled on the east side of 
the Campbell settlement where Palmer Kenyon resided a few years, 
now owned by the heirs of the late JohnFaucett. These three pioneers 
died each upon his homestead farm. 

The Campbell Settlement took its name from nine families of that 
name who settled in that locality, all of whom came from Sterling, 
Conn. The names of the heads of the families were Daniel, Allen, 
James, Steward, Isaac, Archibald and John, many, if not all, sons of 
widow Patience Campbell, and John and Charles, sons of widow Nancy 
Campbell. Their settlement was made in the north part of the town. 
The two widowed mothers, who were then old women, came in with 
their sons, and Nancy Campbell taught the first school in her dwelling 
in 1801. The Campbell vSettlement covered an area of several hundred 
acres, which was divided into the farms of these pioneers. With the 
exception of Steward and John (sons of Patience), and Isaac who went 
west, and Daniel, all these pioneers died on the farms on which they 
first settled. Daniel died where his grandson, Stephen B. Campbell, 
now lives. Morris N. Campbell, the oldest living descendant of these 
Campbells, descended from Patience, now resides on the farm pur- 
chased by his father in 1830, three miles northeast of Lebanon village. 

The year 1798 (possibly 179?) saw the arrival in the town of two men 
who were to give the settlers their first mills. These were Daniel and 
Elisha Wheeler, brothers, who removed from Chatham, Columbia 
county, and located about three miles east of Lebanon village; they 
were practical millwrights and Elisha built a saw mill on the west side 
of the Chenango at Smith's Valley in 1798, and Daniel a grist mil! soon 
afterward on the opposite side of the river about a mile above Smith's 
Valley. This was burned about 1804, a loss that was a calamity to the 
people, who had already been about five years without means of grind- 
ing grain. On the day following the fire the near-by inhabitants gath- 
ered at the site of the mill and before night arrangements were com- 
pleted for its rebuilding, which was soon accomplished. The grist mill 
stood on the site of the Armstrong mill; the latter was occupied as a 
L.ofC. 



100 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

carriage shop after the construction of the canal feeder, which substan- 
tially destroyed the water power; and later became a storehouse, and 
was burned. The saw mill owned in recent years by Mr. Simmons, 
was built on the site of the old mill, now operated by Horace Close. 

Dane Ballard settled in 1800, coming from Pelham, Mass., locating 
just north of the Rhode Island quarter, where John B. Coe resided in 
recent years. In 180.3 he removed to Lebanon settling on the site of 
the village. The village site is on lots 57 and 58, the north and south 
street being the dividing line. Mr. Ballard built the first saw mill 
there in 1804 on the site of the mill now owned byL. Ballard; this mill 
is idle for lack of water. 

In the same year (1800) Silas Seymour, born in Hartford, Conn., in 
1777, settled in Lebanon, taking up sixty acres of land on lot 24; by 
subsequent purchases he acquired over 200 acres, most of which ulti- 
mately passed to his son, Alfred, long and still a respected citizen of 
the town. Silas Seymour died on his homestead in 1845. 

Elihu Bosworth was a settler as early as 1800 in the northwest part, 
where Le Roy Thayer now lives, where he resided until near the time 
of his death in 1854; he was from Guilford, Conn. Jabin Armstrong 
was a newcomer of about that year, married a niece of David Harts- 
horn and settled just below what was then known as Hartshorn's Cor- 
ners, and began wagon making. Thomas Buell settled in 1800 or a 
little earlier, on a large tract in the southeast part of the town and b)' 
the year 1815 was with one exception (Justus B. Smith) the largest 
land owner; he died in 1820. Deacon Abraham Webster, a brother of 
the famous lexicographer, settled in town as early as 1802 in about the 
center of the northwest quarter, near the residence of Reuben H. Geer. 
Malatiah and Benjamin Hatch also were pioneers at about the begin- 
ning of the century. 

Rev. Matthias Cazier, of French descent, and a soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary army for three years, was the first settled pastor in Castleton, 
Vt., in 1790. In 1800 he took his family to Salem, Conn., and in com- 
pany with a friend explored central New York. In the same year he 
purchased 800 acres in Lebanon. In 1802 he removed his family to 
Hamilton and in 1804 to his new home in this town ; he built his house 
on lot 22 in the northwest part of the town, where Otis Dunham now 
resides, and there died in 1837. 

Daniel Clark was a settler of 1803 in the southeast part, where he 
died in 1853. Orsamus Gilbert and Francis Whitmore were pioneers of 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 101 

1805, the former from Becket, Mass.; he came in with a three horse 
team and settled on the site of Lebanon village. There he built a 
dwelling which was subsequently occupied by his son-in-law, William 
Tompkins, and remained standing until it was the oldest house in town. 
He was a practical cloth dresser and established a carding machine. He 
died in 1843. Francis Whitmore was originally from Connecticut, but 
removed to Lebanon from Wilbraham, Mass., settling about five miles 
north of Earlville; he died in the town in 1841. 

Ephraim Gray settled in Lebanon in 1807, on eighty-six acres of land 
a half mile east of Lebanon village, where his son, Cooley C. Gra}-, 
afterwards lived; he was from New Lebanon, Columbia county, and 
died in 1851. Benjamin Hewes came in about the same time and set- 
tled on lot 59 in the west part of the town where Clinton Stowell lives. 
Other early settlers were Thomas Hueston, Daniel Stowell, Deacon 
Asa Tenney, Capt. Roderick Moore, Philip Kibbie, Capt. Truman and 
Jabez Billings, John Sheldon, Giles Collins and Richard Taylor. Of 
these, Hueston came in with the Campbells, married a daughter of 
Archibald Campbell, and settled near them, afterwards removing to lot 
57. Daniel Stowell was a brother of Enoch, the pioneer, and settled 
in the east part on a farm now owned by John Harmon. Deacon 
Tenney settled also in that vicinity, but soon removed. Captain Moore 
settled on lot 34 and afterwards removed to lot 41 in the west part 
where John Fisk now resides. Philip Kibbie kept the first tavern in 
the town on the river road between Earlville and Smith's Valley. The 
Collins, Billings and Sheldon families located on and near what has 
been known as Collins Hill. 

The first store in this town was kept by Joshua Smith at Smith's 
Valley. Jonathan Thayer settled on the site of Lebanon village, man- 
ufactured potash there at an early day, established a hat making busi- 
ness and opened a store, the first in the place, in a building erected by 
him. 

John Niles was a pioneer in the town of Madison, but removed early 
into Lebanon, whither came also his father, mother, brothers and sis- 
ters, the family becoming one of the most numerous in the town. He ' 
took up a tract in the western part of the town containing 3,000 acres, 
for which he paid $3 an acre. The family located there and the locality 
became known as Niles Settlement. His sons were Nathan, John, 
Samuel, Ephraim and Calvin, who all became prosperous farmers. 

Thomas Buell settled early on a large farm in the southeast quarter 



102 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and located his large family near by; the homestead was afterwards in 
possession of his son Chauncey, and his grandson, Philander C. San- 
ford Head came from Rhode Island with his father, Joseph Head, and 
settled in Madison in early life and was a school teacher in that town, 
Lebanon and others while a young man. He owned a farm of 300 
acres about a mile south of Lebanon village, now owned by J. A. Head, 
and was influential in advancing the cause of education. 

Daniel Clark came from Colchester, Conn., in 1803 and settled on a 
large farm in the southeast quarter about two miles from Earlville, 
where he cleared and tilled a large and fruitful farm. Curtis Hoppin 
was a prominent early settler, active in the establishment of the Con- 
gregational church and father of F. B. and B. E. Hoppin. 

The foregoing brief records of the pioneers of Lebanon include men- 
tion of most of the settlers previous to, and a few later than, the form- 
ation of the county. It is a noticeable fact that in this town, more of 
the names of pioneer families are still retained in the community than 
in most localities; a spirit of loyalty to the old homes has been kept 
alive and still exists. 

The first town meeting in Lebanon was held in the red school house, 
but the exact date is lost. The following officers were elected: John 
W. Bulkley, supervisor; Silas Seymour, clerk; Giles Collins, Josiah 
Lasel and Jacob Kennedy, assessors; Malatiah Hatch and Roderick 
Moore, overseers of the poor; Jacob Kennedy, Daniel Clark and Rod- 
erick Moore, commissioners of highways; David Hartshorn and Joseph 
Hitchcock, constables; Joseph Hitchcock, collector; George Morey, 
Walter Baker, Clark " Willcocks," Stephen James, Orsamus Gilbert, 
Samuel Lewis, Abraham Webster, Jacob Hartshorn, Justus B. Sn:ith, 
Ezra Gates, John W. Bulkley, Elisha Wheeler, Darius Sperry, Sheldon 
Smith, Gardner Salsbury, Moses Pomeroy, William Taggart, James 
Dorrance, Roderick Moore, Archibald Campbell, David B. Hitchcock, 
Aaron Davies, Giles Collins, and William Sloan, overseers of highways 
and fenceviewers; Charles S. Campbell, poundkeeper. This list adds 
somewhat to the number of settlers who were in the town at its erection 
in 1807. 

A special town meeting was held at the school house November 23, 
1807 (doubtless soon after the first one), at which it was voted that " we 
agree to be centered," and " that the center be as near the center of 
the town as the ground will admit." The committee appointed to 
select this center were John W. Bulkley, Constant Merrick, Jacob Ken- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 108 

nedy, Moses Wylie and Roderick Moore. The selection was made and 
the action of the committee ratified at another meeting held December 
7, at which Constant Merrick, John Niles, Malatiah Hatch, William 
Austin and Moses Wylie were appointed a committee to "draw up 
subscriptions " for the purpose of building a town house 40 by 50 feet 
in size, two stories high. For some now unknown reason this town 
house was not built, and the public meetings were held mostly in the 
same school house until 1830, after which until 1834 they were held in 
the Baptist meeting house. 

In the meeting of 1809 a vote was passed that dogs should ' ' be taxed 
50 cts. per head; " but this burden proved too heavy and it was rescinded 
in the following year. During the agitation of the matter of locating 
the county seat, and of dividing the county, this town took steps to 
make its voice heard in the councils. A meeting was held in 1810 upon 
the subject of "continuing the county," and delegates were appointed 
to meet those of other towns; these were John W. Bulkley, Dr. John 
Clarke and Malatiah Hatch. 

Silas Seymour was the first poundkeeper in the town and was reg- 
ularly elected for several years. The first legislation relative to sup- 
porting the poor as found in the records was in 181G, when it was voted 
that $50 he raised for that purpose. In 1817 it was $100; in 1819 the 
amount had increased to $400, but at a later special town meeting this 
amount was reduced by one-half, and Amos Crocker, Samuel Sherrill, 
Daniel Clark, John Paddleford and Ephraim Gray were appointed a 
committee " to devise and digest a more economical way of supporting 
the poor of the town and make report thereof to the next town meet- 
ing. " The record shows no report from this committee. 

Among other public proceedings was the imposition of a fine of 
twenty shillings in March 1808, on persons permitting Canada thistles 
to grow on their farms. On March 5, 1811, a bounty of $13 was voted 
for wolves killed; these animals were very troublesome for a number 
of years. 

On the 1st of October, 1802, Rev. Ezra Woodworth, then pastor of 
the Congregational church in Hamilton, visited Lebanon in answer to 
a request, and on the following day the persons whose names are here 
given met and adopted a profession of faith and were constituted a 
Congregational church : Abraham Webster, Lent Bradley, John C. 
Wagoner, Elihu Bosworth, Isaac Campbell, Dolly Webster, Rachel 
Galloway, Caty Bosworth, Joanna Wagoner, Elizabeth Campbell, Sarah 



104 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Wagoner, Sophia Webster, Eunice Webster, Eunice Huston and Solo- 
mon Jones. The church records prior to 1817 are very meagre, and as 
far as indicated there was no settled pastor until 1825, when Rev. Pres- 
ton Cummings was called ; he was dismissed in February, 1827. In 
September, 1831, the society requested the Chenango Presbytery to 
ordain for them Rev. S. Scott, but it is not recorded how long he 
remained. Other early pastors were a Mr. Willis, Revs. Ezekiel Chap- 
man, Nathaniel Latham, P. Field, Samuel Manning, who were probably 
supplies previous to 1831; Jeremiah Pomeroy, William B. Tompkins, 
G. W. Finney, Revs. Redfield and Copeland, Wyn Root, G. M. Smith, 
T. A. Wadsworth, C. Barstow, W. W. Warner, Abisha Scofield, Ovid 
Miner and J. D. Woodruff. A meeting house was built in 1825 a mile 
north of the Center, which was later removed to the village where it 
was ready for occupancy in 1839. Since that date the edifice has been 
vastly improved, the gallery taken out and otherwise modernized. 
The society is now prospering under the ministry of Rev. Hugh Ivey. 
Justus B. Smith has already been mentioned as the first merchant on 
the site of Lebanon village. His goods were kept in the lower part of 
his house on the farm owned in recent years by Whipple Clark. Mr. 
Smith was succeeded in that locality by James Dorrance; but the first 
regular and permanent mercantile business was established by Jonathan 
Thayer, jr., whose father was a pioneer of 1800, on lot 61 about two 
miles west of the village site and where the son began trading about 
1808; he soon afterward moved to the village site, which was beginning 
to show signs of becoming a business center. The first physician there 
was Joseph Stowell, who had taught school in Stovvell, Mass., whence 
he removed to Lebanon about 1800 and settled near Earlville, where 
he practiced until his death about 1832. Constant Merrick, the pioneer 
of 1802 or 1803, was a physician and settled on Billings Hill, southeast 
of the village, whither he removed about 1806, and there practiced 
until his death in 1828. Dr. John Clarke came from Windham, Conn., 
where he practiced some years, but discontinued long before h<s death ; 
he died about 1810 at the age of ninety-five years. Among other early 
physicians was Dr. Erastus B. Burroughs, who settled in the village in 
1827 and who gathered about him a number of students whom he loca- 
ted at different points, with whom he hoped to be frequently called in 
consultation. Albert G. Purdy was one of these, who located in Eaton, 
afterwards removed to Oneida; he served two terms in the Assembly. 
Another was Milton Burnett, a native of Georgetown, who located in 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS 105 

Morrisville, practiced many years and eventually removed to Oneida; 
he was elected sheriff while a resident of Morrisville. Others of these 
students were Frederick Bradley and Ralph Shepard, both born in 
Georgetown, James Stewart and others. Dr. Burroughs's health failed 
and he died in IS-tS. 

Dr. Lyman O. Norton, from Hamilton, settled in the village in 1843, 
practiced about ten years and removed to Illinois. John and Cyrus 
Baker, brothers and homoeopathists, practiced there from about 1848 
to 1853, and removed to the western part of the State. Dr. Frank D. 
Beebe practiced there from 1855 to 1862 and removed to Hamilton; he 
was succeeded by Dr. Elam Root, James Mott Throop and others. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT. 

This chapter will be devoted to the history of the erection and settle- 
ment of three other towns that were formed in the year 1807 — Nelson, 
Madison, and Smithfield. The town of Nelson was erected from Caz- 
enovia on March 13, 1807, and received its name in honor of the dis- 
tinguished British naval officer, Admiral Nelson. It is No. 1 of the 
Twenty Townships, lies a little to the southeast of the center of the 
county, and is bounded an the north by Fenner and Smithfield, on the 
east by Eaton, on the south by Georgetown, and on the west by Caz- 
enovia. Its area is about 26,000 acres. The surface is mainly a hilly 
upland, broken in irregular ridges having a general north and south 
direction. It constitutes a part of the water shed between Oneida Lake 
and the Susquehanna River. The principal stream is Chittenango 
Creek, the northern and larger branch of which rises in Fenner, enters 
Nelson near the center of the north boundary and crosses the north- 
west part in a southwesterly direction. The smaller branch rises in 
the south central part, flows northwesterly and unites with the main 
branch near the west line of the town. The latter branch is fed by 
innumerable springs and with a more northerly tributary from the east 
forms the Erieville reservoir, which was constructed in 1857 as a feeder 
for the Erie Canal. The Eaton reservoir, constructed as a feeder for 



106 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the Chenango Canal, is partly in the southeastern section of this town. 
The underlying rocks of Nelson are the Tully limestone, the Genesee 
slate, and the Ithaca group ; a small part of the northeast and southwest 
corners is underlaid with the Hamilton group. Limestone is found 
only in boulders and although some quarries have been opened, no 
desirable building stone has been taken out. The soil is generally a 
gravelly loam, well adapted for grazing and the production of hay. 
Dairying is the principal industry of the farming community. The 
town is at the present time largely an agricultural district. 

The territory of Nelson was originally patented to Alexander Web- 
ster, June 4, 1793, and in the same year was purchased by John 
Lincklaen, who was the active agent in promoting early settlements. 

Two public State roads were laid out in early 3-ears that crossed this 
town, one of these came in from Eaton across the land afterwards cov- 
ered by the Eaton reservoir, passed on over the hills through Erieville 
to Woodstock and onward in that direction. The other road came from 
Morrisville and crossed the town near the center in an east and west 
direction. The later Skaneateles Turnpike followed substantially the 
course of the first named road. The Cherry Valley Turnpike, built in 
1806, left Morrisville and passes in a westerly course through the 
northern part of the town. The Syracuse and Chenango Valley branch 
of the West Shore railroad crosses Nelson in the southwest part, with 
a station at Erieville. 

In 1793 Jedediah Jackson and Joseph Yaw visited and purchased 
land in the north part of the town in the interest of an association of 
men in Vermont, and during the two succeeding years twenty six fam- 
ilies, most of whom came from the vicinity of Pownal, and were largely 
related, settled on the purchase or in other parts of the town. The 
names of the heads of these families follow: Jedediah and Asahel 
Jackson, brothers, Joseph Yaw, and David, his brother, Ebenezer 
Lyon, Daniel Adams, Sylvanus Sayles, Oliver Alger, Daniel and Isaac 
Coolidge, Levi Neil, Samuel and Thomas Swift, Roger Brooks, 
Ethan Howard, Robert and Solomon Brown, Thomas and Jesse Tuttle, 
Luther Doolittle, Joseph Cary, Jesse Clark, James Green, Eliphalet 
Jackson, John Everton, Amos Rathbone, David Nichols and Rufus 
Weaver. Some of these families did not remain permanently in the 
town, but the larger number retained their farms which they cleared 
and cultivated; many of them brought with them children who lived to 
be prominent in the community. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 107 

Jedediah Jackson settled about a mile west of Nelson Flats, on the 
farm subsequently occupied by Levi Keith, and on the site of that 
house opened a tavern in 1794, which was the first one in the town. 
He had a family and was a prominent citizen. He kept the tavern 
many years and made it a favorite stopping place for the many pros- 
pectors and settlers who passed that way in early years. He was killed 
eventually by the kick of a horse; with Joseph Yaw, he had been one 
of the first justices of the peace. Asahel Jackson settled a little north- 
east of the Flats on the hill, near the site of the Methodist church. 

Ebenezer Lyons', a veteran of the Revolution, born in Connecticut, 
married his wife at Wallingford, Vt., and thence came to Nelson and 
settled in the western part of the town where his grandson, Wallace 
Lyon, now lives. He became a prominent citizen ; was the first super- 
visor of the town, several years justice of the peace, and an early judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas. He was succeeded on the homestead 
by his son, Eliphas, who also died there. Joseph Yaw located in the 
northwest part of the town near the site of the cemetery; he finally 
sold to Peter Morey and moved out. Daniel Adams located north of 
the Flats and was a prominent citizen. Roger Brooks settled in the 
east part of the town on the farm i-ecently occupied by Deacon D. E. 
Davis; was a practical cabinet maker, and followed this trade for many 
years. Luther Doolittle located in the northeastern part of the town 
on the farm now owned by John Hughes, and there kept one of the 
earliest taverns in that section. 

Eliphalet Jackson settled a little west of the Flats, built a log house 
and in it kept the first store in the town. A little later he sold goods 
in a frame building erected by him soon after 1800, which stood a little 
east of the site of Levi Keith's residence. There is a little question as 
to whether Jackson or Daniel Russell began trade first. 

Russell Weaver lived on his home farm until 1814, when he died at 
the age of sixty-eight years, and was succeeded there by his youngest 
son, Rufus. His daughter Elizabeth became the wife of David Nichols. 

Samuel Kinney was young and unmarried when he accompanied the 
Jacksons to their new home in 1794. The anecdote is related that on 
the night before they reached their destination they stopped at the 
western edge of Eaton. The next morning the question was discussed 
as to who of the party would be the first to enter the land of promise; 
thereupon, young Kinney and a daughter of Rufus Weaver, and Lu- 
cinda Jackson, daughter of Jedediah, settled the matter in a foot-race. 



108 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

It is not recorded which won the race and perhaps the value of the 
story is impaired by the fact that neither Eaton nor Nelson was erected 
until 1807, thirteen years after the party came in. Kinney subsequently 
married a daughter of Sylvanus Mowry and removed to Fenner, where 
Mr. Mowry was an early settler. 

The pioneers of Nelson were early favored with a near-by grist mill, 
which saved them many weary journeys and gave them better food 
products. James Annas was a settler before the beginning of the 
century, coming from Vermont and locating in the western part of the 
town. He was a millwright, and either brought with him a pair of 
mill stones, or made them from native rocks, a point which is unset- 
tled. It was a common practice in the very early years to split out 
rude millstones from field boulders. He at once built on Erieville 
Creek, about a mile and a half north of Erieville village site, a small 
mill and soon had it in operation. Ere long the property passed to 
possession of his youngest son, Truman Annas, who sold it about 1818 
to Oliver Pool. The father of this Oliver Pool, whose name also was 
Oliver, came from Bennington, Vt., soon after 1800 and settled a mile 
and a half west of the site of Erieville. He was a carpenter and com- 
bined his farm work with that vocation ; he lived there until his death 
in 1814. The younger Oliver Pool a few years later removed the mill 
across the road to obtain greater fall of water, and in 1833 built a new 
and larger mill a little below the first one; this he operated until 
1818, when the privilege was purchased by the State and the water 
taken for the Erieville reservoir. Pool went to Michigan to follow his 
trade and died there, his family remaining in Nelson. He was a prom- 
inent and popular citizen, and served as supervisor and member of 
assembly. James Annas in his old age went to Locke, Cayuga county, 
to live with his son and died there about 1829. 

Levi Brown was a settler of 179U, coming from Utica in March with 
a sled drawn by two yoke of oxen and driving ten sheep and a number 
of cattle. It is related that when he reached Eaton Brook, a little be- 
low West Eaton, they found it swollen by spring flood and ice and diffi- 
cult to cross. When one of the sheep refused to enter the water Mr. 
Brown's boy took it upon his shoulder and attempted to cross upon a 
log. The sheep was frightened and its struggles precipitated both into 
the stream, which was then of vastly larger volume than now. The 
situation of the drenched and freezing boy was not an enviable one, 
with five miles yet to travel before they would reach a fire. The boy 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 109 

was Levi Brown, jr., who was then seventeen years old. Mr. Brown 
settled on 150 acres of land about a mile west of the site of Erieville, 
a part of which with the dwelling passed in later years to Thomas 
Riggalls. He afterwards removed to another farm half a mile south of 
Erieville, where he resided until his death. 

The Richardson brothers, Eldad, Lemuel, Asa, Benjamin and Eri, 
removed to the territory of Nelson at about the time under considera- 
tion, from Keane, N. H., and settled on lands adjacent to the site of 
Erieville; Eldad located on lot 147, which was taken up by him and 
his brother Lemuel jointly. He was a popular early tavern keeper, and 
probably stands alone in Madison county as the father of as many as 
thirty-three children ; only six of them lived to maturity. He died in 
April, 1829, at the age of fifty-nine years. Lemuel, who settled on the 
same lot, died in August, 1832, aged sixty-one years; he had nine chil- 
dren. Eri represented this county in the Assembly in 1828 and was a 
prominent citizen; he died in August, 1844. Benjamin died in Octo- 
ber, 1855. 

Three brothers named Wells (Gardner, Joshua and Robert), settled 
in Nelson in 1796, locating in the south part of the town about a mile 
east of the site of Erieville. Gardner and Joshua married in Rhode 
Island before coming west. The former was a blacksmith and proba- 
bly the first one in the town. He followed this vocation until near the 
time of his death, and made many of the early rude plows used in this 
section and much of the primitive mill machinery. He had a son Gard- 
ner .who was also a blacksmith. He died on his homestead in May, 
1839. Frank Isbell now lives on the place. 

Joshua Wells resided on the fifty acres he first took up until a short 
time before his death, when he went to live with his sons, Clark and 
Jonathan Wells: he died at the home of the latter in January, 18fi4, 
aged ninety-two years. He was twice married and had sixteen chil- 
dren. His first child, Palmer Wells, born June 12, 1796, was probably 
the first white child born on Nelson territory; he died at the age of 
twenty-eight years. Joshua Wells held many town offices, was one of 
the organizers of the Erieville Baptist church, and was a much re- 
spected citizen. Robert Wells, the third brother, lived to near the time 
of his death on the farm he first took up, which subsequently constitu- 
ted a part of the Jeremiah Blair farm, now occupied by Frank Blair; 
he died in Erieville in October, 1842, aged sixty-one years. 

David Wellington settled in the town in either 1796 or 1797, about 



110 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

two miles east of Erieville, near the site of the reservoir, his farm be- 
coming in later years a part of the Isaac Blair farm. He cleared an 
acre in his first season and sowed it with wheat; his first habitation was 
a log shanty roofed with bark and floored with puncheons split from 
soft wood logs. He then went back to his former home in Cheshire, 
N. H., and brought in his wife. He was father of an estimable family 
and late in his life went to live with his son David a mile south of Caz- 
enovia village, where both he and his wife died. He was one of the 
first justices of the peace of Nelson, holding the office about twenty 
years, and was honored with other public stations. 

Simeon Haswell was one of four brothers all of whom served in the 
Revolutionary army; he came from Granville, Mass., where he was 
born, in 1799, with his family of his wife and nine children and settled 
on the State road two miles southeast of Nelson Flats, on what is now 
known as the Ezra Booth farm. He was a practical mason and mingled 
that occupation with farming. His children were named Simeon, Par- 
sons, Horace, Daison, Thomas, Leonard, Sally, Sophia, Orpha and 
Abigail, and many of them married and settled in this region. He had 
a younger son, Jabez, who was born in Nelson. The father died while 
living with one of his sons in Fenner, in 184G, aged eighty-nine years. 

Jesse, Abner and Seth Bumpus settled in the north part of the town 
previous to 1800; they were brothers. Aaron Lindsley and Moses and 
Solomon Clark also settled just before the beginning of the century in 
the northeast part. Paul Griffiths, a Revolutionary soldier, Joseph, 
Chauncey and David Case, William Knox and David Hamilton, all lo- 
cated in the town about the year 1800. Griffiths was from Berkshire 
county, Mass., and located four miles west of Erieville; he had four 
children : Isaac, Otis, Abigail and Diana. After his wife died he moved 
to the west part of Georgetown where he died after reaching the great 
age of 100 years. The Cases were brothers from Simsbury, Conn., 
and settled in the northwest part of the town on the Cazenovialine, and 
each remained on the farm first taken up throughout his life. Joseph 
died in 1855; Chauncey in 1859; David in 1873. Lester M. Case, a 
prominent citizen, member of assembly in 1858, and member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention in 1867, was a son of Joseph, as also was J. Milton 
Case, who died inCazenovia in 1875. 

William Knox and David Hamilton were brothers-in-law and settled 
on farms in the northeast part of the town, the latter on the farm sub- 
sequently occupied by his son, S. W. Hamilton, and the latter where 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. lU 

O. D. Knox afterwards resided; Knox was a son of a brother of William 
named John who came into the town a little later. Hamilton died in 
1858. 

Jeremiah Whipple was an early settler in Cazenovia where he kept 
an excellent hotel many years and was the first sheriff of Madison 
county, holding the office a number of years. He removed to Nelson 
and settled at the Flats, held the office of justice of the peace, and was 
a merchant with his son Jeremiah, who was born in 1800; the latter re- 
moved to Fenner and died there in 1869. Another son, Hull Whipple, 
married a daughter of Col. Aaron Ballon, of Fenner, went South in 
1832 and died there. William Whipple, a brother of Jeremiah, was an 
early settler in this region, located in Cazenovia, where he was a car- 
penter and constable. He lived on the site of the Lincklaen House, 
and contracted to make the brick for the first court house, built in Caz- 
enovia. 

Jeremiah Clark, who purchased the Whipple property, built a saw 
mill in the town soon after 1800 on the west side of the stream near his 
settlement ; it was not long in operation. Oliver Pool built a saw mill 
on the east end of the same dam at a later date. Mr. Clark removed 
to Dryden, Tompkins county, late in his life. The first saw mill in 
Nelson was built in 1798-9 by Sylvanus and George Sayles, two miles 
southerly of Nelson Flats; on the site is the present so-called Hamilton 
mill. This property had been reserved by Mr. Lincklaen with the in- 
tention of donating it to any person who would build a mill. 

Thomas Ackley and Benjamin Hatch, from Plainfield, Otsego county, 
and Jeremiah Blair, from Blandford, Mass., were settlers of the period 
under consideration in the west part of the town on the Cazenovia line. 
Ackley died at an advanced age in New Woodstock. Job Wood, Sam- 
uel Salisbury, and Benjamin Wadsworth, from Bennington, Vt. , settled 
in the town in 1802. Wadsworth's son, John, now resides in Erieville 
village. Dyer Matteson, Jesse Carpenter and Robert Hazard were 
settlers of 1806; the former was from Rhode Island originally, but re- 
moved to Nelson from Middletown, Vt. , and located about a mile north 
of Erieville; later he removed to a farm about a mile farther east, which 
was afterwards owned by Freeman Matteson; there he died in 1844. 
Robert Hazard was a native of Hancock, Mass., and settled on the 
Colonel Forman purchase of three lots in the west part of the town; he 
took up 100 acres of lot 146 and lived there until his death in February, 
1853; he had three children. 



113 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Jesse Carpenter came from Worcester, Mass., where he was born, 
with his wife and two children and settled half a mile north of Erieville ; 
he was a basket maker and followed that occupation until his death. 
The two children who came to Nelson were both married previous to 
that time, and Elijah, the son, had several children when he came in; 
he settled two miles southwest of Erieville on the farm subsequently 
occupied by William Pugh. He was a shoemaker and worked at it in 
connection with farming. He had eleven children. 

Barna Stimson was from Blandford, Mass., and settled in 1809 in the 
vicinity of Erieville, where he followed coopering until his death about 
1816. Among other early settlers were James Hinman, Oliver Stone, 
Israel Patterson, Horatio Sims, and Abner Camp. Stone was from 
Connecticut and settled a little to the west of the site of Erieville; later 
he sold fifty acres of his farm to Dr. Onesimus Mead and Silas Melvin. 
The latter did not come into the town until 1806; he was associated 
with William Fellows about 1813 in building a saw mill at the head of 
the reservoir, which was in operation until about 1845 when the dam 
was carried away in a flood. Stone subsequently sold his remaining 
fifty acres, but resided in the town until his death about 1830. 

James Hinman settled in the north part of the town, but left this 
region in early years. Israel Patterson was a pioneer on a farm a little 
east of Erieville, where he took up 150 acres, but sold seventy-five to 
Joshua Wells. About 1800 he sold the remainder to Thomas Mallory, 
who four years later removed to Canada. A brother of Israel Patter- 
son lived also on the same place, where two log houses were built; they 
came in together but left the town at an early date. 

Horatio Sims, father of Clark Sims, was a pioneer and settled a mile 
and a half north of Erieville, where William R. Jones afterwards lived; 
both he and his wife died there. Abner Camp was a settler on the east 
line of the town south of the center, where he cleared a farm which he 
afterwards sold and soon after the war of 1812 removed to Richland, 
N. Y. He was a son of Dr. Abner Camp, a botanic physician, who 
settled early in Eaton on the southeast side of Hatch's Lake, which for 
a time was known as Camp's Pond. 

Several families came in from New Jersey in 1811 and settled in that 
region, which is still called Jersey Bush, in the south part of the town. 
Among them were Thomas and William Harris, Joseph English, Phineas 
Hamblet, Elijah Carpenter, John S. Brown and a Mr. Abraham. 
Thomas Harris was grandfather of Dr. George Harris, later of George- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. U3 

town. For years past the Harris family has held a reunion at Jersey 
Bush, the attendance numbering from 300 to 400. 

The succeeding list of officers of the town, the list of supervisors 
given in the Gazetteer of Nelson and Hart II contain many names of 
other pioneers who labored through their lives around the hearthstones 
they had laid in the wilderness, and left a richer heritage to their pos- 
terity. 

The first and second town meetings in Nelson were held in the barn 
of Rufus Weaver on the 7th of April, 1807. At the first meeting James 
Green acted as moderator and Josiah Hayden, clerk; John Rice and 
Isaac Bumpus assisted in canvassing the votes. The following officers 
were there elected: Ebenezer Lyon, supervisor; John Rice, clerk; 
Jeremiah Clark, Simeon Marshall and Thaddeus Hazleton, assessors; 
Thomas Holdridge, Moses Boardman and John Knox, commissioners 
of highways; Day Fay and Moses Boardman, overseers of the poor; 
Eri Richardson, Asahel Wood, Alvan Henry and Benjamin Bumpus, 
constables; Alvan Henry, collector; James Bacon and John Jackson, 
poundkeepers; Elijah Daniels, Daniel Butler, Silas Reeves, Joseph Sims, 
Rufus Weaver, James Annas, Benjamin Turner, Uriah Annas, Robert 
Hazard, George Tibbits, Eldad Richardson, Jonathan Wellington, 
David Smith, Abraham Parker, Ephraim Cone, David Nichols, Daniel 
Coolidge, Richard Green, John Rice, Stephen Kingsley, Dyer Matteson, 
Francis Wood, John Knox and Warham Chapman, overseers of high- 
ways and fenceviewers. 

Among the early proceedings of town meetings it is recorded that 
Jeremiah Clark was voted ten dollars for his services in attending the 
Legislature in promoting the formation of the town. In 1809 a tax of 
twenty-five cents was imposed upon every person who kept a dog, the 
proceeds to be devoted to the purchase of a Merino ram for public use. 
This is, perhaps, the earli^t instance of the imposition of a dog tax 
anywhere in this vicinity, if not in the State. At the same time a 
bounty of $30, in addition to the State bounty, was voted for every 
wolf killed. The remarkable dog tax was repealed in 1810. It was 
voted at an early meeting that " sheep rams shall not run on the com- 
mon after the 1st day of September until the 1st day of January, on the 
penalty of being forfeit." 

In 1807 the amount of tax collected was $208.41; when the treas- 
urer's and collector's fees were deducted it left $195.90. In that year 
it cost $11.50 to support the poor. Other votes were early passed for 
the simple government of the town. 



114 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Early in the century some small business interests were established on 
the site of Erieville, around which soon gathered a collection of settlers. 
Josiah Hayden, who settled there about 1807, built a store on the site 
now occupied by G. C. Moore; that building was afterwards used as a 
school house, where Dr. John Heffron taught certainly as early as 1810; 
later it was a gun shop and finally a dwelling. 

The first store at Nelson Flats, as it was called (now Nelson village), 
was opened soon after 1800 and kept several years by Eliphalet S. 
Jackson, who was succeeded by his cousins, John and Salathiel Jackson. 
This point was in early years a place of considerable business impor- 
tance, when many stage coaches passing east and west made it a stop- 
ping place. 

One of the first taverns in the town was kept by Luther Doolittle in 
the northeast quarter, about 1800; it was known as Tog Hill tavern. 
Another was built by Eldad Richardson on Eagle Hill a mile east of 
Erieville not long afterwards; both of these were first built of logs. 

Although parts of this town, particularly the northeast part, were 
occupied as a field of religious labor in very early years, probably be- 
fore the beginning of the century, by both Baptists and Presbyterians, 
and by Methodists not long afterwards, no church was organized in the 
town until after the formation of the county. There was not a physi- 
cian in the town as a resident, Dr. Jarn_es Pratt coming in from Eaton 
to attend the sick until 1809, when Dr. John Heffron, a native of Swan- 
sey, N. H., settled at Erieville. The town in 1806, while quite fully 
settled, was not nearly so far advanced in its institutions, its trade 
operations or mercantile business, as many others, and there was not a 
post-office until 1832. 

Turning now to the town of Madison as another of the five formed 
within a year after the erection of the county, we find that it was set 
off from Hamilton on the 6th of February^ 1807, and named in honor 
of James Madison, president of the United States. It is situated on 
the east border of the county south of the center and is bounded on the 
north by Augusta and Stockbridge, on the south by Hamilton, on the 
east by Oneida county, and the west by Eaton ; it was No. 3 of the 
Twenty Townships and contains almost 23,000 acres. The principal 
streams of the town are the headwaters of a branch of the Chenango 
River flowing south and the headwaters of a branch of Oriskany Creek 
flowing north; but tiiere are numerous small spring-fed streams amply 
watering the town. The surface is a rolling upland, a picturesque 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 115 

variety of hills and intervening valleys. There are several small ponds, 
the principal one of which is the Madison reservoir covering an area of 
235 acres, from which a feeder leads to the old Chenango Canal. Some 
of the ponds, particularly those in the north part, are filled with marl ; 
but it has not been used on account of the swampy edges and the depth 
of water. The town is underlaid wholly by the rocks of the Hamilton 
group, which are generally deeply covered with drift, making it practi- 
cally impossible to quarry with success. The soil on the hills is clayey 
loam and in the valleys is gravelly loam, most of it fertile and adapted 
to mixed farming. Hop growing has for many years been the most 
important agricultural industry and twenty years ago the product of 
the town was in some years one-fourth that of the whole county. 
Dairying has always received considerable attention and in recent years 
has increased. Lumber is still cut to a considerable extent from the 
remaining woodlands, three steam saw mills being now in operation in 
the town. 

Settlement in the town of Madison was early promoted by Robert 
Troup, who has already been mentioned as the agent of Sir William 
Pultney, the purchaser of immense tracts of land in this region. In 
association with Mr. Troup and working under his direction was Ben- 
jamin Walker, and through their efforts and fair treatment of settlers, 
the town rapidly filled up with an excellent class of pioneers. In 1791 
prospectors entered the town and in the following year Daniel Perkins, 
the first permanent settler, took up two lots lying south of the pond 
near the site of Madison village; he was from Kennebec county, Me., 
and subsequently sold parcels of his land to other settlers. He located 
a mile east of the site of Bouckville where Theodore Spencer now 
resides, built a house and returned to Maine for his family, who were 
brought in early the next year. A little later he transferred the home- 
stead to his son-in-law, Theodore St. Clair, with whom he resided for a 
time and later with his son, Solomon Perkins; the latter had left this 
town prior to 1806 and settled in the Black River country. Mr. St. 
Clair built in 1807 the hotel in Madison village which is still standing, 
though much changed in appearance by subsequent additions. He kept 
the tavern a short time. 

In the same year (1793) Jesse Maynard took up a farm on lot 45 
about a mile south of Madison village, now owned by the widow of 
Lewis W. Curtis; he remained only a short time in the town. His 
brothers, Amos and Moses, came in a little later, Amos about 1798, and 



116 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Moses as early as 1801. The former settled on the same lot as Jf e, 
where he and his wife both died. He was the first captain of militia in 
the town, was a soldier of the war of 1812 and rose to the rank of col- 
onel. Moses Maynard brought in a large family and settled on the te 
of Madison village where he kept an early tavern many years. He 
afterwards built the hotel at Bouckville, where he died in May, 1853. 

At about the year under consideration the founder of Madison village 
came in the person of John Berry and took up land on lot 36 on which 
the village is situated. He settled a little to the south of the village 
center, where Charles Welch now resides. At an early date he sold 
the homestead to his son Samuel, who later sold it to Gen. Erastus 
Cleveland, son-in-law of the elder Berry, under an agreement that 
Cleveland should thenceforth care for Samuel's father and mother; 
Samuel Berry then went west. John Berry, who became blind, and 
his wife passed the remainder of their days with General Cleveland and 
both died in 1821. 

Erastus Cleveland was one of the Madison prospectors of 1792, com- 
ing directly from Whitestown, but originally from Norwich, Conn. In 
the spring of 1793 he settled on Oriskany Creek in the north part of 
the town at what became known as Tyler's Mills, a mile below Sols- 
ville. He purchased all the mill sites on that stream and built at dif- 
ferent times some half dozen grist mills, as many saw mills, and a 
woolen factory on the site of Solsville, which disappeared before 1825. 
All those mills have also disappeared excepting one, which is now oper- 
ated by F. Fiske. This was in part due to the reduction of the water 
power caused by constructing the canal. General Cleveland also engaged 
among the very first in the manufacture of black salts, as the crude 
potash was called, buying ashes for the purpose about the country ; in 
the prosecution of this business he kept a few coarse dry goods which 
he exchanged for ashes, thus becoming the first merchant. 

General Cleveland was a man of great capacity and energ)' and soon 
made a wholesome and permanent impression upon the uninviting part 
of the wilderness where he had chosen his abode. He was a practical 
carpenter and turned his skill to excellent account in his early building 
operations. He built before 1794 the first saw mill, which was sup- 
plemented in the following year by a grist mill, the first one in the 
town; it occupied the site of the one before mentioned as now operated 
by Mr. Fiske. He continued in the building business until his death, 
which took place at the home of his son, Samuel G. , January 23, 1858. 



SETTLEMENT OP TOWNS. 117 

The house in which he died, on the old Berry place, was built before 
1 '^ and was probably the first frame dwelling in the town; Jonathan 
Pratt built a frame house opposite in the same year. General Cleve- 
land built, also, on the Berry farm the first brick structure of any 
ac -ount ; he engaged early in droving, carried on distilling and brewing, 
and in the second decade of the century built the brick store in Madi- 
son village, where he was a merchant a few years and transferred it to 
his son and others of his family. In the conduct of his various business 
undertakings General Cleveland accumulated what was a considerable 
fortune for those days. For many years he was among the foremost 
citizens of Madison count)-; was elected to the Assembly in 1833, where 
he was prominent in securing the legislation for the construction of the 
Chenango Canal ; was the instigator of the measures that led to the 
establishment of the county poor house, and was for many years county 
judge. In the war of 1813 he commanded a regiment at Sackett's 
Harbor, and later was in command of a brigade of militia which gave 
him his military title. 

Col. Samuel Clemens settled also in 1793; he was from Massachusetts 
and located on the Cherry Valley Turnpike about a mile east of Madi- 
son village, where Algenas Lovejoy now resides; he opened his house 
for the entertainment of travelers; he, however, left the town in earl)^ 
years. Thomas McMullen (the spelling of this name has been changed 
to Mellen) settled in 1793, coming from Pelham, Mass., and locating a 
mile northeast of the Center on the farm now occupied by L. Morgan ; 
he and his wife both died there. Stephen F. Blackstone and Russell 
Barker came westward in company in 1793 from Brantford, Conn., 
where they had married sisters. Blackstone settled in the southeast 
corner of lot 47 where Henry Fredericks now resides, and Barker on 
lot 48 on the old Bishop place. Mr. Blackstone was a prominent citi- 
zen and held the offices of member of assembly and county judge. His 
son Stephen was one of the first children born in the town. William 
and David Blair were brothers and settlers of that year, William at 
Madison Center on land known as the Coe place, where he reared a 
family. Brownell Tompkins, father of Sidney Tompkins, married 
his daughter and with him William Blair passed his last years. David 
Blair settled a mile southeast of the Center, where his son David after- 
wards resided, now occupied by Thomas Jones. James Collister, an- 
other pioneer of 1793, came from Massachusetts and settled where his 
grandson, Deloss Collister, subsequently lived and where James Collis- 



lis OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ter, son of Deloss, now resides. Among his children was Marcena 
Collister, who was the first male white child born in the town; he suc- 
ceeded to and died on the homestead. 

Two other settlers of 1793 were Henry W. and Israel Bond, brothers 
and soldiers in the Revolutionary army, who located in the north part 
of the town, Israel on the Bond farm now occupied by Miss Pratt. 
Henry Bond built in 1793 on the Oriskany at Solsville, an early 
saw mill, which was operated some thirty years. He and Eli- 
jah Blodgett, who settled on the flats near Bouckville, kept a tavern 
there and were interested together in lands in the northwest quarter of 
the town. Henry Bond removed from the town in early years. Mr. 
Blodgett was a practical surveyor, the first in the town, and a man of 
more than ordinary ability; he held the office of justice of the peace, 
but he also left the town as early as 1807. 

Joel Crawford settled in 1793 about two miles east of the Center on 
the farm now occupied by the widow of the late T. Jones. He removed 
to Michigan. Francis Clemens settled in the same year a little east of 
the site of Madison village at the foot of the hill which skirted the 
Cherry Valley Turnpike as if formerly ran; it has been changed in its 
course to make it more nearly straight; he removed from the town in 
early years. Seth Snow settled in 1793 on the turnpike on the Putnam 
place now occupied by a daughter of Samuel Putnam. He planted the 
first apple tree in town and also built the first brick house, a small 
structure. He left the town at an early date. 

John Niles, from Chesterfield, Mass., came west by way of the Mo- 
hawk River, stopped one summer in Clinton and in the winter of 1793 
passed down the valley and cleared an acre of land on lot 43, a half 
mile east of the site of Bouckville, on what has always been known as 
the Niles farm. The following spring he returned to Clinton and from 
there brought in on his way back corn, beans, and potatoes, which he 
planted on his clearing. He had recently married his wife in Clinton 
and she came in with him. In the following year a number of his rel- 
atives joined him, among them his brothers, Ephraim, Isaac, Calvin, 
Nathan and Samuel, and his father, Nahum, all of whom with the ex- 
ception of Calvin had families, adding materially to the settlement. 
Isaac settled on the Solomon Root farm, which he sold to Root; Nathan 
on a farm adjoining John's; Nahum, then advanced in years, between 
John and Isaac. Ephraim did not take up land. Ephraim Partridge and 
Waldo Littlefield, brothers-in-law of John Niles, also came in, Partridge 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 119 

settling a half mile east of Bouckville, and Littlefield lived in a log house 
near by but did not take up land. In 1808 John Niles sold his place to 
James D. Coolidg and removed to Lebanon, where the others soon after- 
ward joined him in founding what is known as Niles Settlement and 
described in the history of that town. 

In 1794 a considerable colony came on from Rhode Island and located 
in the southwest quarter of the town. This entire quarter, excepting 
two lots which had been sold to William and David Blair as before no- 
ticed, and also two lots in the southeast quarter, had been purchased in 
1792 by agents of the Rhode Islanders, and became known as the Rhode 
Island quarter. Among these colonists were the Simmons families, two 
or three Peckham families, who have numerous descendants, some of 
whom still live in the town, vSamuel Brownell, Joseph Manchester and 
Samuel Coe; these were all from Little Compton and an adjoining town, 
but all did not arrive in that year. The Peckhams, Charles and George, 
Brownell and Coe, and possibly a few others, came on in 1794 by way 
of the Mohawk, stopped a time at Paris Hill, where relatives had pre- 
viously settled, and made the remainder of their journey with an ox 
team, bringing in their families, household goods, provisions and tools, 
following their course much of the distance by marked trees. The 
others of the colony came in within a few years. Brownell settled on 
the farm which he sold to his son-in-law, L. B. Putnam; he died in 
Madison village. Samuel Coe settled on the farm now occupied by the 
widow of Marion F. Risley; his daughter Nancy, who afterwards lived 
on that farm, was three years old when the family came in, and lived 
to a very old age. 

Nicanor Brown was a settler in 1794, and Samuel Rowe came in 
about the same time from Farmington, Conn. ; the latter located on lot 
13 on the farm occupied in recent years by Matthew R. Burnham. 
Brown settled a mile west of vSolsville on the Markham farm, and later 
moved a little southeast of the Center to what became known as the 
Collins place. 

Among the settlers of 1795 was Abial Hatch who located about a mile 
east of the Center on the farm afterwards occupied by his grandson, 
Erastus T. Hatch, and now by John Henderson; his only child was 
Capt. Zenas Hatch, who married a daughter of Deacon Taylor, an Eng- 
lishman, who settled early in the north part of the town; Zenas Hatch 
succeeded to the homestead, but removed to Madison village and there 
died. 



120 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLK. 

Elijah Thompson, a Revolutionary soldier, and Israel Rice, both from 
Massachusetts, the former from Charlestown and the latter from Wor- 
cester, came in 1795, Thompson settling on land bought of William Blair 
and Rice on lot 32 on the farm now occupied by Francis Rice. James 
and Alexander White, brothers, from Northampton, Mass., also were 
pioneers of that year, and were joined the next year by their brother 
John, who purchased 100 acres of Samuel Clemens. In the winter of 
1797 John and his brothers Samuel and Thomas brought in their families 
with ox teams and sled; the sleds were rough, wood-shod vehicles and 
so much bare ground was found that they frequently were compelled to 
stop and renew the runners. 

Abizar and David Richmond, brothers, were originally from Massa- 
chusetts, but came into Madison from Fairfield, Herkimer county, Abizar 
settling where his son Merrick afterwards lived and where Pliny Rich- 
mond, son of Merrick now lives, and David in the southwest part. Will- 
iam McClenathan settled in the northeast part on what has been known 
as McClenathan Hill. 

Dr. Jonathan and James and Daniel Pratt, brothers, were from Belch- 
ertown, Mass., whence they came as early as 1796 and settled near the 
Center. Dr. Pratt was the first physician in the town and practiced 
until his death in 1839 ; he was prominent in the formation and support 
of the First Congregational church, and accumulated a considerable 
property which was mostly spent in litigation over a church matter." 
Dr. Pratt's brothers were young unmarried men and studied medicine 
with him. James married a daughter of James Eaton, the pioneer set- 
tler of Eaton village, and there settled as the first physician and school 
teacher, continuing until his death. Daniel settled in Fenner where he 
was one of the early physicians. David Pratt, father of these brothers, 
served in the Revolutionary war; he was father of twenty children, six- 
teen of whom lived to maturity and all but three here named settled in 
New England. 

' It was customary in those early days to sit in church during singing and stand during prayer. 
Some sixty years ago the evangelist, Finney, who was for a time president o£ Oberlin College, 
established the reverse of this practice, a course which Dr. Pratt opposed through his whole life. 
His will bequeathed a considerable portion of his property to the church of which he w*asa mem- 
ber, provided it would establish itself on " gospel grounds " by conforming to the old practice. 
The society, however, continued to follow the practice introduced by Finney, and at the same 
time sued the Pratt estate in Chancery after his death to recover under his will. After about 
twenty years of litigation the court decided that the church was not on gospel grounds accord- 
ing to Dr. Pratt's meaning. The estate was squandered in defending the will and the church im- 
poverished in trying to break it. The case was discussed with a view of reopening it as late as 
twenty years ago. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 121 

Nathaniel Johnson, from Worcester, Mass., became a settler here in 
1797, and Gideon Lowell about that )^ear. Among others who came in 
the period from 1795 to 1797 were the Simmons families, William San- 
ford, Judson W. Lewis, Nehemiah Thompson, Peter Tyler and Thomas 
Dick. Zarah Simmons and his sons George and Thomas; Benjaminu^ 
Simmons and his sons Benjamin and Cornelius, and Gideon Simmons, 
who was a cousin of Benjamin, members of the Rhode Island colony 
before mentioned, were from Newport and settled in the Rhode Island 
quarter. William Sanford, Judson W. Lewis and Nehemiah Thompson 
were from Stratford, Conn. Sanford settled in the southwest part, 
Lewis on lot 19, and Thompson on lot 17. Peter Tyler also located on 
lot 17, where the widow of Hon. J. W. Lippett now resides. Thomas 
Dick was from Pelham, Mass., and settled a mile east of the Center; he 
had prospected in the town in 1791. 

Joseph Head, a Quaker and a member of the Rhode Island colony, 
settled in 1798 a half mile southwest of the Center and died there in 
1837. In that year Joseph Curtis came from Stratford, Conn., and set- 
tled on the north line of the town on lot 3; Robert, Samuel and Timo- 
thy Curtis came from the same town about the same time. Robert lo- 
cated on land purchased of Nehemiah Thompson on lot 17, and Samuel 
and Timothy on Stratford street. 

Gilbert Stebbins, from Wilbraham, Mass., settled in 1799 in the 
southeast part of the town; Reuben Brigham, from Sudbury, Mass., 
in the north part on the road from Solsville to Augusta Center, on what 
has been known as the Daniel Richards farm, which was purchased of 
Abner Bellows; Agur Gilbert from Stratford, Conn., settled at Sols- 
ville and died there in 1840; his son. Deacon John Gilbert, succeeded 
to the farm and died there in 1870. Joseph Manchester, who probably 
came in in 1799, settled in the southwest part on the Hamilton line; 
and Job Manchester, another member of the Rhode Island colony, lo- 
cated in the Rhode Island quarter on lot 57, where he was succeeded 
by his son William and his grandson, L. B. Manchester. 

A number of prominent pioneers located in the year 1800 and per- 
formed their allotted parts in building up the community. Abijah 
Parker settled about a mile west of Bouckville; his son Zadock was a 
physician and the first one in the west part of the town. Paul Hazzard 
came in that year from Paris, whither he had removed from Albany; 
he settled at the Center and found remunerative employment at his 
trade of carpenter. In 1801 he built the Baptist church and in the 



122 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

next year the Congregational church. Jared and Samuel Wickwire, 
natives of Cornwall, Conn., settled in 1800 on 500 acres in the south 
part of the town. Jared a few years later returned to Connecticut and 
married, and came back to Madison with his brothers, Samuel, Nathan 
and Hiram, all locating on the land previously taken up, Jared on the 
farm now occupied by Truman Chase. Hiram settled in Georgetown, 
and Nathan a little way south of Log City (Eaton), on what became the 
poorhouse farm, which he sold to the county and moved to the west part 
of the State. Nehemiah Fairchild, another pioneer of 1800, settled on 
five acres at the Center; he was a tailor, probably the first in the town, 
and died about 1812. 

Paul Greenwood came from Massachusetts about 1800 and settled at 
the Indian opening a little northeast of the site of Madison village. 
Later he removed to Lebanon and thence to Smith's Valley where he 
and his wife both died. They had ten children, one of whom was Dr. 
Levi P. Greenwood, a well known physician of Erieville. 

A prominent and respected citizen of the town was Joseph Banton, 
who came from Wilbraham, Mass., in 1801 and lived to the age of 
ninety years, dying in 1871. Moses Phelps came from Saratoga county 
about the same time and settled at Solsville and died there. John 
Edgarton came from Shirley, Mass., soon after 1800 and was the first 
settler on lot 39, on which is situated the village of Bouckville; he had 
previously lived a short time about a mile farther north and made brick 
on the Abijah Parker farm, before noticed. 

Eli Bancroft and Abner Burnham come from Hartford, Conn., in the 
spring of 1804 and purchased land of Jeremiah Mack on Water street, 
and in the fall brought on their families and occupied a double log 
house previously built by Mack. Luther Rice came from Worthing- 
ton, Mass., about 1804-05, while young and unmarried and learned 
blacksmithing with his brother Joseph, who had settled a few years 
earlier as the pioneer blacksmith of the town. Joseph located at the 
Center where Henry Thomas now lives and followed his business there 
many years. 

Dr. Samuel McClure settled at Bouckville about 1805 and opened a 
tavern. David Peebles from Pelham, Mass., settled in the northeast 
quarter as early as 1805. 

James D. Coolidg was from Slower, Mass., and came on westward in 
1806, the year of the formation of the county, and in 1808, as before 
stated, purchased of John Niles a large and partly improved farm on 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 123 

lot 43, half a mile east of Bouckville, where the widow of Charles Z. 
Brockett now resides. He died there in April, 1844, having increased 
his farm to about 500 acres. Mr. Coolidgt was one of the early and 
chief promoters of the hop-growing industry in this region, and had 
the first hop field in this part of the State. Solomon Root from Ches- 
terfield, Mass., settled in the same year on a farm adjoining that of 
Mr. Coolidgs on the south, and soon engaged in hop-growing; these 
two men took the lead in this business, which soon extended throughout 
the county. Mr. Coolidg;was father of five children, one of whom was 
James, who lived to nearly a century near the homestead at Bouckville. 
Mr. Root settled on the farm afterward owned by his son-in-law, Henry 
Lewis. 

Capt. Gilbert Tompkins was one of the prospecting agents of the 
Rhode Island colony who came here in 1792; at that time he selected 
lot 84 in the south part of the town, east of the reservoir, with the 
intention of bringing on his family in the following year; but being the 
owner of a coasting vessel he found it advisable to again go to sea until 
1808, when he settled on his land in this town. He built the dwelling 
subsequently owned by his son, Deacon Philip Tompkins, and died there 
at the age of eighty-two years. 

Among other pioneers who left their impress upon this town a few 
deserve brief mention. Solomon Alcott settled before the beginning 
of the century on the site of Solsville, which took its name from him. 
At that time there was nothing on the site of the village except a small 
tavern kept by William Lewis, and a saw mill which had been built 
and was then operated by Daniel Rymple; this mill was rendered use- 
less by the Chenango Canal. Daniel Holbrook was an early tavern 
keeper a mile west of Solsville. Ralph Tanner kept an early tavern 
at Madison village, which was built by Major St. Clair about 1800 and 
was kept by him several years; it was the first public house in the place. 
Samuel Goodwin, father of Daniel B. Goodwin, was also one of the 
most prominent of the early residents of the town as noted further on. 

Lockhart Berry was a pioneer and long a prominent citizen of this 
town. He kept the so-called McClure tavern at Bouckville and after- 
wards the tavern at Madison village. He was a Democrat of the old 
Bucktail stamp and was frequently a candidate for public office. On 
one occasion he made a creditable run for sheriff. He was prominent 
in the Universal ist church and liberally contributed to the erection of 
the edifice. A daughter of his married the father of Theodore L. 



124 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Spencer, now a resident of the town. The elder Mr. Spencer held a 
command as colonel of a mounted company receiving his commission 
from Governor Clinton. He was conspicuous, as also was his wife, in 
the Methodist church and a much respected citizen. Theodore L. Spen- 
cer has also been prominent in that church, his membership going back 
to 1844. 

As has been shown in the few preceding pages, the pioneers of this 
town were almost wholly from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode 
Island. They were, moreover, an exceptionally reputable class of set- 
tlers, men of strong character and commendable principles, whose labor 
in founding their homes and establishing the institutions of the com- 
munity has given their descendants and others the best blessings of 
civilization. 

Several years ago the great mistake was made of disposing of the 
early town records of Madison, and Erastus Hatch, who had been a 
faithful town clerk a number of years and appreciated the value of the 
books, bought them at auction for twenty- five cents. These records 
are now in possession of his daughter, Mrs. J. A. Henderson, of Madi- 
son village, and by her have been brought down to date. The first 
town meeting for the town was held March 3, 1807, presumably at the 
"Center meeting house." The following officers were elected: Eras- 
tus Cleveland, supervisor; Samuel Berry, clerk; Seth Blair, Stephen 
F. Blackstone and Levi Morton, assessors; Elijah Thompson and Jon- 
athan Pratt, overseers of the poor; John White, Israel Rice and Eph- 
raim Blodgett, commissioners of highways; Silas Patrick, constable and 
collector; Jonathan Pratt, William Blair, William Manchester, Moses 
Phelps, Calvin Whitcomb, Giles Peckham, Abial Hatch, Samuel Jones, 
vStephen Thompson, Robert McCune, Elijah Herrick, William Dix, 
John Camp, Joseph Manchester, Abial Perry, Abijah Markham, John 
Clough, John Pattison, John Swain, David Blair, Samuel Lewis, Eras- 
tus Edgarton, Solomon Root, William Brown and Ezra Pierce, path- 
masters; Joseph Curtis, poundkeeper. 

The records tell us that at the town meeting of 1808, Levi Dick and 
Edward B. Colton were appointed grave-diggers, and Isaac Coe to clean 
the meeting house, for which services these men were to be paid in the 
same manner as other town officers. In connection with grave-digging 
there were further proceedings a little later. At the annual meeting 
of 1814 it was resolved, "That the money remaining in the Super- 
visor's hands be paid for opening graves;" that "the grave-digger 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 135 

procure slate stones to beset up at the graves; " and that " any person 
living in this town that has a grave opened in any adjoining town, be 
paid by this town." In one year the town resolved to pay $1.25 for 
"opening" graves. The grave-digger considered this inadequate pay 
and after digging a grave, refused to fill it, saying he had "opened" 
it. A special meeting was thereupon called, the wording of the reso- 
lution changed and the pay raised to $1.75. Another amusing bit of 
legislation is found in the case of the tailoress, Keziah Roe, who was an 
invalid, well known throughout the town. It was voted in regular 
town meeting to appropriate the sum of $40 " to send Keziah Roe to 
the seashore for the benefit of her health. " 

In November, 1813, the town was divided into fourteen school dis 
tricts and John White, Levi Morton and William Manchester were 
chosen school commissioners. The town meetings down to and includ- 
ing 1837, with the exception of 1834, when they were held in the vil- 
lage meeting house, were held at the Center meeting house. vSubse- 
quently and down to the time of building the Military Hall in 1861, the 
meetings were held in dwellings. 

The following report of a census of the town is found in the record 
books, written by Truman Stafford, and explains itself: 

The following table shows the number of acres of improved land, of horses, of cat- 
tle, sheep, and also the number of yards of cloth manufactured in the domestic way 
within the town of Madison during the year ending June, 1821, and is inserted in the 
town book, not as an official record, but as a matter of fact interesting to those who 
may hereafter enquire into the profits of agriculture, of the useful arts and of indus- 
try in general. The territory at this time is about six miles square — been inhabited 
about twenty-five years and contains a population of about 3000. 

ABSTRACT. 

Acres of Fulled Cotton 

Imp. Woolen Flannel Linen 

Land Horses. Cattle. Sheep. Cloth. yds. yds. 

13,111 566 3,660 5.593 4,404 7,423 15,779 

Signed, Truman Stafi-okd. 

Mercantile operations were begun on the site of Madison village be- 
fore 1800 by JohnJ^ucas^who opened his store at the so called " Open- 
ing," which was a small Indian clearing adjacent to the little body 
of water that has been called Madison Lake, lying a little north- 
west of the village. At that point the early business interests gathered. 
When the Cherry Valley Turnpike was constructed in 1807 it attracted 
trade and settlements along its line and gave Madison village its incep- 



126 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tion. Mr. Lucas accordingly removed his store to what became known 
as the Corners and located it on the corner where the present store of 
Louis Fuess is situated; there he carried on a successful business many 
years, retiring at an advanced age. The business passed to his son, 
John S. Lucas, who conducted it until his death in 1879. With him 
was associated Alanson Coe for many years, and Robert B. Lane was 
his partner for a time. 

The next merchant at that point, who began business about the date 
of the formation of the county, was Truman Stafford, who traded in a 
building which stood on the site of the block of stores built in later 
years by Henry Hull and Lyman Root, where he continued until his 
death. His clerk, Erastus Barry, was his partner towards the last 
and continued the business a short time after Stafford's death. Cien. 
Erastus Cleveland and Dr. Benjamin F. Cleveland were early in trade 
here, and E. F. Gaylord, sonin-law of General Cleveland, was also in 
trade many years, until he removed to Cleveland. 

The first post-office was established at a very early day at the "Open- 
ing." Dr. Asa B. Sizer was the first postmaster; he was succeeded by 
Ralph Tanner, who was one of the first tavern keepers. The first 
physician was Dr. Jonathan Pratt, who has been mentioned, and Dr. 
Zadock Parker practiced from an early date until his death in 1816. 

On the site of Bouckville the first merchant was Dr. Samuel McClure, 
who came on from Vermont with his wife and eight children in 1805 or 
1806 and purchased a farm which included the site of the village, on 
lot 3. He built a small frame store, but continued business only about 
a year when he removed to Erie county. The early mill, built on the 
site of Solsville before 1810 by Gen. Erastus Cleveland, and his other 
industries have been described. At that point there came into exist- 
ence a thriving business center; but the opening of the canal and other 
causes have taken away its industrial importance in recent years. 

Two churches were founded in this town before the formation of the 
county. The Congregational church of Madison was organised on 
September 6, 1796, with ten members, by Rev. Eliphalet Steele, then 
of Paris. The first pastor was Rev. Ezra Woodworth. Meetings were 
held during the first six years in John Berry's barn. In 1802 a meeting 
house was built at the Center. About twenty years later it was taken 
down and rebuilt nearly opposite the former site; in 1856 it was again 
demolished and rebuilt on its present site in Madison village. The 
society has ever since had a prosperous existence. The church has 
been entirely remodeled in the last decade. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 127 

The First Baptist Church in the Town of Madison was organized 
with about twenty members, by Rev. Joel Butler, as The Second Bap- 
tist Church of Hamilton, on December 20, 1798; the title was not for- 
mally changed to the present form until 1861. On February 16, 17'J'.), 
a committee was appointed to invite Rev. Joel Butler to preach and he 
accepted the invitation. The incomplete records indicate that he served 
about two years, receiving for his first year $33.50, and for the second, 
$35. The society was admitted to the Otsego Association in August, 
1799. In 1801 a meeting house was built at the "Opening" and on 
August 18 of that year the society was incorporated under its original 
name. The trustees were then Thomas Leach, Levi Morton and 
Chauncey Butler. Other early pastors of the church were Revs. Sal- 
mon Morton, the second one, Eliphalet M. Spencer, John Blair, Richard 
Clark, P. P. Brown, S. S. Wheeler, Nelson Palmer, L. C. Bates, Carlos 
Swift, E. S. Davis, G. W. Barnes. The present church was built in 
1833 and has been improved at times. The first parsonage was super- 
seded by one purchased in 1835, which has recently been sold and a new 
one erected. 

This chapter will be closed with an account of the early history of 
the town of Smithfieldj^ the last of the five towns erected in the year 
1807. This town was set off from Cazenovia on the 13th of March 
of the year named, and derives its name from Peter Smith, who 
at the time of the organization owned all the territory of the town, ex- 
cepting a few farms which he had sold to settlers, and a strip one mile 
wide across the northern end. The town contains nearly 16,000 acres, 
over three-fourths of which are improved. It is centrally situated in 
the county and is bounded on the north by Lenox and Stockbridge, 
on the east by Stockbridge, on the south by Eaton and Nelson, and on 
the west by Fenner. At the time of its formation Smithfield included 
the territory of the present Fenner, which was set off in 1823. 

The surface of the town is rolling, with a large cedar swamp extend- 
ing through it north and south which in some places is nearly two miles 
wide; most of this is unimproved, and is underlaid with marl which is 
covered with a thick deposit of muck. The soil on the uplands is 
sandy and gravelly. The drainage is by streams flowing mainly 
northward, the principal ones of which are the Chittenango and the 
Cowasselon Creeks; in the southern part the Chenango receives a part 
of the drainage. 

Smithfield was founded by Peter Smith, who was born at or near 



128 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLK. 

Tappan, Rockland county, N. Y., in 1767. In his youth he resided in 
New York city and there formed the acquaintance of a fellow clerk 
with whom he engaged in the fur trade; this partner was John Jacob 
Astor, founder of the noted millionaire family of that name. Mr. 
Smith's part in the business took him into the interior in quest of furs, 
while Astor remained in New York to attend to the sales. The part- 
nership continued ten years, after which Mr. Smith sought out and 
purchased largely of the best lands he could find in central New York. 
In 1794 he leased from the Oneida Indians for 999 years a tract contain- 
ing over 50,000 acres, which included nearly all of .Smithfield and Fen- 
ner as at present constituted, that part of Cazenovia lying north of the 
Gore, a part of Stockbridge and a large portion of Augusta in Oneida 
county. Smith had made warm friends among the Oneidas, particu- 
larly of the Chief Skenandoah, through whom he was enabled to per- 
fect his valuable lease. But the pagan section of the nation revolted 
against a transaction which took from them this immensely valuable 
territory for a trifling return and made more or less opposing trouble 
when a survey was attempted. In the following year, however, the 
land passed to the possession of the State by treaty p'urchase and Mr. 
Smith was given the opportunity of securing title to his purchase upon 
payment of $350. Strange as it may now appear he hesitated tor a 
time, but in 1798 finally accepted the proposal and was allowed $1.50 
an acre for his expenses in surveying, etc. In 1799 he began selling 
farms at auction, mainly in tracts of fifty acres each, and none larger 
than 200 acres; the price received varied from $6 to $15 an acre, and 
mortgages were taken for unpaid moneys which were turned over to 
the State on the original purchase. This land became known as the 
New Petersburgh Tract, was confirmed and settlement rapidly pro- 
gressed. Mr. Smith did not then become a resident on his purchase, 
but sent on in 1795 Jasper Aylesworth, a native of Rhode Island, born 
August 7, 1773; he walked from Utica, carrying most of the distance 
a heavy iron kettle. Arriving on the site of the village of Peterboro 
he began a clearing of two acres which now constitutes the public 
square. This he planted with corn and then cleared the site of the 
Gerrit Smith mansion. In the spring of 1797 he married Polly, 
daughter of John Taft, who had come into the town as a settler; this 
was the first marriage in the town, and their child, named Safety, born 
March 1-1, 1798, was the first white child born in the town. She passed 
her whole life in Peterboro and died there in 1872. Their second child 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 129 

was Hiram, born June 5, 1800, and there had been then no other birth 
in the town. The other children of Mr. Aylesworth were Oran, Loren, 
Henry, John, Adaline, George, Eliphalet, Van Ranssville and Sophro- 
nia. Members of the family remained in Smithfield many years, Eli- 
phalet being the last of these children in the town. 

Oliver Trumbull came on west in 1798 and bought fifty acres a half 
mile south of Aylesworth, where he reared a family, members of which 
and their descendants have lived honorable and useful lives in this and 
other towns. 

From 1797 to 1799 other settlers came in, among them the large 
Bump family; the first of these to arrive was Ithamar and afterwards 
his father, Ichabod, and his brothers, Moses, Nathan, David, Jonathan, 
Gideon, Jacob, and a sister, Hannah, who married Ebenezer Bronson; 
she was mother of Greene C. Bronson. vSeveral members of this fam- 
ily remained permanentl}' in the town and occupied prominent positions 
in the community. 

The following particulars regarding the early settlers of Smithfield 
were furnished to the Madison County Directory of 1868-9 and are 
worthy of preservation here : 

" The Trumbulls and Griffins had families, and all of them located 
on lot 33, Second Allotment, being the first lot south of No. 26, on 
which is Peterboro. Aylesworth was unmarried and came as the hired 
man of Judge Smith, and in that capacity felled the forest trees on the 
village plat, then an untouched wilderness which had never before been 
made to echo to the sound of the axman's blows and the hourly crash- 
ing of falling trees. How long he continued in Judge Smith's employ is 
not known, but in an early day in the history of the town he married a 
daughter of John Taft, esq., another early settler who lived in town. 
Mr. Aylesworth endured the privations incident to the early settlers. 
On one occasion he brought a five-pail kettle on his back from Utica, 
to make maple sugar. Some of his first supplies and provisions he 
brought from Utica in the same manner. He became a permanent 
resident of the town and was an enterprising and successful farmer. 

" Ithamar Bump settled on lot 41 in 1797, where he continued to re- 
side until removed by death, August 14, 1815. Soon after his first set- 
tlement in town he was joined by his father, Ichabod Bump, and in the 
course of a few years, Moses, Nathan, David, Jonathan, Gideon and 
Jacob, brothers of Ithamar, and a sister named Hannah, the wife of 
Ebenezer Bronson, all became residents of the town. In their physical 



130 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

characteristics this was a peerless family. The brothers were all large, 
well-developed men, averaging six feet in height, with great muscular 
power, and as wrestlers and for personal prowess (qualities highly prized 
in those days) were a terror to the athletes of the county. Some of 
them were enterprising and successful farmers, among them Ithamar, 
especially, was an industrious, upright and esteemed citizen. His de- 
scendants to the third generation still live in the town, and include 
some prominent business men. Ichabod, the old father, died Decem- 
ber 32, 1833, at the age of ninety years. 

" Capt. Joseph Black came in about the year 1798. Where he first 
located is not certainly known, but in the fall of 1803 he was on lot 59, 
N. P., Second Allotment, and in 1803 or 1804 he became a prominent 
contractor for the construction of a large section of the old ' Oneida 
Turnpike,' which was made under his immediate supervision. He was 
proverbially upright and reliable, insomuch that to this day the ques- 
tion is sometimes asked by those who knew him and still remember 
him, whether this generation furnishes any specimens of such un- 
swerving integrity. His memory is precious, and ' though dead he yet 
speaketh.' 

" Between the j^ears 1798 and 1805 many valuable men came in and 
settled as farmers in different parts of the town, but chiefly on the two 
southern tiers of lots on the Mile Strip Tract. On this Mile Strip Tract 
and contiguous thereto were Jacob and Samuel Walker, Allen Bill, Da- 
vid Shipman, Solomon Merrill, sen., and sons, Robert Streeter, Gideon 
Wright, Jabez Lyon, Shadrach Hardy, David Tuttle, EzraChafifee, Mrs. 
Moody and her sons David and Samuel, Mrs. Matteson and her sons 
John, Abraham, Eli and Nathan, Barzillai and Amos Northrup, Syl- 
vanus Mathewson and sons Winchester and Stephen, Stephen Risley, 
Moses Howe, Salmon Howard and Francis Dodge. On the two south- 
ern tiers of lots were Edward Bliss, Wright Brigham, John Lucas, Rod- 
man Spencer and sons, David Blodgett, Alpheus Thompson, John Ford, 
Reuben Fitch, AndressLoveland, and others. Most of these, with many 
more not named in the list, settled permanently, became prosperous 
farmers and valuable men and citizens." 

Elder John Pray, a Six Principle Baptist minister, bought the John 
Taft farm when its first owner died and died there in 1830, leaving nu- 
merous descendants. Stephen Risley, above mentioned, came from 
East Hartford, Conn., in 1801, and was in many of the battles of the 
Revolution. Daniel Petrie was an early settler, learned the Indian Ian- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 131 

guage and became useful to many of the inhabitants in dealing with the 
natives, and a prominent business man. 

James Livingston opened a store at Peterboro in 1801, the first one 
in the town; he was a brother of Peter Smith's wife. His store stood 
at the east end of the public green; it was the first frame building of 
the village, was built in 1800, and stood until recent years. Livings- 
ton kept a tavern in that building, and it continued to be occupied as 
such until 1850 under various proprietors, and finally passed to Elipha- 
let Aylesworth, who occupied it as a dwelling. The old town meetings 
were held in this house and there also the Indian girl murderess, else- 
where noticed, was confined on the night before her execution in 1813, 

In 1801 Daniel Petrie came from Herkimer and opened a second 
store. Other early merchants were William Solon and Myron Taylor, 
Elisha Carrington, Royal and Dorman Cooper, Asa Raymond, Charles 
H. Cook, Peter Skenandoah Smith, Samuel Forman, Dunham & Clink, 
Harry Curtis, J. G. Curtis, Eliphalet Aylesworth, Ives & Woodbury, 
Dr. N. C. Powers, Andrew S. Douglass, Dr. A. C. Baum, James R. 
Barnett, Charles Cutler, John A. Campbell, William T. Marcey, W. C. 
Ives and Charles N. Snow. Daniel Petrie was the first postmaster in 
the place. 

Dr. Elijah Pratt settled in Peterboro in 1801 and was the only phy- 
sician during a number of years; he also taught an early private school, 
and was sheriff of the county in 1813, but removed west in 1814. Dr 
Phineas Lucas came to the town in 1804 and died in 1806 when only 
thirty-two years old. He was followed by Dr. John Dorrance who con- 
tinued in practice until his death in 1855. Dr. R. Nash took up his 
residence in Peterboro in 1807. While there is at the present time no 
lav/yer in Smithfield, there were in former years a number who were 
prominent in their profession, among them Nehemiah Huntington, 
Greene C. Bronson, A. C. Stone, Harmonias Van Vleck, William 
Stone and Gerrit Smith. 

Smithfield is isolated from railroads and canals and such manufac- 
tures as flourished in early years have almost wholly passed out of ex- 
istence, leaving an agricultural district. Far back near the beginning 
of the century, in just what year no one knows, but certainly before 
1809, a glass factory was established in the town; it is believed by 
many to have been erected in 1808 by Peter Skenandoah Smith with 
money supplied by his father. An old account book of 1809 contains 
entries of " whiskey for the glass blowers." In 1811 the factory was 



132 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

operated by Smith & Solon, and it was afterward owned by a company, 
the principal members of which were Peter S. Smith, William Solon, 
Daniel Petrie and O. S. Wilcoxen. The sand used, or a part of it, came 
from the beach of Oneida Lake. When wood near the factory became 
scarce, another factory was built two miles distant and both were oper- 
ated in making window glass, which was sold in Albany and elsewhere. 
Both factories employed more than one hundred hands. In 1818 the 
property passed to Backus & Fenn (W. H. Backus and Dr. Fenn) who 
continued the business on a smaller scale until about 1830. The busi- 
ness was never prosperous, owing mainly to its inconvenient location. 

A distillery, which industry was usually one of the first in every 
town, was started in 1802 by a company composed of Daniel Petrie, 
Oliver S. Wilcoxen, John Downer, Peter Webber and Elisha Carring- 
ton; the building stood a little south of the site of the Smith residence, 
and the business ceased before 1813. Another was built the next year 
by Elisha Carrington, which was operated about fifteen years. 

About 1802 a small saw mill and grist mill were built by William 
Sayles at Peterboro; this was owned by Peter Smith and was operated 
until within a few years of the building of the present mill in 1850 by 
Gerrit Smith. Other early industries came into existence not long after 
the erection of the county which are described further on. 

Settlement in the Siloam vicinity was made early and in 1804 or a 
little earlier a tavern was built there by Joseph Black, who was a large 
contractor in the construction of the turnpike, mainly to accommodate 
his laborers. The Cowasselon Creek flows through this place and formerly 
supplied good water power. John Black, son of Joseph, and Samuel 
Ellinwood built a larger house in 1808 to succeed the first tavern and 
kept it many years. In 1810 Jeremiah Ellinwood and Elijah Manly 
built a grist mill and in the same year Ellinwood and David Coe built a 
sawmill there. Black and Alexander Ostrander built a store at an earl}' 
date and a post-office was opened which continued until after 1856. 
Samuel Ellinwood catered to the universal demand for whisky by early 
establishing a distillery, to which he added a brewery. Between 1824 
to 1830, during the construction of the Chenango Canal, there were 
three distilleries and two breweries in that vicinity, to supply the in- 
creased demand for beverages. 

In the year following the erection of the county (1807) Samuel Stran- 
ahan purchased the right to build a dam across the stream at Peterboro 
and erected a fulling mill the same year. This he sold in 1816 to Perry 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 133 

G. Palmer and Walcott Skidmore; Mr. Palmer two years later acquired 
the whole property and finding the business unprofitable, took down 
the building and erected a little lower down a shingle mill and saw 
mill which he operated more than twenty years. Other early indus- 
tries of this place were several cooper shops, a small machine shop run 
by George Peck a little north from the village, where he invented in 
1836 the machine for cutting staves, and the usual blacksmith, shoe and 
other small shops. 

The earliest school of which there is definite knowledge was a private 
institution kept at Peterboro by Miss Tabitha Havens about 1800. A 
Miss Ambler also taught a very early private school and later a Miss 
Webster, a cousin of Noah Webster. In 1822 a Mr. Johnson taught a 
private school in the Aylesworth residence, and in 1815 Elizabeth Kelly 
had a school in a dwelling. The first district school house was built 
about 1807, which was superseded by a larger one in 1836. 

Peter Smith did not become a permanent resident in the town until 
1806 when he removed from Utica and soon after his arrival began the 
erection of the' old mansion, a plain wood structure, three stories in 
height without cornice or ornament. This building retained its orig- 
inal appearance until 1854, when Gerrit Smith remodeled it to some 
e.Ktent. Mr. Smith's great landed possessions, from which he riiade 
rapid sales, gave him great wealth and prominence in the communit)'. 
Entering promptly into manufacturing. and trade, he was soon proprie- 
tor, or part owner, of all the industries in that region. He was elected 
supervisor in 1807 and in June of the same year was elected associate 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which office he held until 1821. 
While he was not liberally educated, he possessed natural traits and 
qualifications that enabled him to exert a strong influence upon all with 
whom he came in immediate contact. He was able to grasp large un- 
dertakings and to a great extent foresee their results. In the region 
where he dwelt he handled in all 500,000 acres of land. He was close 
in his dealings, but above all was honest; highly emotional in tempera- 
ment, he frequently found it impossible to control himself under excite- 
ment. For the laws of religious institutions he had little regard ; he 
would swear fluently under provocation, while at the same time he 
would implicitly obey the dictates of his own conscience. His son, 
Peter Skenandoah Smith, was somewhat reckless in expenditure and 
gave his father great anxiety and trouble; and in 1819 he transferred all 
of his property in Madison county to his other and more honored son. 



I 



134 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Gerrit Smith, and removed to Schenectady in 1825. There he again 
entered upon the accumulation of landed property, at the same time 
devoting much time to religious duties, the distribution of tracts, and 
exhortations to persons with whom he came in contact. His pecul- 
iarities in these respects became widely known. On his journeys 
through the northern counties he would carry large stores of religious 
tracts and papers, and upon entering a village or town, would call pub- 
lic attention to his coming by ringing a bell. In this work he acted as 
agent for the American Tract Society. His death took place in Sche- 
nectady April 13, 1837. His remains were removed to Peterboro some 
years later and were buried in the family lot in the cemetery. 

The first town meeting for Smithfield was held April 7, 1807, "in 
the school house near David Cook's." This was in the territory that 
afterwards became the town of Fenner. It proved to be a very lively 
contest. There was a strong sectional feeling between the people in 
the east part of the town and those in the west, and two official tickets 
were nominated, the candidates for supervisor being Peter Smith in the 
east and David Cook in the west. A heavy snow storm just previous 
to the date of the town meetings left a body of four feet of snow on the 
ground, making travel almost impossible. The inhabitants of the 
west part feared an adjournment of the meeting to Peterboro, where 
they knew the friends of Mr. Smith would elect him ; while if the 
storm should prevent the voters from getting out in the east part, Mr. 
Cook would succeed. But by energetic work at snow shoveling and 
road-breaking the voters in Mr. Smith's section made it possible to at- 
tend the meeting and their candidates were elected. The polls were 
open three days, whisky flowed freely, and many votes were chal- 
lenged on the property test. The following officers were chosen at the 
meeting: Supervisor, Peter Smith; clerk, Daniel Petrie. 

For some years after that the town meetings were held alternately 
at Fenner Corners and Peterboro. 

The customary regulations for the new town were voted and soon 
the simple machinery of its government was in working order. When 
the subject of dividing the county into half shires was agitated in 1813, 
Smithfield adopted the following: 

Resolved, That we do highly disapprobate measures taken to half 
shire this county. 

Two churches were organized in Smithfield which must be noticed in 
this chapter, one in 1806 and the other in 1807. The Presbyterian 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 135 

Church of Smithfield was organized in 1806, under the direction of Rev. 
Joshua Johnson, a school teacher in Peterboro. He remained with the 
church many years and the society prospered to such an extent that the 
membership was at one period about 200. Meetings were held in the 
school house until about 1812 when a small session house was built and 
occupied. In 1819 Peter Smith donated to the society a lot and other 
gifts and the edifice afterwards used for an academy was erected. The 
church began its decline about 1840 and was disbanded in 1870. 

The Baptist Church of Smithfield was organized February 14, 1807, 
by a council; there were originally nine members. Samuel Barnum 
and Joseph Black were chosen deacons in 1809, and in 1810 Elder Ros- 
well Beckwith became the first settled pastor. Meetings were held in 
the school house until 1820, when a church was built on land donated 
by Peter Smith in 1819. The anti-Masonic controversy almost de- 
stroyed the society, but with aid from sister churches the breach was 
healed and the church attained a membership of 250. But a period of 
decline began about 1840 and in 1866 the society was dissolved. The 
old cemetery adjoining the property of this church was laid out in 
1805. 

Smithfield and Peterboro enjoy the distinction of being the home of 
the first newspaper published in Madison county. This was the Madi- 
son Freeholder, established in 1808 by Peter Smith, and edited by 
Jonathan Punce. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER IX. 

SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF LENOX, FENNER, AND 
GEORGETOWN. 

There were still four other towns to be organized in this county to 
complete its subdivision as it remained until 1896.' These are Lenox, 
(1809), Georgetown (1815), Fenner (1833) and Stockbridge (1836). The 
early history of the settlement and organization of the last named town 
has already been treated, from the fact that its pioneers were among 
the very first to locate and make permanent homes within the limits of 
the present Madison county. 

The first of the remaining three towns, in respect to date of forma- 
tion is Lenox. This was, until its recent subdivision into three towns, 
the largest in area in the county and also the most important in a com- 
mercial sense, and contained the greatest number of inhabitants, with 
the largest villages in the county. AVhile this is true and while it is a 
fact that its territory was first settled within two years of the date when 
the first Madison county pioneer built his log house in the wilderness, 
it is also true that the greater part of the commercial and manufactur- 
ing growth of the town has taken place since the county was erected, 
receiving much of its impetus from the construction and operation of 
the Erie Canal and of the great railroads that traverse its territory. 

Lenox was set off from Sullivan on March 3, 1809, and retained its 
original area until 1836, when a part was taken ofif in the formation of 
Stockbridge. It was, previous to the division of 1896, the northeastern 
town in the county, and was bounded on the north by Oneida county, 
from which it is separated by Oneida Lake and Creek ; on the east by 
Oneida county and the town of Stockbridge, on the south by Stock- 
bridge and Smithfield, and on the west by Sullivan. Its area after 
taking a small part for Stockbridge was about 50,000 acres. The sur- 
face is level and swampy along the Sullivan line, excepting in the 

■ As the town of Lenox remained almost throughout its long existence as at first organized, 
it is deemed advisable to treat its history as a whole, describing its very recent subdivision at 
the close. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 137 

southern part, while in the north part it is dry and gravelly. In the 
southern part the land becomes rolling. Oneida Creek, which consti- 
tutes a part of the eastern boundary, takes a large part of the drainage 
of that section, while the more central part is drained by Cowasselon 
Creek, both flowing to Oneida Lake. These streams and the lake have 
always been favorite resorts of fishermen. Gypsum is found in the town 
to some extent, and salt and iron in small quantity. A salt spring was 
found in the marsh near Canastota and in 1818 a boring was made 
nearly 200 feet deep, but the brine developed was too weak to be profit- 
able in making salt. Another attempt was made in 1841: with a similar 
result, and again in 1S55 a company was formed with a capital of $100,- 
000, and further experiments were made, but without any profitable 
success. In 1863 a second company with the smaller capital of $25,000, 
to which $5,000 was added by the State, made the final and s'-ill unsuc- 
cessful effort to profitably manufacture salt in this town. 

Lenox was first settled to a considerable extent by representatives of 
the early Dutch pioneers of the Mohawk valley, some of whom had 
passed through this immediate region while prisoners of Sir John John- 
son in his memorable campaign of 1780, and then noted the fertility 
and beauty of the land. As early as 1790, as related in a preceding 
chapter, some of the pioneers passed through the territory of Lenox to 
locate upon the inviting lands of Sullivan. In the year 1792 Conrad 
Klock and his sons Joseph, John, and Conrad, settled on Lenox territory 
as the first pioneers, locating on the Cowasselon Creek on the site of 
Clockville, which took its name from them. To that vicinity also came 
in the Snyder, Moot, Forbes, Tuttle, Bruyea, Kilt, and Betsinger fami- 
lies, names that are still familiar in the town and represented by de 
scendants of these sturdy settlers. Before 1800 Angel De Ferriere, a 
native of France, born it 1769, came to this country and married a 
daughter of Louis Dennie, a prominent family of the Oneidas living 
near Canaseraga, and traveled to Cazenovia with John Lincklaen, 
whose acquaintance he had made. He purchased land, and afterwards 
greatly added to his possessions until at one time he was owner of about 
3,000 acres of the best of the Lenox lands. He presented his wife's 
brother, Jonathan Dennie, a fine farm near the site of Wampsville. 
His homestead was situated a little east of the Cowasselon Creek, on 
the Seneca Turnpike. He built a tavern, a saw mill and grist mill, a 
distillery and a brewery, and in many ways advanced the welfare of 
the early settlers in his vicinity. The creek at that point is crossed by 



138 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

a bridge substantially built of stone, on which is a tablet bearing the 
following inscription: "S. R. Co. Erected 1817. John Young, Super- 
intendent. R. Wilcox & Sons, Builders. De Ferriere's Bridge." The 
tavern mentioned was kept by a Dr. Stockton and the grist mill was 
operated by a Mr. McCollum, a Scotchman; it stood on the site of the 
later McDougall mill. De Ferriere also started a blacksmith in busi- 
ness, and a shoemaker, and opened a small store. In later years he 
sold much of his land to other settlers. 

According to the authority of the late Judge Thomas Barlow, in 1803 
there were no dwellings on the north side of the turnpike from Wamps- 
ville westward to Quality Hill,' and nearly all was woodland, with only 
one road opened southward between those two points. There was con- 
siderable settlement near Federal Hill and westward along the turnpike, 
of which Quality Hill was the nucleus. Sylvanus Smalley was one of 
the prominent pioneers in that locality and kept a popular tavern at 
Quality Hill during a number of years; it was the first public house in 
the place and was constructed of logs, with a frame front. He subse- 
quently built a good frame residence on that site and lived there many 
years. He held the office of judge. John P. Webb kept the tavern 
after Judge Smalley. In 1802 there were living on the Hill, Dr. Asahel 
Prior, David Barnard, Aaron Francis, Abiel Fuller, David Barnard, jr., 
Dea. Ebenezer Cadwell, Isaac Senate, Samuel Louder, Nehemiah 
Smalley, Selah Hills, Job Lockwood, Nash Mitchell, Ichabod Buell, 
Dr. Harris, and a Mr. Tucker. Mr. Mitchell was a tanner and currier. 
Jason Powell settled at the Hill in 1801, and worked in a brick yard 
that had been established on the flat not far away. He boarded with a 
Mr. Handy and finally married his daughter, Lovina. A distillery was, 
of course, one of the first business institutions there. On the south side 
of the road toward Federal Hill was in the early years a tavern kept by 
Joseph Phelps, while on Federal Hill on the south side of the road, 
Thomas Menzie settled and sold goods, trading mostly with the Indians. 

' According to Mrs. Hammond, the name Quality HiU was bestowed by Miss Lucinda Harris, 
daughter of Dr. Harris, who resided in a log house on the site of the Sylvanus Stroud residence. 
She regarded the women on the hill as somewhat superior to their neighbors in other parts of 
the town, and with the enjoyment of greater advantages, past and present, and therefore applied 
this term of distinction to the locality. 

Another version is to the effect that the title grew out of the local political situation. The 
dominant parties were in early years the Democrats and Federals, corresponding to Republicans 
and Democrats of the present day. The Democrats it was thought arrogated to themselves su- 
periority over their political opponents. The Bruce family were prominent in that party, and 
hence the locality of their residence was given the title ; while the eastern hill, where the Spen- 
cers and others of the Federal party resided, was named Federal Hill. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. • 139 

In 1803 there was no other dwelling from that point to Wampsville. 
West from Quality Hill, on the turnpike, settlers came in early and in 
1802 considerable land had been cleared. " Squire " Ebenezer Calkins, 
then a young man, lived in a log house where he later built a frame 
residence. Col. Zebuloh Douglass was keeping tavern on his farm 
west of Colonel Calkins. Reuben Hale lived on the hill nearly south 
of what became the Culver home, and Gen. Ichabod S. Spencer lived 
on the flat between Hale and where Col. Stephen Lee afterwards re- 
sided. Opposite Colonel Lee's place, Col. Thomas W. Phelps worked 
at harness making, and a Mr. Pettibone kept a tavern near there before 
1803, which was subsequently burned. Settlers in that vicinity soon 
after 1802 included Harvey G. Morse, Edward Lewis, Thomas W. 
Phelps, William I. Hopkins, Joseph Bruce, and Squire Wager. Dr. 
Thomas Spencer and his brother Joshua A., both of whom were broth- 
ers of Ichabod S. , were early residents of Quality Hill. It may be in- 
ferred that these names of men of exceptionally strong character, some 
of whom became eminent, formed plausible ground for the quaint title 
of the Hill. 

The first actual and permanent settlement at Quality Hill was made 
in 1800 by Joseph Bruce, who came from New Hartford, Oneida county, 
and Dr. Nathaniel Hall, from Litchfield county, Conn. Of these two 
Mr. Bruce was a native of Boston where he was born in 1781. His 
mother settled at New Hartford, Oneida county, while he was still a 
young boy, and in 1806, as stated, when he was twenty-four years old, 
he located on the Hill. He was father of five children named Benja- 
min Franklin, Edom N., H. K. W., Nancy A., and Joseph W. Bruce. 
He was a prominent man in the community and was chosen to fill the 
offices of justice of the peace, under sheriff, postmaster, and for many 
years he was president of the Bank of Whitestown. He held a commis- 
sion as lieutenant in the army in the war of 1812, and in the absence of 
his captain on sick leave, commanded the company during its term of 
service. Later he was promoted to captain and to major. He died in 
1872, at the age of eighty-three years. Gen. Benjamin F. Bruce, son 
of Joseph, was also a prominent citizen. He was born in 1812 and dur- 
ing his long life remained a resident of Quality Hill. He became a 
leader in politics in the Whig and Republican parties and was honored 
with several positions of influence and trust. He was inspector-general 
of the State, canal commissioner, a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1846, and member of assembly. He was an eloquent ora- 



140 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tor and a man of broad views and extensive and varied information. 
Among his children is Gen. Dwight H. Bruce, present postmaster of 
Syracuse. 

South and southwest from Quality Hill, on the Clockville and Can- 
aseraga road, Walter, Sylvester, Hezekiah and Linus Beecher were 
pioneers of an early date. Walter and Sylvester held the office of 
judge of the County Court. Deacon John Hall settled on Oak Hill in 
1806, coming from Guilford, Conn. Deacon Nathaniel Hall and Dr. 
Nathaniel Hall, his son, came on in 1807, and located in the Beecher 
neighborhood. Dr. Hall lived near Quality Hill and there practiced 
his profession many years. Dr. Thomas Spencer began practice in the 
same year, and Dr. Asahel Prior, before mentioned, was contemporary 
with him at the same place. 

Other early settlers in that region were Everard Van Epps, John 
Hills, Gift Hills, Martin Vrooman, Willard Cotton and Benjamin Smith ; 
the latter kept an early tavern. The first store was opened on Quality 
Hill by Capt. William Jennings. Very soon afterward Maj. Joseph 
Bruce established a second store and had as a partner Dr. Hall in the 
sale of drugs and general merchandise. Other merchants of a little 
later date were Harvey C. Morse, Fiske & Howland, Curtis C. Baldwin 
and Jarvis Langdon, the last to engage in the business; the latter re- 
moved to Elmira many years ago and became a prominent and very 
wealthy citizen of that city. The first post-office in this part of Madi- 
son county was opened at Quality Hill, and for many years Major 
Bruce was in charge. When the Federals came into power he was 
turned out and Harvey C. Morse appointed to the place. John P.Webb 
was the next incumbent, and was followed by Major Bruce when his 
party was again in the ascendant. The office was maintained until 
comparatively recent years, but was finally abolished. 

A school was established at the Hill in the early years of settlement 
and the few children received such advantages for obtaining education 
as the meagre facilities then offered. It is not known when the first 
school house was erected, but a new one was built in 1814, when Joseph 
W. Palmer taught. 

Gen. Ichabod S. Spencer, whose settlement in 1802 has been men- 
tioned, was the first lawyer in Lenox, his practice dating from 1808. 
Joshua A., his brother, also began his practice in this town. Both 
served their country in the war of 1812. 

Succeeding the first tavern kept at the Hill by Sylvanus Smalley was 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 141 

the Stage House, kept for many years by Col. John P. Webb, who made 
it a favorite stopping place. Oliver Clarke also kept an early public 
house, the two houses being well patronized in the days of stage travel 
over the turnpike. There has been no public house on Quality Hill in 
many years, and the business importance of the locality has passed 
away, with the later development of Oneida and Canastota. But for 
a number of years the community of Quality Hill, with its quota of 
strong men, exerted a large influence politically, socially and financially 
in the county. The courts were held alternately in Hamilton and 
Lenox up to 1810, and Sylvanus Smalley was judge. The courts in 
Lenox were held mostly in the " school house near David Barnard's." 
The first murder trial in Madison county, that of Hitchcock of Madi- 
son, for poisoning his wife, as elsewhere described, was held in Judge 
Smalley's barn, in order to provide larger accommodations for the many 
who desired to hear the proceedings. Judge Van Ness of Utica pre- 
sided at the trial. 

Among the few other pioneers of this town who made settlements 
before or very soon after the formation of the county was Thomas Law- 
rence, who moved to Clockville in 180G, built a stone house near the 
hamlet, was prominent in the construction of roads in the vicinity and 
built the first plaster mill. He died in May, 1866, aged eighty- four 
years. Little is known of the early storekeepers at that point. Peleg 
Card was the first postmaster and was succeeded by Col. Stephen Chap- 
man and he by his son, B. Franklin Chapman. 

Thomas Y. Kneiss was a settler of 1806 on Federal Hill and became 
quite prominent. He was a man of ability and unblemished integrity. 
He was an early justice of the peace and held other town offices. Capt. 
Daniel Lewis, who settled on Quality Hill in 1806, had previously lived 
with his parents in Vernon and later at Oneida Castle, where they were 
among the first settlers. Later Mr. Lewis purchased lot 78 of the Can- 
astota Tract, and part of lot 82. He became a prominent citizen 
through his own endeavor; worked on the canal and was appointed 
superintendent of this division, and later was in the employ of the Sy- 
racuse and Utica Railroad Company and the Hudson River road in re- 
sponsible positions. 

It is exceptional that in the early history of this town, which was of 
such importance as a subdivision of the county, there was no regular 
church organization until more than fifteen years after the town was 
erected. That religious services were held before that is without ques- 



142 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tion, but no records of them exist and the details of their proceedings 
are lost. The first church organized in the town was the Congrega- 
tional of Quality Hill ; but this was not accomplished until 1809, and 
its history, with that of other churches, must therefore be left for a 
later chapter. 

It will be seen from the foregoing few pages that the principal part 
of the growth of this large town has taken place during a period of 
comparatively recent years, as will be more fully shown in subsequent 
pages. It is well remembered that the village of Canastota suffered 
severely in 1873 from fires. At that time the town records and many 
other valuable documents were destroyed, making it impossible to give 
the proceedings of early meetings and lists complete of officials, as well 
as greatly curtailing the sources of general information. 

Shifting now the scene of the story of settlements in Madison county 
to the southern part, we will trace the record of Georgetown, leaving 
only the town of Fenner to complete the early history. Georgetown 
was set off from De Ruyter on the 7th of April, 1815, just three months 
after General Jackson struck the closing blow of the last war with 
Great Britain at New Orleans. The inhabitants of Georgetown terri- 
tory wished to have their town named Washington, but the present 
name was applied at a suggestion made in the Legislature. George- 
town is one of the southern border towas of the countj% lies west of the 
center and is bounded on the north by Nelson, on the east by Lebanon, 
on the south by Chenango count}', and on the west by De Ruyter. It 
contains nearly 34,000 acres, of which more than two-thirds is im- 
proved. The surface is hilly upland, consisting of two ridges extend- 
ing north and south, with the deep valley of the Otselic Creek inter- 
vening; the summits of the hills rise from 400 to 500 feet above the 
bottom of the valley. The Otselic Creek flows in a southerly direction 
through the eastern part of the town, which with its numerous small 
tributaries forms the principal drainage. The headwaters of the 
Tioughnioga River touch the northwest part of the town. The soil on 
the hills is a yellow loam and in the valleys a gravelly alluvium. At 
the present time the principal farming interest is dairying and hop- 
growing, the latter industry having in recent years declined from its 
former prominence. The manufacture of cheese in factories was 
taken up early in the period of greatest activity in that method and 
has continued in the town to the present time, though not to so great 
an extent as formerly. There are only two factories at the present 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 143 

time. Georgetown is No. 6 of the Twenty Townships and was patented 
to Th )mas Ludlow, jr., of New York city, in March, 1793. The pro- 
])rietor caused a survey to be made in 1803 and settlement began in 
18 '4, by Ezra Sexton, who came on from Litchfield, Conn., in the sum- 
mer and settled near the Otselic, on lot 58, a little south of the site of 
the railroad station, where the widow of Barnett Wagoner now resides. 
Mr. Sexton gained some local prominence and was an early justice of 
the peace, and a captain in the militia. In the next year he cleared ten 
acres of land on the Lebanon road east of his dwelling place, which was 
the first opening made in the forest.s of Georgetown. That road was 
opened at about that time, and another passed north and south through 
the town substantially parallel with the Otselic. It began on the then 
well-travelled road between Eaton and Erieville, on Eagle Hill, and 
entered Georgetown near the northeast corner of lot 9, crossed lots 22 
and 34 where there has not been a highway in half a century, and then 
struck the old stage route between Eaton and Georgetown, and on 
down the valley of the Otselic. Mr. Sexton had a family of children, 
but they removed from the town in early years. The cemetery near the 
railroad in the east part is on what was some of his land and was given 
for that purpose when one of his children died ; this is said by some to 
have been the first death in the town, but French's Gazetteer of 1860, a 
generally reliable work, states that the death of Mrs. Sexton in 1807 
was the first. 

In that year (1804) John C. Payne removed from Hamilton, where he 
had married a daughter of Benjamin Pierce, and settled on lot 115 
about a mile and a quarter south of the site of Georgetown village, 
where Herbert J. Brown, son of Loren Brown, now resides. Payne 
sold out to Elijah Brown in 1813 and returned to Hamilton. Apollos 
Drake settled in Hamilton about the same time with Mr. Payne; but 
three years later removed to Westford, Otsego county, and thence in 
1804 to Georgetown, where he took up fifty acres; this tract was subse- 
quently owned by his son, Theron O. Drake, and is now owned by Allen 
Drake. The pioneer made a small clearing and built a log house that 
fall ; there were at that time only three log houses in the town — those 
of Mr. Payne, Ezra Sexton and Elijah Olmstead. Mr. Drake and his 
wife died on the homestead; four of their children were born in this 
town. Theron O. succeeded to the homestead; Laura married William 
Brown, and Sophia married Russell Niles, and most of the others, 
excepting one daughter who died in infancy, removed to Ohio. 



144 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Elijah Olmstead, before mentioned, was a settler of 1804, but soon 
sold to Josiah Purdy, a blacksmith from Sherburne, who located about 
a mile south of the village and died there. Joseph Bishop and Eleazer 
Hunt, the latter from Stafford, Conn., settled on the site of the village 
in 1804, and were probably the first to locate at that point. In 1807 
they built the first saw mill in the town, on the site of a later one which 
was burned in 1875. The mill stones used, as well as those in the 
second mill, were from the native rocks of the town. Nathan Smith 
built a mill on that site not far from 1825, which subsequently passed 
to Benjamin Kinney. The privilege is now owned by Judge Irving G. 
Vann, of Syracuse. Messrs. Bishop and Hunt built also, in 1807, on 
the same privilege, the first saw mill in the town and operated it many 
years; these early mills were a source of great convenience and benefit 
to the pioneers, giving them lumber for a better class of dwellings, 
which soon displaced the log houses, as well as grinding their grain 
near by their homes. Mr. Hunt was a practical carpenter and cabinet 
maker, and established a chair factory in which he did a large business 
for those times. Bishop moved from the town early, and later Hunt 
went to Hamilton where he died. He was father of Sherebiah Hunt, a 
large cheese manufacturer of East Hamilton. 

Bethel Hurd settled in 1804 on lot 69, a mile and a half north of the 
village site, on the farm now^ owned by William Trask; he died there 
in 1817. His five sons settled on the same road between his place and 
the village and lived there many years. Ezra and Benjamin died here ; 
Daniel removed to Erie county, and David and Stephen moved to west- 
ern New York. A man named Truesdale kept the first store in the 
town in Mr. Hijrd's house. Olmstead Brown settled also in 1804, on 
fifty acres which he purchased of John C. Payne, on lot 115. 

The little community received several additions in 1805, among them 
Mitchell Atwood, who came from Litchfield county, Conn., and located 
two and a half miles north of the village site on the fai-m subsequently 
owned by Mitchell Sanford and now by Charles Wilcox. He resided 
there until his death in 1874 at the age of ninety-seven. He built in 
that vicinity the saw mill which is believed by some to have been the 
first in the town; it was replaced by him in 1820 with another which he 
operated until it fell into decay. The third mill was built there by 
Hiram N. Atwood, son of the pioneer. Matthew HoUenbeck settled 
also in 1805 in the north part of the town on the farm subsequently 
owned by Austin Hawks and now by Charles Brown; he died on that 



X. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 145 

place. Bailey Carter came in in that year and .settled adjoining the 
John C. Payne farm, but left the town early. William Payne, from 
Connecticut, settled in the north part on lot 45, where John Marris for- 
merly lived and his son, Thomas Marris, now resides. He had sons 
Bradford and Weston H. Payne, who settled and died in this town. 
Weston H. Payne was the first white child born in Georgetown terri- 
tory; the year was 1805; he died in 1843. Hannah, daughter of Will- 
iam Payne, married Daniel Harrison, both of whom passed their lives 
here. Joseph P. Harrison settled in 1805 in the north part on the farm 
now owned by Oscar M. Stewart. Harrison's son, Daniel, followed 
him on that place; the elder Harrison died there in 1814, at the early 
age of thirty-five years. Calvin Cross, another pioneer of 1805, settled 
in the northwest part, removing from Hamilton, where he had settled 
in 1795. 

At about this date Capt. Samuel White settled in the northwest part 
where his grandson, Zelotes A.White, recently resided. Elijah Brown 
also came in about the time under consideration ; he was a son of the 
Samuel Brown who bought the John C. Payne impi'ovements and came 
in about the date of that purchase; the father did not settle here. 
Alfred, brother of the son Elijah, came in a few years later and both 
they and their wives died on that farm, which is now owned by Herbert 
Brown. They reared families, some members of which were promi- 
nent in later years in this section. 

Among other early settlers was Ebenezer Hall, who located where 
Charles Wagoner now lives. He removed into the village late in his 
life and for a time kept the hotel which he built. 

David Parker and Asa West, who came together from Massachusetts 
in 1808, took up a lot in the north part of the town, and later Parker 
removed to the village and kept a tavern; he died in 1824. Philetus 
Stewart also settled early in the north part, where his son Sanford suc- 
ceeded him, and was in turn succeeded by Philetus, son of Sanford. 
Zadock Hawks settled in 1815 two miles north of the village where 
Charles Brown now resides, and where Austin Hawks formerly lived. 
He was a tanner and shoemaker and worked at the latter trade. There 
were eight children in the family, four of whom settled in this town 
and the remainder in the western part of the State. Horace, a son, 
succeeded to the homestead and died there in 1876. He held the office 
of member of assembly. Dr. Smith settled on the line between this 
town and Lebanon, where Luman Fisk and Per Lee Fisk afterwards 

10 



146 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lived, now owned by Scoville Upham. He was a carpenter and mason 
and worked at those trades in connection with farming. Benjamin 
Bonney, from Connecticut, settled also on the east line of the town, 
opposite the Dr. Smith farm, where his son, Loren Bonney, now lives. 
Reuben Buckingham, a native of Connecticut, settled in Georgetown 
in 1806, on the south line on a farm of 160 acres, and died there in 
1838. This farm was recently occupied by the late George Pease and 
now by his family. 

In this connection and at this point it becomes necessary to refer to 
the so-called Muller mansion in Georgetown and its somewhat mysteri- 
ous occupant, though the subject has already been substantially ex- 
hausted. In 1808 a French refugee of high rank, named Louis Anathe 
Muller, came to this country, amply supplied with money, and purchased 
a large tract of wild land in the western part of Georgetown. Accord- 
ing to statements made by Rev. Matthias Cazier, an educated French 
minister of Lebanon, this man was the Duke du Barry, and that the 
name by which he was known here was assumed. Other and probably 
less reliable authorities believed he was Louis Philippe; others "cousin 
of the Duke of Angouleme. " This point will probably never be defin- 
itely settled. He was a fine looking man, with graceful manners and a 
martial bearing. That he stood in fear of the ascendancy of Bonaparte, 
even to the conquest of America, is true, and he sought the secluded 
hills of Georgetown as a refuge. He was always armed and usually 
accompanied in his short journeys about his home by servants. He 
had a beautiful young woman towards whom he was gallant and duti- 
ful, and two little sons. 

Settling his family in Hamilton he proceeded to establish his home. 
Selecting three hundred acres about three miles west of Georgetown 
village and near the center of his great estate he cleared the tract and 
began the erection of his mansion. The building, which is still stand- 
ing, was 70 by 30 feet in size, the frame built very heavy of hewn 
cherry timbers so put together as to form almost a solid wall. The 
inside finish was good; seven fireplaces were provided; the rooms were 
large and very richly furnished. The homestead is situated on lots 75, 
76, 87, 88, and 89. To the east of his mansion he opened a road run- 
ning nearly north and south and along the stream which flows in that 
locality. He bought a part of lot 12G of James McElwain, whereon is 
a fall ample for water power and there built a grist mill, which long 
ago disappeared. On the road opened by him and about a mile south- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 147 

easterly from his mansion he founded a small village, where his many 
workmen and other families resided. He donated land to any person 
who would erect buildings. A storehouse was built and two stores, 
with other needed buildings. The first store was opened by two men 
who came over with Muller, named John Passon Bronder and Modeste 
del Campo; a little later James C. Winter opened the second store. 




THE MULLER MANSION. 



About two miles east of the homestead Muller built a saw mill which 
has wholly disappeared. Besides all this improvement, the refugee 
entered extensively into farming operations, of the methods of which 
he was quite ignorant. When the mansion was completed he removed 
his family thither and settled down to domestic life. To the needy or 
afflicted the family were benevolent and kind, and many stories have 
been told of their generous acts, as well as of jokes and mild imposi- 
tions that were perpetrated by the neighbors and their boys at the ex- 
pense of his ignorance of American life, farming, and business customs. 
Muller established a large deer park and there confined many deer, 
rabbit= and other animals. To obtain rabbits he paid the boys of the 



148 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

vicinity for catching them for his use. After a large number had been 
caught and impounded, the supply from the boys regularly increased. 
Muller became suspicious, and marked some of the rabbits for identi- 
fication, and soon found that he was repurchasing his own rabbits in a 
ruinous manner. It is said also that he was once induced to scour the 
neighborhood in an effort to buy a bushel of turnip seed, which a 
neighbor had told him he would require to sow an acre of ground. 

Upon the opening of Bonaparte's Russian campaign Muller foresaw 
the downfall of the great general and made preparation to return to 
his native country. In 1814, when Bonaparte was a prisoner, he took 
his family to New York and leaving them there he sailed for France. 
His Georgetown property was left in charge of an agent. Returning 
to this country two years later he found that his agent had sold almost 
everything movable on the place and fled. Disheartened and sad over 
the wreck of his wilderness home, he sold the estate in 1816 to Abijah 
Weston, a New York merchant, for $10,000 and returned to his native 
land. The Muller mansion, which is all that is left of the once princely 
domain, is now the property of G. and F. Shaw.' 

On the site of the village of Georgetown the first merchants were 
Messrs. Dudley and Bemis, who began trading soon after the first set- 
tlement, in the lower story of a building which stood opposite the 
Methodist church site. They did not continue long, and in 1817 John 
F. Fairchild came from Sherburne and opened a store on the north- 
west village corner, now owned by Dr. E. F. Lamb; he also kept a 
tavern on the site of the present hotel, and was probably the first post- 
master. The first physician did not arrive until 1810, in the person of 
Dr. Epaphroditus Whitmore, who practiced here until his death at an 
advanced age. 

The first town meeting for (leorgetown was held at the house of 
John Holmes, on the 5th of March, 1816, where the following officers 
were elected: William Payne, supervisor; Epaphroditus Whitmore, 
town clerk: Ebenezer Hall, Daniel Alvord and Pitt Lawrence, assess- 
ors; Daniel Hitchcock, collector; Elijah Brown and Hanford Nichols, 

'The Hamilton Republican has recently published a short series of articles on the Jluller 
history from the pen of Henry C. Maine, which the reader will find deeply interesting. These 
articles are condensed from a former article in the Magazine of American History, by the same 
writer. 

Mr. Robert F. Hubbard, of Cazenovia. whose father was attorney for Mr. Muller, has recently 
made extended researches in this matter, and embodied the results of his investigations in a 
paper which he read before the Oneida Historical Society. He finds much tending to prove that 
the mysterious stranger was in reality the Duke de Berri. 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 149 

overseers of the poor; Alfred Brown, Asa West and Alexander McEl- 
wain, commissioners of highways; Daniel Hitchcock and Roj-ce Collis- 
ter, constables; Robert Benedict, Ira Allen and Samuel White, com- 
missioners of schools; Robert Benedict, Epaphroditus Whitmore, Daniel 
Hitchcock, Amos Gere, Elijah Jackson, Menoris Williams, Aaron 
Shepard, Nathan Benedict, Gad Taylor, Bradley Ladd, John Gipson 
(Gibson?), John Alderman and ApoUos Drake, overseers of highways 
and fenceviewers. 

From the old records of the town it is learned that at the first town 
meeting it was voted "that hogs that are permitted to run at large in 
the highway shall be yoked or Wrung." Also, "that rams that are 
permitted to run at large between the 10th of September and the 10th 
of November shall be forfeit." The supervisor was authorized to 
" take charge of the pound money and put it out at interest." It was 
voted "that cattle, horses and sheep shall not be permitted to run at 
large from the 1st day of December to the last day of April within 100 
rods of any mill, tavern or store, or any place of public meeting on the 
Sabbath Day, upon penalty of 50 cents. " A bounty of fifty cents was 
voted "for every grown fox caught in the town." 

The second town meeting was held at the same place March 4, 1817, 
and it was resolved, among other proceedings, "that the school agent 
for the town shall be empowered to sell our school land if he can get 
two dollars per acre by his taking full and ample security. " Restric- 
tions on stock running at large were continued and under increased 
penalties, as a rule. A bounty of $3.50 was offered for dead wolves. 
Ten votes were cast in that year for De Witt Clinton for governor. 

On March 3, 1818, $200 was levied for the purpose of improving the 
roads of the town. The supervisor was directed to levy such sum for 
the support of the poor as he and the overseers of poor should deem 
sufficient. There were evidently only very few persons in the the town 
at that time who were incapable of supporting themselves, for in 1820 
the sum voted for the poor was only $15, and in 1830 there was an 
overplus of poor money in the hands of the overseer of over $900. 
This was applied to general town expenses. In 1820 the school money 
amounted to $285.68. 

Only one church was organized in Georgetown in very early years, 
and that probably not until after the erection of the county, the date 
as well as the identity of the organization being lost. It was of the 
Presbyterian, faith, and the meeting house of the society built in 1824 



150 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

about half a mile north of the village was the first one in the town; it 
was subsequently removed to the village and in 1874 was sold to Tim- 
othy Brown and made an addition to his famous Free Hall, which is 
described further on. 

We turn now to the consideration of the settlement and formation of 
Fenner, the last town organized in the county, excepting Stockbridge, 
and the two created by the division of Lenox in 1896. Fenner is the 
smallest town in the county in population, and its business interests of 
late years, aside from farming, are unimportant. 

Fenner was set off from Smithfield and Cazenovia on April 22, 1823, 
and received its name at the suggestion of Col. Arnold Ballou, in honor 
of Gov. James Fenner of Rhode Island. It lies a little northwest of the 
center of the county and is bounded on the north by Lincoln and Sulli- 
van, on the east by Smithfield, on the south by Nelson, and on the west 
by Cazenovia. It contains about 19,000 acres of land and its present 
population, as shown by the census of 1892, is 999; the census reports 
show a gradual decline in the number of inhabitants during many past 
years. 

The surface of the town is mainly a rolling upland, and comprises a 
part of the ridge that separates the northerly and southerly flowing 
waters of the county. A branch of Chittenango Creek rises in the 
eastern part and after a long detour to the southward, flows northerly 
and forms part of the west boundary of the town. The headwaters 
of the Canaseraga Creek and a small branch of the Cowasselon find 
their sources in the north part. These streams are fed by innumerable 
little springs and brooks which beautify and make productive the slopes 
of the hills. The beautiful Perryville Falls are situated on the Cana- 
seraga a few rods north of the railroad station at Perryville. The 
water there falls 150 feet in a succession of sloping descents into a 
chasm or great basin which the action of the water in past ages has 
worn in the rock ; this basin is partly filled with drift and surface wash- 
ings, sufficient to support the growth of small trees. Below these falls 
a beautiful valley spreads away northward into the town of Sullivan. 

The soil is gravelly and clayey loam, fertile and well adapted to 
mixed farming. Dairying has for many years been an important in- 
dustry and at one period there were five cheese factories in the town, 
none of which is now in operation. Hop growing has been followed 
to a less extent in proportion to area than in many other towns in the 
county. The Erie, Cortland and Northern Railroad, now a branch of 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 151 

the Lehigh Valley, runs through the west part of the town, passing 
through Perryville. 

The New Petersburgh Tract, purchased by Peter Smith, as before 
described, included most of the territory of this town, and settlements 
of a permanent character were probably not made until subsequent to 
1794, in which year the lease of the Indians to Peter Smith was exe- 
cuted. Jonathan Hunger was a soldier of the Revolution and came 
here from Connecticut with his son James, locating a mile north of the 
site of Fanner Corners, on the place subsequently occupied by his 
grandson, William C. Munger, who was a son of Chauncey; the latter 
was born in the town in 1802. James Munger married and settled in 
the town, but in his late life removed to Verona, where he died. Hor- 
ace Munger, son of James, was a soldiei of the war of 1812, and settled 
in Fenner, but later removed to Wisconsin. Jonathan Hunger's settle- 
ment was made about 1795, and in 1800 he built the first framed barn in 
the town. Dr. George B. Hunger of Perryville was a grandson of the 
pioneer. 

Alpheus Twist, from Connecticut, settled about the same time with 
the Hungers, a mile south of Fenner Corners, on land now owned and 
occupied by Orlando Allen ; he kept an early tavern there. His chil- 
dren were three sons and a daughter, Salem, Alpheus, Charles and 
Clementine. Mr. Twist's wife was the first person to die in the town. 
None of the family remains here. 

John Needham made a journey into this region and purchased a farm 
upon which he settled about 1798, coming from Ingham, Mass. The 
farm is situated about a mile west of Fenner Corners, where Aaron 
Hyatt lived in recent years, now occupied by Frank Hyatt. He had 
seven children, all of whom were born there. His son John married a 
daughter of Samuel Root of Farmington, Conn., settled first in Fenner, 
and removed to Cazenovia and died there in 1852. Bela C. married a 
sister of John's wife and settled on a farm adjoining the homestead, to 
which he succeeded when his father died ; he subsequently removed to 
Lowell, Mich. George married and lived with his father for a time, 
and removed to Kansas. 

Thomas Cushing and his sons Enos and Hawks settled near John 
Needham's place; the father was a surveyor and followed that vocation 
until his death. David Cook came in from Rhode Island about 1798 
with an ox team, bringing his wife and nine children, two of whom 
were sons. He settled a half mile north of Fenner Corners, his farm 



152 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of 213 acres including all of the site of the Corners lying north of the 
east and west road. Soon after their arrival his son David opened the 
first tavern in the town in his father's log house. Mr. Cook was a 
prominent citizen for many years and, as will be remembered, was the 
unsuccessful candidate in 1807 for supervisor against Peter Smith; he 
held also the office of justice of the peace, and in ISOfi was appointed 
one of the associate judges. 

Seneca Robinson, a pioneer of about 1799, was a son of Dr. Isaac 
Robinson, of Stamford, Vt. He brought with him his family of wife 
and three children — Clark, Orpha, and Francis K. He settled about 
two miles southeast of Perryville on the farm owned in recent years by 
Alvin Wells. He cleared in the first year three acres of heavily tim- 
bered land and sowed wheat. In 1800 he sold.his place to Enos Wells, 
purchased 600 acres on the south line of Lenox, which he sold to vari- 
ous persons, excepting fifty acres. 

Lieut. David Hutchinson, a Revolutionary soldier from Connecticut, 
settled on the farm now owned and occupied by William Farnham, 
taking up 120 acres; he kept an early tavern there and reared a family 
of seven children. Late in his life he went to reside with his son Lor- 
ing, in Fenner village, and later still lived with his grandson, David 
Hutchinson, dying in 1853 at the age of eighty-nine years. Most of 
his children married and settled in Fenner and here passed their useful 
lives. 

John Barber removed from Worcester, Mass., to Oneida, and in 1799, 
to Fenner, settling on 142 acres on lot 23. In that year he married 
Lavina Thompson, whose parents had settled in the town of Madison. 
With the exception of ten years in Cazenovia, he lived on the home- 
stead until his death and was succeeded by his son, Darlin Barber. Mr. 
Barber was one of the first to manufacture crude potash in his ashery 
in this section. 

Prominent among the pioneers of Fenner were William, Arnold and 
George Ballou, brothers, who came here in 1800 from Smithfield, R. I. 
William married and settled a little north of the present residence of 
Melvin Woodworth, where he and his wife died. Arnold married Nancy, 
daughter of David Cook, before mentioned, settled with his brother 
William, and together they built on the Canaseraga the first saw mill in 
the town. Arnold afterwards removed to a place about a mile north of 
Fenner Corners where he died in 1833. He kept an early tavern among 
his several occupations. George Ballou married a sister of his brother 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 153 

Arnold's wife and settled in the south edge of Lenox; later he removed 
to Quality Hill where both died. 

Enos Wells was from Williamstown, Mass., and came on in 1800 with 
his wife and two children, to settle on lot 6 of the New Petersburgh 
Tract, a mile and a half northeast of Fenner Corners, where his son 
Alvin afterwards resided. James Cameron, a native Scotchman, set- 
tled in Fenner in 1800, on the eastern edge of the town; the homestead 
subsequently passed to Groton Howard, who married his daughter 
Catharine. John Douglass, another Scotch citizen, came into Fenner 
in 1801 and settled in the southeast part, where he took up 110 acres; 
this farm was divided between himself and his brother Daniel. The 
two farms were later occupied by John Campbell and Neil Eastman 
respectively. John Douglass was father of thirteen children, eleven of 
whom lived to maturity, and married and settled in that locality. Daniel 
had nine children, all of whom were born in Fenner. There were a 
number of other Scotch families who settled in that region, among whom 
was that of John Robertson, who located on the farm afterwards occu- 
pied by his grandson of the same name; his son Robert, father of the 
grandson John, succeeded to the homestead. Robert Stewart settled 
adjoining John Robertson on the south, and resided there until his 
death. 

Guy Hatch, a native of New London, Conn., came on with his broth- 
er-in-law, William Parsons, in 1801, and each bought seventy-five acres 
of Peter Smith, in the southwest part of the town; Hatch's farm was in 
recent years occupied by his son Leroy. The two pioneers made a 
small clearing and returned in the fall to Massachusetts. In the next 
spring they came to their settlement and built a log house on the 
clearing, and soon afterwards Hatch's family of wife and two children, 
William and Mary, joined him in the Fenner forest. They had six 
other children born to them in this town, five of whom were sons. 
Hatch's father- in-law, Gideon Parsons, came with Mr. Hatch in the 
fall of 1802, bringing his wife and three sons, Gideon, Walter, and 
Festus. Two of these children subsequently removed to Cicero, N. Y., 
and died there. 

Joel Downer came on from Pownall, Vt., in 1801, when he was twen- 
ty-one years old and in the following year purchased a farm in the east 
part of the town. He married in 1806 Lavina, daughter of Stephen 
Risley, a pioneer of Smithfield. He died in 1864. Samuel Nichols, 
who had located in Cazenovia in 1793, removed in 1802 to a large 



154 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

farm on the Mile Strip, where he and his sons successfully tilled the 
land. Silas Ballou was a cousin of the families of that name, before 
mentioned, and settled in the town about 1803, in the east part. 

The fertility of the soil in Fenner, its natural attractiveness to the 
eye, its convenient water pov/er, and other causes were sufficient to call 
in settlers more rapidly after the beginning of the century than in 
many of the towns of the count}'. Fenner Corners, being situated near 
the center of the town, and many of the prominent pioneers having 
located there, it was easily considered a foregone conclusion that a con- 
siderable village would eventually come into being at that point. This 
expectation, as will be learned, was not realized, although considerable 
business centered there in early years. As late as 1810 there was little 
else there than a hemlock forest. 

Daniel M. Gillet, from Lyme, Conn., settled early half a mile east of 
the Corners, where he built and operated an ashery and for a time car- 
ried on a store in company with his brother Martin in district No. 5. 
He was a man of ability, energy and integrity; served several years as 
justice of the peace, supervisor, and was elected to the Assembly. 

David Baldwin was a settler from Worcester, Mass., coming about 
1804; he located about two miles southeast of Perryville on the farm 
now occupied by William Munger, where he resided until his death. 
He was crippled by the loss of a leg, and his youngest son, Aaron, 
worked the farm, while the father employed himself in making rakes. 
Other children of David were John and David, who soon followed their 
father hither. The latter brought with him seven children, arriving 
about 1806. About 1812 he located on his father's farm in Fenner and 
resided there until his death. He was father of twelve children, all but 
one of whom lived to maturity and part of whom settled in this county. 
A daughter, Susan, married PhineasTown, who came with his brothers, 
Abel and Asa, from Massachusetts and jointly with Abel took up a farm 
afterwards occupied by the son and daughter of Phineas; Asa settled 
in the same vicinity and died on his homestead. 

A prominent settler a little prior to 1815 was Paul R. Main (the name 
being now spelled with a final "e")who came from Stonington, Conn., 
just after his marriage to Lydia Randall, and bringing with him a little 
money earned in teaching school. He settled on lot 60 of the Mile 
Strip. He was a lifelong farmer, took a deep and active interest in 
educational and religious affairs, and was prominent in founding the 
Baptist church and the early schools. His children were Paul P., de- 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 155 

ceased; Franklin P., who died in the town of Sullivan; Asa R., who 
died in Fenner in 1863; Phoebe M. and Elon G., the latter still living in 
Fenner. Asa R. Maine was a farmer and a man of prominence in the 
community. He held the office of inspector of schools, was supervisor 
two years, and at the time of his death was internal revenue assessor. 
He had five children, two of whom were sons. Frank L., one of the 
sons, is publisher of the Manlius Eagle. Paul S. Maine, born in De- 
cember, 1847, was educated in Cazenovia Seminary, remained at home 
until 1873, when he was appointed school commissioner to fill a vacancy, 
and was elected to that office. He purchased a store in Perryville and 
has ever since conducted the business. He was postmaster there seven 
years and resigned; was again appointed in 1898. He was supervisor 
twelve years, two of which he was chairman, and resigned to tike the 
office of county clerk, in which he is now serving. 

J. D. Turner was an early settler in the southwest part of the town ; 
he was father of George and Robert. Thomas Wilson settled a mile 
west of Fenner Corners and died there in 1823. Erastus Woodworth 
came from Rensselaer county and settled a mile east of Fenner Corners 
and later removed to a farm a mile and a half west of the Corners, now 
occupied by Mrs. Philip Dwyer. Benjamin Woodworth settled about 
two miles northeast of the Corners, where his son, Major George Wood- 
worth, subsequently resided. Col. Elisha Farnham, a native of Hamp- 
ton, Conn., was a settler in the south part of the town in 1797 and died 
in 1848. Ithuriel Flower, Amos Webster, and others, settled in the 
south part, and Samuel and Zattu Payne in the east part. Timothy 
Foster, who located on a farm adjoining the Thomas Wilson place on 
the south, was early killed by a falling tree. Russell Ransom and Drake 
vSelHck came in early, and from about 1810 to 1830 the population in- 
creased rapidly. 

Other names found among those of early settlers were John Miles, 
Daniel Torrey, Jared Merrills, Joseph Maynard, David Foskett, Hiram 
Roberts, James Walker, Truman Beeman, Lot Pickens, Solomon Field, 
Hezekiah Hyatt, Daniel R. Baxter, Seth Smith, 2d, Oliver Brownson, 
Seba and Linus Ensign and Jonathan Bump. The names of Hungerford, 
Cusbing, Dickinson, Eddy, Faulkner, Gordon, Hess, Hill, Jones, Keeler, 
Loundsbury, Laird, Stafford, Sayles, Stoddard and Wilbur are also 
conspicuous among the families who have been instrumental in building 
up the town and its institutions. 

The first town meeting for Fenner was held in the school house 



156 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

" near David Cook, Jr.'s," on May G, 1823, and the following officers 
elected: Daniel M. Gillet, supervisor; Sardis Dana, clerk; John Need- 
ham, William Esselstjme, and Ralph J. Gates, assessors; John F. 
Hicks, collector; John Needham and Samuel Nichols, overseers of the 
poor; Samuel Ives, Amasa Ives, jr., and Noah Blakelee, commission- 
ers of highways; John F. Hicks and William Nichols, constables; 
Sardis Dana, William Doolittle and Daniel Pratt, commissioners of 
common schools; John Needham, jr.. Federal Dana and Erastus E. 
Park, inspectors of schools; David Cook, poundmasier, 

The first trade operations in Fenner were begun, as before indicated, 
at the Corners, where it was generally believed a village would be 
founded. The earliest merchants were Martin and Daniel M. Gillet. 
The}' were succeeded ere long by Charles F. Kellogg, who came from 
Cazenovia and opened a store in the building in which the Gillets had 
traded. Hiram Preston, also from Cazenovia, and Martin Woodworth 
were merchants of many years ago. The post-office was not estab- 
lished until after 1820. 

The first physician in the town was Dr. Daniel Pratt, who came 
from Belchertown, Mass., where he was born, in company with his 
brothers, Jonathan and James, the former of whom has been noticed 
as the first physician in Madison, and the latter in Eaton. Daniel 
studied medicine with his brother Jonathan, returned to his native 
town in 1804 and settled in Fenner in 1814. 

There were no business interests of any kind at Perryville until long 
after the county organization, with the exception of the old mills, the 
original of which was erected by Richard Card soon after 1800, to be 
succeeded in 1824 by the second one, built by Enoch Dykeman. A 
tannery was established there at a very early date, to which Oren S 
Avery succeeded in 1817 and added an extensive boot and shoe manu- 
facturing business. There was no physician there until about 1809, 
when Dr. John Didama came from Germany and settled for many 
vears of practice; he was father of the now venerable and honored Dr. 
Henry D. Didama, of Syracuse. 

Only one church was formed in this town previous to the organiza- 
tion of the county. This was the Fenner Baptist church, organized 
August 23, 1801, as the Third Baptist Church of Christ in Cazenovia. 
When the town of Smilhfield was set off, the title was changed to The 
Baptist Church in SmithfielJ. The original membership numbered 
seven persons, all but one of whom had recently been baptieed. The first 



SETTLEMENT OF TOWNS. 157 

pastor was not called until January, 1803, when Elder Nathan Baker 
began preaching every two weeks; he was voted "$1.50 for the six Sab- 
baths on which he has served us. " Meetings were heldin dwellings and 
school houses until 1820, when a meetinghouse was built. Jacob Crap- 
sey preached in 1804-5, and for many years the changes were fi-equent 
and cannot be followed here. The meeting house was greatly improved 
at a cost of $3,000 in 1879, and the society is still in active existence. 
The first school taught in Fenner, as far as known, was in an old 
ashery in what became district No. 9. When the first school house was 
srected is not known. Joel G. Downer, many years a merchant in 
Bridgeport, who removed to California many years ago, was the first 
native of that district who engaged in teaching. In Mrs. Hammond's 
work on this county she credits that old school with educating three 
physicians, Drs. Welcome Pray, Federal C. Gibbs and Andrew S. 
Douglass; a lawyer, Lewis Pray; and a minister, William B. Downer. 
Also Robert Stewart, later president of the National Bank in Chitten- 
ango, and his brother, Daniel Stewart, president of the Morrisville 
Bank. 

This completes the story of the settlement and organization of all of 
the old towns of Madison county, and traces their simple history down 
to about the date of the formation of the county. Enough has here been 
already written to show beyond question not only that this region was 
fortunate in the conditions surrounding the opening of the lands to 
settlers, but also in the class of men and women that was attracted 
hither by those conditions and the natural features of the locality. No 
limited section of this State, we may freely assert, ever had more 
broad minded, fair- dealing and energetic proprietors to open territory 
to the pioneer than John Lincklaen, Peter Smith Col. William S. Smith 
and Justus B.Smith, under whose auspices, as we have seen, most of 
this county was settled. As a consequence, the best of the old families 
of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont halted on 
Madison county lands, instead of following the westward flowing tide 
of migration to the Genesee country or elsewhere. Here they found 
fertile soil, beautiful lakes and streams, a varied land surface, and the 
towering old forests that supplied them with lumber and wood. That 
those sturdy, God-fearing pioneers fulfilled their purpose in coming 
hither is seen to-day in every village, hamlet and neighborhood in the 
county. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER X. 
GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 

During the half century that succeeded the date of the organization 
of Madison county events of tlie greatest importance took place in this 
country in which every community was directly interested to a greater 
or less extent. Among these significant occurrences were the war of 
1812-15, the construction of the Erie Canal, the inception and building 
of the early railroads, the construction of the Chenango and other 
canals, the introduction of plank roads and their construction in all 
parts of the State, the introduction of the magnetic telegraph, all be- 
tokening in an astonishing degree material advancement and intellec- 
tual progress, and the rapidly incoming triumphs of peaceful civiliza- 
tion. On the other hand, during the period in question the country 
passed through two dark seasons of financial calamity and distress, the 
evil influences of which extended to every business center, were reflected 
to the rural districts and caused prolonged depression in all trade and 
industrial operations. Moreover, just as the last of these periods of 
financial stress was approaching its close, the black clouds of war 
hovered on the country's horizon, from which a terrific storm was soon 
to burst. 

If the inhabitants of Madison county, because of their geographical 
situation, did not share so generously as some other localities in the 
fruits of the long series of events that brought in their train innumer- 
able blessings, neither did they, for similar reasons, suffer to so great 
an extent from the widespread financial and business depression and 
disaster just mentioned. Progress in this county as a whole, though 
always gradual, has at the same time been sure and in the main satis- 
factory. Earnest and persistent labor has here found its adequate re- 
ward, good citizenship has been respected and in many cases highly 
honored, and home-loving contentment has prevailed on every hand. 

The conditions surrounding the erection of Madison county, its ex- 
tensive subdivision in the year following its organization, and particu- 
larly the location of the county seat at Cazenovia in 1810, caused much 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 159 

dissatisfaction and repeated efforts were made between that date and 
1815 to divide the county into two, or to remove the county seat to some 
other point. The feeling of dissatisfaction had its origin largely, as 
would be naturally inferred, in the inconvenience to the settlers in 
traveling to the most distant part of the county for the transaction of 
public business. It was not that the inhabitants of outside towns be- 
lieved their own localities any better for a county seat than Cazenovia, 
but that they wanted it located in a more central part; and it was a 
most reasonable desire. The agitation of the matter was active and 
prolonged, its chief promoters being prominent residents of those towns 
that could reasonably claim their own merits for the purpose in view. 
The records regarding the location of the first county seat are meagre. 
The subject of dividing Chenango county and creating Madison county 
was undoubtedly agitated during the few years prior to 1806, and there 
is an existing record of the holding of a special town meeting in the 
then large town of Cazenovia on June 13, 1804, two years before the 
county was formed, at which a committee was appointed to meet the 
commissioners appointed by the Legislature to consider this subject. 
The committee were Dr. Isaac Lynian, Jeremiah Clark and Jeremiah 
Griffith. When Madison county was erected the town of Sullivan was 
made a half-shire, with Hamilton, which had previously been a half- 
shire of Chenango county, and the courts were held alternately in these 
two towns until 1812. Later attempts were made to create two half- 
shire towns in Madison county, as will be seen. Following is a ver- 
batim record of the proceedings of the first meeting of the Madison 
county Board of Supervisors: 

Oct. 7, 1806. Met in school house near James Shethers (?) in the town of Sullivan. 
Present — Erastus Cleveland, Hamilton, 
Steven Hoxie, Brookfield, 
Lemuel Kmgsbury, Cazenovia, 
Jacob Patrick, Sullivan, 
Jeremiah Gage, De Ruyter, Esqs. 
The Bord chose Erastus Cleveland, Esqr. , President for the present year and 
Thomas W. Phelps Clerk. 

Resolved, That this Bord allow five Dollars for full grown Wolves and Panthers, 
Whelps half price. 

Resolved, That each Collector retain his Collection fees for the money he pays the 
Supervisors out of the same. 

Resolved, That Lemuel Kingsbury be the Treasurer of said County during the 
pleasure of the Bord of Supervisors. 

Resolved, That the Treasurer procure sufficient Bail to the amount of Five Thou- 
sand Dollars for the faithful performance of his duty. 



160 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Resolved, That the Bord appoint Jacob Patrick to Determine as to Bail to be ob- 
tained of Lemuel Kingsbury, County Treasurer. 

Aside from this brief record, measures were adopted for the equitable 
division of the money in the treasury of Chenango county. The " Town 
Contingencies," so called, for the first year were $1,435.75; "County 
Contingencies," $67138 The valuation was placed at $1,343,001. 

From this time until 1810 the county seat question, and occasionally 
the division of the new county, were before the people in some of the 
towns. For example, in 1809, a meeting was held in Lebanon to con- 
sider the subject of "centering the county," and delegates were ap- 
pointed to meet those of some of the other towns; the Lebanon dele- 
gates were John W. Bulkley, Dr. John Clarke, and Malatiah Hatch, all 
prominent citizens. In this same direction the people of other towns 
chose delegates to meet and settle this important matter, which, in the 
records, is always spoken of as " centering the county. !' Arnold Ballou 
and Asa Dana were two of the delegates from Smithfield and with 
Nehemiah Huntington were pledged to the policy of "not locating the 
County Seat at present;" the meeting was held July 13, 1810. All 
through the agitation of this question Smithfield was an active and per- 
sistent rival of Cazenovia, advancing the argument that the town was 
more centrally situated than Cazenovia, Hamilton, and other towns. It 
is presumed from what is found in the records that Cazenovia, Smith- 
field, Eaton and Hamilton were the towns that were actively favored 
for the county seat, the others, as a rule, merely expressing their pref- 
erence for one of the four. The vexed question was finally settled in 
favor of Cazenovia, and an act of the Legislature dated April 2, 1810, 
ordered the building of a court house and jail under certain limitations. 
The commissioners to superintend the erection of the buildings 
were John Lincklaen and Eliphalet S. Jackson; but for some unex- 
plained reason the Board of Supervisors at their meeting in 1810 adopted 
the following : 

Resolved, That new commissioners be appointed and chosen by Ballot, for super- 
intending the building a Court House and Gaol and after balloting it appeared that 
the following Gentlemen had a majority of votes — to wit, Hon. Peter Smith, Hon. 
John Lincklaen, and Eliphalet S. Jackson, Esq., Therefore, 

Resolved, That they be Commissioners for the purpose aforesaid. 

Progress on the building was not very rapid, for it was not completed 
until 1813. In the mean time, on the 14th of October, 1812, a commit- 
tee was appointed by the supervisors from their number to examine 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 161 

the accounts of the building commissioners, and they reported at that 
time that $3,507 had been paid out, and that -$2, 000 had been received 
of the treasurer. Although little appears in the public records to show 
it, this selection of the county seat was satisfactory to. only a limited 
number of the inhabitants of the county outside of Cazenovia, and the 
question of its removal to some other point was not permitted to rest 
until a change was accomplished. The first court house was built of 
brick, and preparatory to the change proposals were received in 1815 
by the supervisors for its purchase. Benjamin Coman offered $1,500 
for it; Job Kilbourn $1,200, and Joseph Burr the same. It was not 
then sold, and a resolution was adopted that it be sold at auction 
in the following February. This was not carried out, and in October, 
1817, the supervisors appointed Nehemiah Huntington, John Knowles, 
and Amos Crocker a committee to sell the building for not less than 
$1,500. They were not successful until the beginning of the following 
year. A special meeting of the supervisors was held February 3, 1818, 
when the offer of Benajah Williams, Frederick Wilcox, jr., Martin 
Keeler, William Andrews, Lewis Stanley, John Daniels, Jonathan 
Clongh, John Rowling, and Isaac Pierson of $1,800 was accepted; this 
sum was to be paid in three annual payments. As elsewhere de- 
scribed, the building became a part of the Cazenovia Seminary struc- 
ture. 

While these proceedings were in progress, an act was passed by the 
Legislature on the 17th of March, 1815, by the provisions of which the 
act of 1810 establishing the county seat at Cazenovia was repealed and 
providing "that the court-house and gaol in and for the county of 
Madison shall be erected on the third great turnpike road, within one- 
half mile of the dwelling house of Thomas Morris, of the town of 
Eaton." The act also provided for the raising by tax of the sum of 
$2,000 at the second ensuing meeting of the Board of Supervisors and 
a like sum at the third meeting. Another act was passed April IG, 
1816, directing that the courts be held at Cazenovia "until the said 
court shall be adjourned to the court house to be erected in Eaton." 
Still another act was passed April 17, 1818, requiring the supervisors at 
the next meeting to collect and pay into the county treasury, the sum 
of $2,000, and at their second meeting the same amount, "for the 
purpose of erecting and completing a gaol in said county." Thomas 
Greenly, David Gaston and John Matteson were appointed as building 
commissioners. These public buildings and others are further referred 
to in another chapter. 
U 



162 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

During this period and while the inhabitants of Madison county were 
thus busily engaged in the settlement of their own difficulties and the 
establishment of their own institutions and industries, the country at 
large approached and passed through its second struggle at arms with 
Great Britain. No extended account of that conflict is needed here; it 
is found described in all general histories of the country, and its only 
direct connection with this county was through the participation of a 
considerable number of its inhabitants on the battlefields, the prevail- 
ing anxiety caused by the proximity of some of the important events of 
the struggle at Oswego and Sackett's Harbor, and the effect upon busi- 
ness and industry of all kinds. 

Early in the century began the acts on the part of England that 
finally culminated in a declaration of war by Congress. Through orders 
issued by the British government and decrees made by Emperor Napo- 
leon, all American commerce in neutral ships with either of these 
nations was suspended. American sailors, claimed as British subjects, 
were seized on American vessels, and the right to board American ves- 
sels for this unjust purpose was one of the claims set up by Great 
Britain. These and other outrages continued until further forbearance 
was impossible. Late in October, 1807, Congress inaugurated opposi- 
tion by laying an embargo on all vessels in American harbors. This 
measure, necessary as it may have appeared as a general policy, was 
disastrous to the mercantile and shipping interests of the whole coun- 
try. The embargo act was supported by a large part of the Democratic 
party, but was strenuously opposed by the Federalists. These parties 
were not very unequally represented in Madison county in 1807-8. 
Judges Peter Smith and Oliver Brown were both ardent Federalists in 
1807 and supported Governor Lewis in opposition to Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins. In the year named Sylvanus Smalley, Democrat, and John W. 
Bulkley, Federalist, were elected to the Assembly. The war meas- 
ures, which were bitterly denounced and opposed along the seaboard, 
and with good reason, found many supporters in this vicinity. 

A militia brigade was formed in Chenango county previous to 1806, 
in which year the following M idison county citizens held commissions: 
Capt. Noyes Palmer (afterwards major-general) ; Capt. David Mat- 
thews of Sullivan; Lieut. Ethan Clark, of Leonardsville; Ensign Oliver 
Clark, of Lenox; Ensign Peter Chappell, of Hamilton, and Lieut. 
Oliver Babcock and Adjutant Phineas Babcock, brothers, of Clarks- 
ville. 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 163 

On June 1, 1813, President Madison sent a confidential message to 
Congress, in which he reviewed the causes of complaint against Great 
Britain and asked for a decision as to what course should be pursued 
under the circumstances. It was well known that the president fa- 
vored open retaliation. By one of the great political parties he was 
urged by ridicule as well as threats to declare war, while the other, in 
which were many whose personal interests were already suffering, per- 
sistently opposed such a course. Madison's message was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations which, on June 3d, made a report 
favoring- the president's views and accompanied by a bill declaring war 
against Great Britain. An attempt was made to include France in the 
declaration, which failed. After much debate and amid the greatest 
excitement throughout the country, Congress passed the bill on July 18, 
and on the 19th the president issued a proclamation announcing the fact 
and appealing to the people of the country to support the government 
in its war policy. 

Military operations were promptly inaugurated in all parts of the 
country. On the northern frontier and in near proximity to Madison 
county, steps were taken in 1812 for placing a naval squadron on Lake 
Ontario, at each end of which there was an important gateway through 
which the enemy operating from Canada could send expeditions to act 
on land or water. Numerous craft were purchased by the government 
and added to the Oneida, which was then the only armed vessel on 
the lake. Commodore Isaac Chauncey made his headquarters at Sack- 
ett's Harbor in the fall of 1812 and soon blockaded Kingston harbor 
with several vessels until the ice closed it in. Late in the autumn, in 
anticipation of an attack upon Ogdensburg, Gen. Jacob Brown was sent 
thither, where he arrived on October 1. He was none too early, for on 
the next day a flotilla of British vessels with about 750 men from Pres- 
cott, attacked the place, but they were soon repulsed. During the year 
1813 the march of military events was rapid. Sackett's harbor was 
the chief depot of military and naval supplies on the northern frontier, 
and presented a tempting prize to the enemy. About noon of May 28, 
1813, Sir James L. Yeo, commanding the British squadron, arrived olf 
Sackett's Harbor from Kingston, with six armed vessels and forty 
bateaux carrying more than 1,000 troops. The harbor was feebly pro- 
tected and a prompt assault would have resulted in its capture; but the 
appearance of a few American gunboats, transporting a regiment to the 
harbor frightened away the enemy. An attack was made on the next 



164 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

day, and the Americans, believing the port would be taken, burned 
stores worth $500,000. The British at the same time seeing the hurry- 
ing to and fro of the Americans, fied in disorder to their vessels and the 
whole squadron sailed away. Sackett's Harbor was not again mo- 
lested, but was kept garrisoned throughout the conflict. 

In June of that year an attack was made on Oswego by armed ves- 
sels, but their fire was sharply returned from the fort batteries and 
from the Growler, an armed vessel then in the harbor, and the enemy 
retired. 

The principal military event of 1813 in the north was Perry's mem- 
orable victory over the British squadron on Lake Erie on the 10th of 
September, killing 200 and capturing 600 of the enemy and winning 
for himself undying fame. Operations were active also on the Niagara 
frontier that year, and culminated on the last day of December in the 
burning of Buffalo and Black Rock, a deed which the British justified 
by the previous burning of Newark on the Canada side by the Ameri- 
cans. 

Early in 1814 it became apparent that the British intended a more 
vigorous prosecution of the war. The victories of the allies over 
Napoleon had relieved thousands of English soldiers and early in the 
summer 15,000 of Wellington's bronzed veterans were sent over to 
Canada. The inhabitants of central New York, as well as elsewhere, 
received the news with deep concern. During the winter and spring 
the forces on either side of the St. Lawrence and the lakes made prep- 
arations for a determined struggle for the future control of Lake On- 
tario. Commodore Chauncey added largely to his fleet at Sackett's 
Harbor, which was finally armed and provisioned from Albany by way 
of the Mohawk, Oneida Lake, Oswego River and Lake Ontario. With 
him awaiting these stores, a large quantity of which were accumulated 
at Oswego, an auspicious opport unit}' was presented for a British attack 
upon that port. As soon as the ice left the lake at Kingston, Sir James 
Yeo sailed out with eight war vessels and about 3,000 men, and on the 
5th of May appeared off Oswego. Fort Ontario had meanwhile been 
somewhat strengthened by five artillery companies under Colonel Mitch- 
ell, and the schooner Growler still lay in the river. Mitchell acted 
promptly when the British fleet made its appearance. He sent horse- 
men through the surrounding country calling on the militia to come to 
the aid of the garrison; the Growler was sunk in the middle of the 
river, and the crew and ofliicers joined Mitchell at the fort. An old 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 165 

twelve-pounder cannon, was also sent down near to the shore a little 
west of the fort, to prevent an anticipated landing at that point. When 
the fleet had anchored, fifteen boats put off for the shore under protec- 
tion of a heavy cannonade from the vessels, to which Mitchell replied 
from the fort. But the old twelve-pounder was the decisive factor in 
the affair, for when the boats had approached quite near, the gun was 
fired directly among them with disastrous and demoralizing effect. Sev- 
eral boats were shattered and many of their crews were killed or 
wounded. A few more shots from the old gun, and the flotilla rowed 
hastily to the fleet which soon sailed away. 

Militia was now arriving from Onondaga, Oneida, Madison and other 
counties, but unfortunately most of the troops were too late to save 
Oswego. The British returned on the following day, effected a landing 
in spite of the old twelve-pounder, and outnumbering Mitchell's forces 
two to one, the place was captured, Mitchell retreated up the river, the 
enemy fortunately not pursuing him. Six killed, thirty-eight wounded 
and five prisoners carried away to Canada is the record of American 
casualties. Strange as it may appear, under the circumstances, the 
British did not occupy Fort Ontario, and it remained without a garrison 
until 1838. 

The news of this battle spread rapidly and caused great anxiety 
throughout the territory with which we are here interested, which did 
not subside until the close of the war. Most of the militia, which had 
arrived too late to be of material assistance, returned home, carrying 
the news of the disaster. The stores of Oswego were soon afterward 
safely transported to Sackett's Harbor, after a desperate attempt to 
capture the flotilla of boats in Big Sandy Creek by the British, in which 
they were gallantly defeated, losing eighteen killed, fifty wounded 
and 170 prisoners. In this engagement, as well as during the whole 
journey between Oswego and Sackett's Harbor, the Oneida Indians 
performed valuable service, marching abreast of the boats along the 
shore. 

Other principal military operations of the year 1814, ending with the 
final victory of General Jackson at New Orleans on January 8, 1815, 
were those of Fort Erie, opposite Buffalo, July 3 and August 13-15; at 
Lundy's Lane, July 25; on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburg Septem- 
ber 11; at Chippewa October 15, and the brilliant and victorious 
achievements of Decatur and other commanders on the sea. A treaty 
of peace was agreed upon at Ghent on December 24, 1814, which was 



166 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ratified at Washington, February 17, 1815. The reception of the news 
of the close of the war was received with rejoicing throughout the 
country. No one is living and no records exist to tell us what took place 
on that occasion in the little villages of Madison county when the cheer- 
ing news drifted slowly northward ; but we may well believe that in pro- 
portion to numbers of population the joy of the peace-loving inhabitants 
of the county was exhibited with the same enthusiasm elsewhere dis- 
played. 

It is practically impossible at this late day and in the absence of local 
records to learn in detail of the part taken by men of Madison county 
in the war of 1812-15. Situated, as it is, near to the northern frontier, 
and having, in common with other counties at that time, a regular militia 
organization, it is quite certain that the people of the county responded 
to the call to arms with the same patriotic readiness shown in other local- 
ities. The records in Albany show that the brigade in existence here in 
1807 contained the following officers, many of whose names have already 
become familiar to the reader and whose descendants are still living in 
thissection. Brigadier-General Nathaniel King of Hamilton; Lieuten- 
ant-Colonels Zebulon Douglass of Sullivan, and Nathaniel Collins; Ma- 
jors Amos Maynard and Erastus Cleveland, of Madison ; Captains Daniel 
Petrie of vSmithfield, William Hallock of Sullivan, Jacob Balcom, Na- 
than Crandall and Gaylord Stevens; Lieutenants Daniel Olin, Roswell 
Hutchins, Ambrose Andrews, Timothy Brown, Nicholas Woolaver, Ben- 
jamin Wilber, Seth Miner, Charles Huntington, William Bradley, Jabez 
Lyon, Daniel Jones, Stephen Lee, Samuel Rawson, Asa Randall, Oliver 
Clark and Sylvester Clark; Ensigns Pardon Barnard, Martin Lamb, 
William Abercrombie, Gilbert Reed, Albert Beecher, Jonathan Nye, 
John Chambers, Elihu Foote, Stephen Clark, jr., and Thomas Wylie; 
Adjutant Moses H. Cook; Surgeon Dr. Asahel Prior. 

The election of 1809, after the establishment of the embargo, de- 
monstrated that in Madison county there was a very strong Federal 
element and that opposition to war measures was active and command- 
ing The county was then one of the important grain-producing dis- 
tricts, which industry promptly felt the effects of the blow upon do- 
mestic commerce. The Federal party succeeded in the State in that 
election, as well as in this county, where Daniel Van Home, John W. 
Bulkley and AmosB. Fuller, all Federalists, were sent to the Assembly. 
Only brief records of comparatively few of those who went to the 
field in this war are now available. Gen. Nathaniel King, before named, 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 167 

served in that high rank at Sackett's Harbor and was distinguished in 
his military career. Joseph Bruce of Lenox, the ancestor of the dis- 
tinguished family of that name, was a lieutenant of a light artillery 
company when war was declared. His next superior officer was Cap- 
tain Jennings, who was ill, and as a consequence Lieutenant Bruce as- 
sumed command of the company, which he held throughout its term 
of service. He was successively promoted to captain and to major. 

Gen. Ichabod S. Spencer, the earl'cst settled lawyer in Lenox, where 
he located in 1802, and his eminent brother, Joshua A., both served on 
the frontier in this war, and the former rose to the rank of brigadier- 
general. The artillery company before mentioned was raised in the 
town of Lenox, which was at that time quite a center of military ac- 
tivity. The other principal officers of the company were Second 
Lieut. Argelus Cady, Cornet David Beecher and Orderly Sergeant 
J. Austin Spencer. The 75th Regiment had its headquarters at Qual- 
ity Hill; of this organization Zebulon Douglass was the first colonel and 
was followed by Thomas W. Phelps, and he by Stephen Lee. In this 
immediate neighborhood the embargo had a remarkable effect in one 
direction. The embargo excluded the Nova Scotia gypsum plaster 
from the markets of the country, making an opportunity for the devel- 
opment of the immense beds in Madison and Onondaga counties. 
Thousands of tons were quarried in this locality, most extensively in 
the vicinity of Canaseraga. 

Horace Hunger, of the town of Fenner, son of Jonathan, who was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary army, inherited his father's patriotism and 
fought in the war of 1812. In the same town Col. Arnold Ballou was 
one of the pioneers and prominent citizens. He held the rank of col- 
onel in the militia and participated in the war. Jeremiah Blair, of the 
town of Nelson, son of Enoch, one of the pioneers of that locality, en- 
listed in the army and served at Sackett's Harbor. Curtis Hoppin, a 
prominent citizen of the town of Lebanon, was an officer in the militia 
early in the century and was ordered to Sackett's Harbor in 1814. 
Joseph Clark, one of the nine children brought by their parents, Capt. 
Samuel Clark and his wife Chloe, in 1801, to Clarkville in the town of 
Brookfield, served on the northern frontier as ensign and later rose to 
the rank of colonel. He was one of the most prominent citizens of that 
town, held the office of postmaster about thirty-five years, and many 
other positions of honor and trust. 

Amos Maynard was a pioneer and the first militia captain in the town 



168 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of Madison, served in the army in the war of 1813, and rose to the rank 
of colonel. Erastus Cleveland, for many years the leading citizen of 
Madison and one of the foremost men of the county, commanded a regi- 
ment at Sackett's Harbor and later was commissioned brigadier-gen- 
eral of militia. 

Charles Stebbins, of Cazenovia, a graduate of Williams College, and 
later an attorney of prominence, served in the war on the staff of Gen- 
eral Hurd. Doubtless there were many others who lived for longer or 
shorter periods in this county, whose services were freely given to the 
country in its last struggle with Great Britain, of whose part in the war 
it is now difficult to learn. Within a few years after the close of the 
war, in the organization of the State militia a brigade was formed which 
included the counties of Madison and Chenango; this organization con- 
tinued many years, during which Gen. Ichabod S. Spencer, before men- 
tioned, was in its command. It was the 35th in number and comprised 
two regiments. 

During the progress of the war immigration into this county was al- 
most wholly checked, and public civil affairs were to a great extent 
neglected. Considerable legislation was enacted relating to projects 
bearing more or less local interest, particularly with the object of pro- 
moting and improving facilities for transportation and communication 
within and through the State; some of this has been noticed. Previ- 
ous to the spring of 1813 there had been 180 turnpike companies incor 
porated in this State, a number of which were for the purpose of 
constructing roads that were important to Madison county, and have 
been noticed in an earlier chapter; but these were subordinate in im- 
portance to the early efforts to improve navigation across the State by 
various waterways, natural and artificial. The first of these was the 
Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, incorporated March 30, 
1793, at the instigation of Gov. George Clinton, which has been de- 
scribed in Chapter III. 

Many important highways were opened early in the century, besides 
those already noticed. The Cherry Valley Turnpike probably exerted 
a greater influence upon the prosperity of this county than any other 
road ; it was known also as the Third Great Western Turnpike, and was 
completed in 1806. Many Madison county men, and particularly citi- 
zens of Cazenovia were prominent in promoting this enterprise. This, 
and the other great turnpike which followed the old Indian trail enter- 
ing the county from the east at Oneida Castle and passing through 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THB COUNTY. 169 

Lenox, by way of Wampsville and Quality Hill, through vSullivan by 
Canaseraga and Chittenango, and leaving this county at Deep Spring, 
were supremely important thoroughfares in early years, the latter be- 
ing improved under the incorporation of the Seneca Road Company 
after 1801. The Skaneateles Turnpike was finished about the begin- 
ning of the century, across the southern part of the county. In this 
connection a word should be written regarding the old and nearly for- 
gotten State Road, which came into the county in the southwestern 
part, entered the town of Eaton near the Leland Ponds, passed on over 
the hills in a northwesterly direction to the village of Morrisville; there 
passing between the mill pond and the Cherry Valley Turnpike, it 
passed over the west hill and on through the towns of Nelson and Caz- 
enovia. At some points this road's course was identical with that of the 
turnpike, while at others it was departed from for miles. 

The Peterboro Turnpike, so called, extending from Vernon through 
Peterboro to Cazenovia, was constructed about 180-i by a company in- 
corporated in that year. The so-called Peterboro road was laid out in 
1813 and constructed by county aid; the road extends from Hamilton 
to Canastota almost directly through the center of the county, and was 
subsequently laid with plank as one of the many plank roads, and still 
later covered with stone. Other highways of less importance to the in- 
habitants were laid out as necessity demanded. In the legislation con- 
cerning roads is found an act of April 8, 1808, under which Robert 
Avery, David Tuttle, and David Barnard were appointed commission- 
ers to lay out a road four rods wide " beginning near More's mills, in 
the town of Eaton, in the county of Madison, thence running north- 
wardly to intersect the Seneca turnpike road in the town of Sullivan, in 
said county, at or near the place where the courts are now holden." 

Again on April 11, 1811, the Madison County Turnpike Company 
was incorporated by eighteen men, among whom were Peter S. and 
Gerrit Smith of Smithfield, for "the purpose of making a good and 
sufficient turnpike road to commence on the Third Great Western Turn- 
pike in the town of Eaton, in the valley east of the great hill, known 
as Gates' hill, and running from thence by the most direct and con- 
venient route in a northwesterly direction, passing by the inn of Elijah 
Pratt, in Peterboro, and to intersect the Seneca turnpike at such point 
as may be found eligible, between the foot of the great Chittenango 
hill and the inn of Benjamin Drake in Sullivan." The stock of this 
company was divided into 800 shares of $20 each. Two toll gates were 



170 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

permitted, neither of which could be situated within three miles of 
Peterboro. 

In this same year (1811) under date of April 9, a law was passed 
under the provisions of which Madison county was paid $1,600 out of 
$2,300 raised by the sale of State lands for the repair of bridges. The 
money was paid to Sylvanus Smalley and Zebulon Douglass. These 
same men were directed by act of April 13, 1813, to build a bridge 
across Oneida Creek in the town of Lenox and were authorized "to 
take the timber necessary for building the said bridge from any of the 
land belonging to the people of the State." 

Two other turnpike companies were incorporated before 1820 in 
which the people of this county were interested. An act dated April 
17, 1816, incorporated the Madison County South Branch Turnpike 
Company, naming as among the incorporators John Matteson, Windsor 
Coman, David Gaston, Thomas Morris, and Aroswell Lamb, with au- 
thority to construct a road " to begin where the Sherburne and Leb- 
anon salt spring turnpike ends or intersects the Hamilton and Skane- 
ateles turnpike; thence running on the most eligible and direct route 
to Morris flats, near the house of Thomas Morris, in the town of Eaton, 
and thence on until it intersects the Madison county turnpike road, in 
the village of Peterboro." The stock of this company was constituted 
of 1,300 shares of $20 each, and they had five years in which to com- 
plete the road. 

The other company mentioned was the Cazenovia and Chittenango 
Turnpike Company, which was incorporated April 10, 1818, by William 
K. Fuller, Samuel Sizer, jr., Elisha Carey and others, to construct a 
road beginning at Cazenovia and running thence on the west side of 
Chittenango creek to the Seneca turnpike in Sullivan; the capital stock 
was only $1,600. 

The building and maintenance of roads in early }'ears was the princi- 
pal public business in every community, and the duties of the large 
boards of highway commissioners were onerous. On the care and con- 
dition of the highways depended the possibility of all business and 
social intercourse between points separated by a few miles or more. 
When from any cause they were impassable, settlers in their homes 
and the small communities that gathered about the mill, the store and 
the shop, were absolutely is >lated ; but when in favorable seasons of 
the year the principal highways were dry, smooth and hard, the farmer 
drove his team to market with a cheery heart; the inland merchant or 



GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY. 171 

shopkeeper transported his goods and produce to and from his place of 
business with comparative ease and expedition, and over the long turn- 
pike reaches the old stage bowled along, the bordering forests echoing 
to the crack of the driver's whip or the loud sallies of the outside pas- 
sengers. 

Among other public improvements of early days was the attempt to 
drain and reclaim portions of the large swampy tract in the northern 
part of the county in the towns of Sullivan and Lenox. That low 
region was not only a waste as far as agriculture was concerned, but 
was also a cause of serious sickness in the vicinity. On the 18th of 
March, 1814, an act was passed by the Legislature providing that the 
actual settlers in the town of Sullivan, on account of loss of " crops for 
several years past, and of the sickness which has been prevalent 
amongst them, occasioned by the stagnant waters in the vicinity and 
the lowness of the country they inhabit," should have their payments of 
interest remitted. On the 12th of April. 1816, an act was pas.sed " for 
draining the great swamp and marsh, on the Canaseraga creek, in the 
towns of Sullivan and Lenox." The act made it lawful for the proprie- 
tors of lands overflowed to drain them by cutting " ditches or canals 
from said creek or marsh, by the most direct or convenient route or 
course, into Oneida Lake. " Three commissioners were to be appointed 
by the Court of Common Pleas to direct the work, which was to be 
paid for by assessment upon the lands improved. Under this author- 
ity a ditch was cut through the ridge between the great morass and 
the lake and made to form the channel of the Cowasselon and Can- 
aseraga Creeks which join in the central part of the swamp, the latter 
stream having thus been diverted from its natural channel. By this 
improvement large tracts were reclaimed and the condition for tillage 
improved at many different points in that section. 

Meanwhile an attempt was made in 1813, which is surprising in the 
light of the present day, except as it indicates the relative importance 
of the town of Lenox, particularly in the vicinity of Quality Hill and 
Federal Hill in the first quarter of the century, as already alluded to in 
preceding pages. On the 6th of April, 1813, an act was passed by the 
Legislature incorporating the Lenox Water Company, by which Moses 
Cook and others were given the necessary authority for "supplying that 
part of the town of Lenox in the county of Madison, situated on the 
Seneca turnpike road, called Federal Hill, with pure and wholesome 
water, for the use of such of the inhabitants thereof, and others" who 



172 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

might desire it. The incorporators were authorized to hold $500 worth 
of real estate. 

The time had now arrived when popular protest against the perma- 
nent location of the county seat in Cazenovia was sufficiently powerful 
to cause its removal. While the change was not made until the latter 
part of 1817, the subject had been agitated and proceedings prepara- 
tory to the removal were in progress long before that time, as indicated 
by the offer for sale of the old court house as early as 1815, to which 
reference was made a few pages back. The new court house was in 
process of erection in 1810, the supervisors of that year adopting a res- 
olution that the sum of $2,000 "be raised for building a court house at 
Morris's Flats." In the same year Elisha Carrington was allowed $85 
for services on the court house. Joseph Morris, Capt. Eliphalet Jack- 
son and Elisha Carrington were appointed to superintend the erection 
of the building; but at a later date and before it was finished, the names 
of the building commissioners found in the proceedings of the supervis- 
ors are Nehemiah Huntington, R. Barker and Isaac Lewis. The first 
court was held in the new building on the 7th of October, 1817. This 
court house was in use until 1847. 

Although it takes us a little out of chronological order, it is proper to 
here notice the removal of the county clerk's office also. In the Board 
of Supervisors in 1818 a resolution was adopted that the Legislature be 
petitioned for authority to "remove the clerk's office to Morris Flat;" 
that a room be fitted up for its reception in the court house, or, to build 
a fire proof clerk's office. This project was much delayed and no record 
is found of the petition being drawn until 1820, while the resolution of 
the supervisons directing the erection of a building was not adopted 
until February 10, 1824. The building was erected in that year, by 
Andrew P. Lord, at a cost of $674. The question of a site for the 
clerk's office caused considerable discussion and was settled in the 
Board of Supervisors on the 19th of February by ballot. 

The first jail was a wooden structure which stood contiguous to the 
court house and was erected in 1817, at a cost of $4,523.51. David Gas- 
ton and Thomas Greenly were the commissioners. Although it was a 
homely and inadequate structure for the purpose, it sufficed for the 
needs of the county, with such improvements as could be made, until 
1872, when the present handsome brick jail and residence were built, 
as described further on. 

Meanwhile another road of considerable importance was ordered con- 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 178 

structed across the Oneida Indian Reservation "from Oneida Creek to 
Chittenango Creek," the act being passed April 14, 1817. John Joslin 
was appointed to do the work at $1.50 per day. On the same date an 
act made it the duty " of the supervisors at the next annual meeting to 
levy and raise by tax on the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of 
Cazenovia, $1,500 to be paid to the Commissioners of Highways for 
building a bridge across the mill pond in Cazenovia village." 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 

During and soon after the period to which the preceding chapter is 
devoted a project of magnificent possibilities was undertaken and car- 
ried to successful completion, which for a time revolutionized travel and 
transportation across this State, widened the markets for every product 
of Madison and other counties, increased the tide of western travel 
beyond the most sanguine expectations of those days, and became a 
pre-eminent and ruling factor of the political field. This great under- 
taking was the inception and construction of the Erie Canal. 

It is uncertain who first originated the idea of a canal across the State 
of New York,' nor is it a question that needs consideration here. It 
is well known that such master minds as De Witt Clinton, Myron Hol- 
le)', Benjamin Wright, Joshua Forman, James Geddes, Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, Joseph EUicott, and others who might be named, were in 
the front ranks of those who believed in the practicability and success 
of the great waterway, in the face of thousands of other men, great 
and small, who condemned, ridiculed, and in every way opposed it from 
first to last. 

The general history of the Erie Canal is quite well known. A reso- 
lution passed the State Legislature, under direction of Joshua Forman 
of Onondaga, in February, 1808, ordering a survey and appropriating 
$000 for the purpose and appointing Simeon De Witt to superintend 

' Judge Jonas Pratt, of Oneida county, who was a State senator from 1810 to 1814, said : "As 
to the merit of the first design of a canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson, it belongs in my opinion 
exclusively to no person. It was gradually developed to the minds of many who were early 
acquainted with the geography and topography of the western part of the State." 



174 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the work. The survey was made by James Geddes and Benjamin 
Wright, who reported favorably upon the project. This was the first 
legislative action on the subject. In 1810 commissioners were appoint- 
ed by the Legislature to further explore the entire route for the pro- 
posed canal, and on June 19, 1812, the canal commissioners were au- 
thorized to borrow $5,000,000 and proceed with the work. The events 
of the war of 1812-15 suspended the undertaking; but on the return of 
peace the matter was revived with greater ardor than ever, and intense 
opposition was manifested in all parts of the State, particularly in the 
rural districts and far from the line of the waterway. Governor Clin- 
ton, Joshua Forman, Mr. Geddes, Jonas Piatt and others were most 
active in promoting the project, and it became known among the op- 
position as Clinton's big ditch. In 1816 a Board of Canal Commission- 
ers was created by act of Legislature and in the following spring the 
law was passed ordering the prosecution of the work. The act passed 
the Assembly on April 15, the last day of the session, and the contract 
for the middle section, from Utica to Seneca River, was let in June to 
John Richardson of Ca3'uga county, and the first work on the great 
waterway was begun at Rome on the 4th of July. The work went 
forward rapidly and in Governor Clinton's message of 1820 he reported 
ninety-four miles completed on the middle section, with a lateral branch 
at Salina. On October 26, 1825, the whole work was finished. The 
first packet boat was called the Oneida Chief; it left Montezuma on the 
21st of July, 1820, and past eastward to Utica. Her captain was George 
Perry of the town of Sullivan. Crowds had gathered at the various 
villages along the route, in which was mingled the usual contingent of 
doubters, ready, if not anxious, to witness the failure of the enterprise. 
But when the boat came floating along smoothly and rapidly all ad- 
verse opinion disappeared like a wraith and expressions of ridicule were 
changed to shouts of exultation. This boat made three trips a week, 
each occupying two days, and the fare, including board, was $4. On 
the 1st of June of that year we are informed in an advertisement that 
" boats for the accommodation of passengers 100 miles on the canal are 
now in operation by the Erie Canal Navigation Company. They sail 
every Monday and Thursday morning from Utica at 9 o'clock and ar- 
rive at Canastota at 7 p. m. ; proceed next day at 2 p. m. and arrive at 
Montezuma at 7 p. m. Price of passage, including provisions, $4." This 
company's headquarters were in Utica. To the first packet boats the 
second of which was the Montezuma, were soon added freight craft 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. IT5 

and many companies and individuals were engaged in the business. 
An Albany paper of the spring of 1823 contained the following: 

The whole course of the great work from Utica to Rochester exhibits the bustle and 
stir of business. The amount and variety of productions which are constantly pass- 
ing and repassing upon it fill the mind with astonishment. It is the flux and reflux 
of the great tide of Western wealth and Western enterprise. 

The water was let into the completed canal at Black Rock, near Buf- 
falo, on the 26th of October, 1825, and the event was enthusiastically 
celebrated along the whole line. A flotilla of boats, having on board 
the governor and his staff and many other prominent men, started east- 
ward, its progress being signaled at regular intervals by the firing of a 
cannon. Stops were made at all important points where celebrations 
of some kind were held. The completion of the waterway was a source 
of congratulation throughout the State; medals were struck commem- 
orating the event, canal scenes were imprinted on crockery ware, hand- 
kerchiefs, etc., and an era of hopefulness superseded the general hard 
times brought on by the war. 

As an evidence of the rapidity with which the canal was brought 
into use, and of the great change in transportation wrought by it, par- 
ticularly as regards freight, it may be stated that the number of canal 
boats which arrived in Albany during the season of 1823 was 1,329; in 
1824 it was 2,687; in 1825 it was 3,336; and in 1826 it was about 7,000. 
The rate for transportation on the turnpike in 1826 was one and one- 
half cents per mile; on the canal it was five mills. It should not, how- 
ever, be inferred thatall passengers deserted the stages for the packets. 
Canal pas-sage was still tedious beside land travel, and was chosen 
mainly by those who wished to lessen the fatigue of a journey; it was 
avoided where saving of time was important. Merchants, bankers, and 
tradesmen bound to or from the metropolis, lawyers going to court, and 
all who must needs travel in haste, still made use of the stages. The 
old coaches held a large measure of their early popularity, even after 
the advent of the oncoming railroads, when the rivalry between the 
three modes of conveyance was intense during several years. The 
Seneca Turnpike Company, which had feared a large reduction in their 
passenger traffic through canal competition, was, on the contrary, able 
to declare a surplus dividend in April, 1823. In explanation of this 
act the company made the following public statement: 

The experiment of operating their road parallel with the canal has proved the 
canal to be very beneficial to the interest of the road company. The heavy teams 



176 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

with six or eight horses are now mostly removed from the road in consequence of 
the reduced price of transportation, and the light travel increased by the natural in- 
crease of business produced by the facility of intercourse with New York. 

Other changes wrought by the canal were no less important in Mad- 
ison county than elsewhere along the line. The growth of villages al- 
ready founded and which were touched by the waterway, received a 
remarkable impetus, while at other convenient points new hamlets 
sprang into existence and drew aroimd their shipping warehouses the 
population and trade previously bestowed upon other hitherto busy 
places off the canal line. With a very large portion of the territory of 
Madison county situated south of the line, the effect in this respect was 
not so marked as in some other localities; but the present important 
villages of Oneida, Canastota and Chittenango received much of their 
initial impetus from the business of the canal, soon thereafter to be 
further developed by the railroads, while other settlements suffered in 
proportion. 

The marked success of the Erie Canal led to the projection of numer- 
ous similar undertakings, most of which never went further than the 
preliminary legislaiion. The proposed routes of some of these will 
cause the reader of to day to smile. One was from Skaneateles Lake to 
the Erie Canal; another from Syracuse to Auburn; another from 
Camillus to Onondaga Lake; another from Onondaga Valley to the 
Chenango River; another from Salina to the Susquehanna River; an- 
other from Syracuse to Oswego, which was constructed, and finally the 
Chenango Canal, which for many years exerted a powerful influence 
upon the territory through which it passed, including that of Madison 
county. This undertaking received earnest attention soon after work 
was begun on the Erie Canal. Judge Elisha Smith was among its earli- 
est prominent advocates, and others were Governor Bouck, Henry Sey- 
mour, Rufus Bacon, James B. Eldridge, John G. Stower, Sands Hig- 
ginbotham, Moses Maynard, Lot Clark, Julius Pond and Thomas 
Wylie, all men of prominence in central New York. Ten years before 
the construction of the canal was authorized the Oxford Gazette con- 
tained the following: 

"Few counties can approach the Erie canal with so much ease and 
facility as Chenango, that are situated so far from it. We may, there- 
fore, justly consider Chenango as destined, at some future period, to 
become an important branch of that vast inland navigation which .se- 
cures to New York a proud pre-eminence among the States of the Un- 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 177 

ion. The Chenango river can be made boatable to its source and by a 
short caaal, the expense of which would be comparatively trifling, may 
be united with the waters of the Oneida Creek, which leads directly 
into the Erie canal. This has been pronounced by competent judges 
practicable and safe; and at no distant day will engage the attention of 
our enterprising citizens." 

The reader will see in this early extract a reflection of the public 
feeling in this State on the subject of internal navigation; the people 
were canal crazy. The project of the Chenango Canal as it was finally 
constructed began to assume definite shape about 1834, when Assem- 
blyman John F. Hubbard presented a legislative memorial setting 
forth the plans and public sentiment. A committee, to whom the mat- 
ter was referred, reported favorably, but no action was then taken. In 
the following year a survey was made under legislative sanction and in 
1826 a bill was introduced for the beginning of construction; but the 
legislature rejected it, fearing that a sufficiently careful survey had not 
been made. In that year the inhabitants of the Chenango valley em- 
ployed a surveyor to lay out a route through the valley and connecting 
with the Erie Canal, and furnish an estimate of the cost of construc- 
tion; he died before the completion of his task. In 1827 a bill author- 
izing the work passed the Assembly and was rejected in the Senate. 
During the summer of that year the citizens procured another survey 
at large expense. The surveyor estimated the cost of the canal at 
something less than a million dollars; other experts concurred in this 
conclusion. In 1838 a second bill was introduced in the Legislature, 
only to meet the same fate as its predecessor. In 1839 the Legislature 
directed the Canal Commissioners to make a survey and begin work on 
the canal if they were assured of a sufficient supply of water; that the 
cost would not exceed one million ; that when completed it would bring 
revenue to the State in connection with the increased tolls on the Erie, 
for the first ten years after its construction, in tolls amounting to as 
much as the interest on its cost, together with the cost of repairs and 
the expense of attendance. If the commissioners found the reverse on 
either of these points, they were to report their surveys and estimates 
to the next Legislature. The report was made on January 31, 1830, 
and was adverse; its conclusions were, in brief, that while an adequate 
supply of water might be procured from reservoirs for the summit level, 
without taking any of the water of Oriskany and Sauquoit Creeks, the 
cost would exceed a million dollars and that the tolls would not "equal 

12 



178 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the interest of its cost and the expense of its repairs and superintend- 
ence, or of either of them." 

During the four succeeding years Assemblyman John H. Hubbard 
kept the subject constantly before the Legislature, earnestly advocat- 
ing the immediate prosecution of the work. In 1831, while he was a 
member of the committee on canals, he prepared an extended report in 
opposition to that of the commissioners made in 1830. Finally, on the 
33d day of February, 1833, the Legislature took the necessary action 
for the beginning of the work, the route to extend from Utica to Bing- 
hamton, a distance of ninety-seven miles. Work was commenced in 
July, 1834, and the canal was finished in October, 1836, at a cost of 
$4:,54'2,107, more than double the amount of the engineer's estimate. 

Both the beginning and the completion of the canal were made to 
serve as events for popular celebration at various points along the line 
and in Utica and Binghamton. It also, like the Erie, had its effect in 
developing the business interests of many places at the expense of 
others; in Madison county, Hamilton and Earlville felt this influence 
to a considerable degree. The canal was for a number of years of vital 
importance to the farmers and tradesmen of the southern part of the 
county; but its existence was doomed from the first. Its revenue was 
not sufficient to pay the current expenses and for years it was a finan- 
cial burden upon the people of the State and was finally in 1876 aban- 
doned, after forty years of existence. Under a law of 1877, amended 
in 1878, it was advertised for sale April 8, 1879, the sale to take place 
in July; but it was postponed. 

On the 6th of March, 1818, an act of Legislature incorporated the 
Chittenango Canal Company, naming John B. Yates, William K. Ful- 
ler, Elisha Carey, John Knowles, and Peter Smith as incorporators, 
who were given authority to "construct a canal from Chittenango vil- 
lage to the Great Western [Erie] canal." The capital was not to exceed 
$30,000. This company, the inspiring mind of which was John B. 
Yates, constructed the lateral canal, which was of considerable impor- 
tance, but which long since lapsed into disuse. 

One effect of the opening of these canals, particularly in early years, 
was the inauguration of a marked change in the agricultural industries 
of the county. Prior to this wheat and other grains had been grown 
in large quantities and found a market at satisfactory prices; but the 
rapidly increased shipments eastward of the product of the great grain 
fields farther west, caused the farmers of this county to turn their at- 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 179 

teation more to dairying and the raising of crops that were not so much 
aiTected by western competition, among them the one for which Madi- 
son has become noted throughout the country. Fruit-growing also be- 
gan to assume greater importance and gradually advanced to its present 
condition. 

While these great internal movements were in progress, ideas born 
in England were transplanted to this country, where, in the active soil 
of American invention and enterprise, they throve and became the 
prime source of a giant industry that was to again revolutionize travel 
and transportation and permanently scotch the wheels of canal develop- 
ment everywhere. The large traffic of the Erie Canal convinced far- 
seeing men as soon as that waterway was completed, that more rapid 
means of transportation across the State would soon be required and 
that the most available route was along the line of the canal. In 1826 
a charter was granted, the first in the United States for a company to 
do a general transportation business, to the Mohawk and Hudson River 
Railroad Company, to construct a railroad from Albany to Schenectady. 

Three years later, on the 17th of April, 1829, the Madison County 
Railroad Company was incorporated, with authority to "construct a 
single or double railroad or way, from the village of Chittenango to the 
village of Cazenovia, in the county of Madison, with the privilege of 
extending the same southerly to any water communication between the 
Susquehanna and the Erie canal." The road was to be operated for a 
general transportation business and ten years were allowed for its con- 
struction. The capital stock was $70,000, and such men as Perry G. 
Childs, Robert Riddell, Jonathan D. Ledyard, John Knowles, and 
George K. Fuller were on the commission. Of course this road was 
never built, but the incorporation of the company at that early date 
shows the trend of popular enterprise in the direction of improved 
methods of transportation and that Madison county was not behind 
other localities in these important undertakings. Ten companies were 
incorporated in 1828, with termini in this State. 

On May 1, 1834, the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad Company was 
incorporated and a primitive road constructed on which the cars were 
run for a time by horses. The rails were of wood. In 1839 the first 
steam locomotive was put in use and soon railroad excitement was 
awakened thoughout the State. The element of time was becoming a 
large factor in every man's business and influential on his profits and 
losses. Hence many busy brains were speculating upon ways and 



180 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

means and possible results of introducing' the young i-ailway which 
might at least divide the canal traffic as well as the stage business and 
prove a profitable investment. A charter for a railroad from Utica to 
Schenectady, where it would connect with the before-mentioned line, 
was granted in 1833. This road was completed in August, 1836. These 
pioneer roads paid from the first and led to the projection of many 
others. In 1835-6 many men were elected to the Legislature because 
it was known that they would favor railroad extension, and the Legis- 
lature of 1836 was besieged with petitions for charters. Among them 
was one for a road from Utica to Syracuse, which was granted on May 
11 ; the capital stock was $800,000. The company was directed to pay 
the Seneca Turnpike Company for an}' damages sustained by the turn- 
pike in constructing the railroad and to pay a certain toll to the Canal 
Commissioners on all freight carried by the railroad, excepting passen- 
gers' baggage, during the canal season. The original charter of the 
Utica and Schenectady company prohibited it from carrying any freight 
whatever, a restriction which was- not removed until 1841. Prior to this 
date freight was carried from Schenectady to Utica in winter on sleighs 
and thence westward by rail. 

The opening and the operation of these roads, the last of which ex- 
tended through the northern part of Madison county and is now a part 
of the great New York Central system, was of vast moment to the 
region through which they passed. While for a period rivalry between 
them and the canal and the stages was active, they received a large and 
profitable share of the business from the first and were indirectl}' influ 
ential in stimulating industrial and commercial activity and enterprise 
in all directions. They were also instrumental in hastening and aug- 
menting the approaching financial crisis of 1836-38. Further railroad 
extension in which this county was directly involved did not take place 
until 1866. 

The principal public improvement of a strictly local character made 
during the period under treatment in this chapter, other than those be- 
fore described, was the establishment of a county poorhouse and farm. 
After considerable discussion the Board of Supervisors in 1825 adjpted 
the following resolution : 

Resolved, That a County Poor House be erected or purchased, as may be deemed 
most advisable, and that not less than fifty nor more than one hundred acres of land 
be purchased for the use of said establishment. 

Resolved, That a fund of not exceedmg $3,000 be raised for the above object. 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 181 

Another resolution appointed as a committee to carry out the fore- 
going resolutions, E. S. Jackson, Ellis Morse, Erastus Cleveland, 
Nehemiah Huntington, and Pardon Barnard. These proceedings re- 
sulted in the purchase of a farm on which was a stone dwelling, situ- 
ated in the town of Eaton about five miles southeast of Morrisville. 
The old buildings were used until 1878, when the present structure was 
erected. It is a two-storj' wooden building, with a high stone base- 
ment, which is used for kitchen and dining room. The central part of 
the building is occupied for the keeper's residence, while the two sexes 
of inmates are placed one on either side in the wings. The farm now 
contains 159 acres, and the buildings are commodious and well adapted 
to their purpose. 

In early years each town cared for its own poor in various ways that 
were all objectionable; especially so was the prevailing plan of letting 
out their support to the lowest bidder, the evils of which are too self- 
evident to need description. On the 9th of February, 1831, an act was 
passed by the Legislature, making it unlawful for the supervisors to 
contract with persons to keep the poor who were chargeable to the 
county "at some one or more places in said county," and " to raise 
such sums of money by a tax on the freeholders and inhabitants of 
said county as shall be necessary for the performance of anv contract 
that shall be made by virtue of this act." The supervisors were 
directed to " superintend the poor at least once in each month," and 
to watch over the manner in which the)- were being treated. This was 
doubtless an improvement over earlier methods; but it soon gave place 
to the county house and farm, as above noticed. 

The highway question was still an important one during the first 
half of the century and many new thoroughfares were opened within or 
passing through this county, a number of which were constructed by 
incorporated companies and, of course, were toll roads. For example, 
on F"ebruary 27, 1824, Beach Ufford, Jeremiah Whipple, and Ichabod 
S. Spencer were appointed commissioners under an act of the Legisla- 
ture, to lay out a road "from the village of Canastota on the Erie 
canal, in the county of Madison, on the nearest and most eligible route 
to or near the house of Alpheus Twist, in the town of Fenner, thence 
to or near the house of Timothy J. Dawson in the town of Nelson," 
and on southward to intersect the Geneganselet Turnpike in the town 
of Cincinnatus, in Cortland county. 

On the 12th of April, 1823, Timothy Hunt, of Chenango county, and 



182 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

John Foote and James B. Eldridge, of Madison county, were appointed 
commissioners to lay T^ut a road from Norwich through Madison 
county, " to intersect the Erie canal in the town of Lenox, at or near 
the Oneida creek." 

On May 26, 183G, Elisha Litchfield, John Holmes, and Isaac Morse, 
were made commissioners to open a road from Luther Corbin's house 
in Cazenovia to near the house of John Holmes in Pompey. In the 
same year an act was passed designating Sands Higinbotham, James 
F. Chamberlain, and Matthew Pratt, as commissioners to lay out a 
road from the Seneca Turnpike at Oneida Castle, up the valley of the 
creek to Pratt's Hollow and thence to the Cherry Valley Turnpike " at 
some point between the intersection of the Madison County Turnpike 
and Bouckville on the Chenango canal." 

The reader will notice as we proceed that many of the important 
highways of the period from 1820 to 1840 were opened wholly or partly 
to enable the inhabitants of various localities more or less distant from 
the canals, to reach those waterways by shorter routes and over better 
roads. It is almost impossible to realize in these days of numerous 
and rapid railroad connections, the enthusiasm inspired and the local 
changes wrought by the canals after their success was once assured. 
Another improvement that bore its relation to the Erie Canal was that 
made under an act of April 11, 1836, which established a ferry from 
Forgar's Point, at the termination of the road laid out by the town of 
Sullivan from Chittenango Landing on the canal, straight to Oneida 
Lake and the village of Cleveland, to be called " Gifford's Ferry." 
Paul Gifford, Henry W. Gifford, Daniel A. Haskins, and Alexander 
Smith were named in the act to establish the ferry. Three years later, 
in 1839, the Seneca Turnpike Company was authorized by the Legisla- 
ture to abandon " that part of their road, commencing at the intersec- 
tion of the north and south branches of the road in the village of Chit- 
tenango, . . . and running through Manlius, Onondaga Hollow, Mar- 
cellus and on to the west bounds of the village of Auburn." 

An act passed by the Legislature in 1826 gave this county three 
members of assembly in the apportionment made that year, the same 
number provided by the preceding apportionments of 1808, 1815, and 
1822; previous to 1808 the county had only two members. The appor- 
tionment of 1836 continued the same number, but the acts of March 8, 
1846, April 13, 1857, and April 16, 1866, reduced the number to two. 
Under the act of June 29, 1832, Madison county was joined with Onon- 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 183 

daga county to form the 33d Congressional District; in 1808 this county 
and Oneida constituted the 11th District, and four years later, in 1813, 
Madison and Herkimer were made the ITth District. This arrange- 
ment continued until 1833, when Madison and Cortland were made the 
33d District. 

In 1833 Madison and Onondaga were made the 33d District. In 
18-13 Madison and Oswego, were made the 33d District. In 1851 the 
number of this district was changed to the 33d, which continued until 
1873, when the number became the 34th. In 1883 Madison, Chenango, 
Broome and Tioga were made the 36th District. In 1893 Madison and 
Onondaga became the 27th District. 

The second quarter of the present centur}' was characterized by 
rapid growth and prosperity throughout Central New York, in which 
this county shared. Much of this was due, as before intimated, to the 
canal and the young railroads. Some villages that previously had little 
prospect of importance, became active and growing business centers, 
and the general tendency of the inhabitants of rural districts to settle 
in such communities began and has never since ceased. During this 
period De Ruyter was incorporated in April, 1833, and Morrisville in 
the same month; Brookfield (Clarkville) followed in May, 1834, and 
Canastota in 1835. On March 14, 1831, the Madison County Bank 
was incorporated in Cazenovia, with a capital of $100,000, the first 
bank in Madison county, and five years later, on March 33, 1830, the 
Madison County Mutual Insurance Company was incorporated by 
Charles Stebbins, John Williams, Lemuel White, Jonathan D. Ledyard, 
Ezekiel Carpenter, Simon C. Hitchcock, Rufus Allen, Benjamin T. 
Clarke, David B. Johnson, Jacob Ten Eyck, Lucien D. Cowan, Rens- 
selaer Jackson. From these a board of nine directors was chosen. 

The assessed value of the real estate of the county in 1820 was 
$3,836,690, and the personal estate was $156,738; the school fund in 
that year was $3,340.09. During the next decade there was a large 
increase particularly in the value of personal estate, indicating the ad- 
vancement in individual wealth which would naturally be looked for in a 
prosperous community. The real estate valuation in 1830 was $3,912,- 
180; the personal estate, $337,539; the school fund shows little change, 
it being $3,305.19, and $1,000 was appropriated for support of the poor, 
a sum which was doubled in 1835. 

The next decade showed an immense increase in valuation, both real 
and personal, the former reaching the sum of $5,549,217; the personal 



184 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was $796,043, while the school fund was more than double that of 1830, 
or $5,041.41, and the poor fund was $3,000. In 1850 the valuation of 
real estate had increased to $5,960,279, and of personal to $1,006,773; 
the assessment was $40,647. At the close of the next decade, to which 
time this chapter comes down, we find the valuation of real estate again 
almost doubled, reaching $9,189,722, an amount that has about doubled 
since that date; the personal valuation was in 1860, $2,302,680, and the 
total assessment was $83,495.58. The amount of the regular poor fund 
remained at $3,000 in 1842, in which year $300 was added for the erec- 
tion of a building for the sick of the institution. In 1850 there was 
raised by the Board of Supervisors for the poor, $9,748; for the care of 
the insane, $900; for courts and juries, $1,500; the county charges were 
$3,712.94; the one-half mill tax amounted to $3,483.52, and the school 
fund was $4,485.25; the contingent fund was $1,538.24. In 1860 these 
comparative figures were — for State tax, $42,445.62; county charges 
allowed, $7,435.46; lunatic fund, $1,156; poor fund, $16,000; court and 
jurors, $1,500; for idiot asylums, $80; contingent fund, $1,800; for the 
deaf and dumb, $60. There were in the county in 1850 three incor- 
porated companies only — the Eaton Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing 
Company, with assessed valuation of $2,800; the Lenox Iron Company, 
valuation, $25,700; and the Hamilton and Lebanon Manufacturing 
Company, with a valuation of $3,000. This does not include several 
plank road companies noticed a little further on. 

One of the most interesting features of the industries of Madison 
county that came into prominence during the period under considera- 
tion, was the production of silk. The industry was taken up about 
1840, and so confident were the public authorities of its success that 
the Board of Supervisors authorized the payment of certain percent- 
ages, or bounties, to producers, according to the number of cocoons 
and quantity of reel silk produced. In the proceedings of the board 
for 1842 is found the following list of awards: 

C. C. Huston, Lebanon, 66 cocoons reported and allowed $ 9.90 

Jesse Watson, Cazenovia, 38 8-16 cocoons reported and allowed. 5.32 

Willard Colton, Lenox, 40 do do . 6.00 
Harriet P. Coburn, Stockbridge, 15 3-4 cocoons reported and 

allowed 2.36 

Mary Storms, Sullivan, 7 1-16 cocoons reported and allowed 1.06 

John Lucas, Madison, 17 3-4 cocoons and 1 1-16 reel silk, re- 
ported and allowed 3.25 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 185 

William Doolittle, Fenner, 75 cocoons and 7 1-4 reel silk, re- 
ported and allowed 14. 95 

Clark Avery, Fenner, 56 cocoons and 4 l-i reel silk, reported and 

allowed io.65 

David Irish, Fenner, 49 14-16 and 7 7-16 reel silk, reported and 

allowed.. _ 9.71 

David Lindsley, Lebanon, 8 cocoons reported and allowed 1.20 

John W. Avery, Eaton, 72 3-4 do do 14.03 

It need scarcely be stated that this industry in such a climate did not 
meet anticipations, and no further bounty was paid in this county. 

Meanwhile, in 1832, a most unwelcome visitor came across the At- 
lantic, entered the seaboard cities, crept along the Hudson and St. 
Lawrence Rivers, followed the Erie Canal westward and fell like a 
scourge upon the cities of Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, and with 
less severity upon some of the large villages. This was the advent of 
the Asiatic cholera, then, as it is now, a deadly and mysterious malady, 
baffling to physicians and terrorizing every community where it gained 
a foothold. This scourge, which made one or two later though less 
severe visitations to our shores, needs little attention in these pages, 
for this county almost or wholly escaped its ravages. Indeed, as far 
as records go, there is nothing to indicate that it affected this imme- 
diate region excepting as a hideous story of deaths and midnight burials 
in other places. The disease disappeared from the country in the fall 
of the year, and the people again turned their attention to more agree 
able and profitable matters. 

Before the present century was half expired the court house erected 
in 1817-18 had become almost uninhabitable. At a special meeting of 
the supervisors held in 1848 action was taken to temporarily repair the 
building so that it would stand another year, and at the same time pe- 
tition the Legislature for authority to build a new one. On the 11th 
of April, of that year, an act was passed which authorized the comp- 
troller to loan Madison county $5,000 from the surplus of the State 
school fund, and directed the supervisors to proceed with the erection 
of the building. In the following year the loan was increased by the 
amount of $3,700, and the courthouse was finished and occupied until 
it was burned in the fall of 1865, when the present one was built. 

The only serious check to general prosperity in the county, State and 
nation in the period under consideration were the financial panics of 
1836-38 and 1857. In the fall of 1833 President Jackson withdrew 



186 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

from the United States Bank the deposit of national funds, amounting 
to $10,000,000, and the bank was finally closed, with consequences that 
were far-reaching in finance and politics. The New York Legislature, 
then strongly Democratic, passed a resolution early in 1834 endorsing 
the president's course. Numerous State banks were chartered, fre- 
quently under insufficient guarantees, and the national funds were de- 
posited with them. It was argued that the placing of a large sum of 
money in widely-separated State banks would be of great benefit to all 
business interests, through the facility with which loans could be ob- 
tained. While this was to a certain extent true, there was at the same 
time founded an immense credit system and an era of speculation 
opened which was soon to bring financial disaster upon the country. 
Money became plenty and business of every kind was abnormally ac- 
tive. No new enterprise could be put forward but men and money 
were forthcoming to promote it. Real estate, particularly in large 
communities, made rapid advances in price and an unhealthy fever of 
speculation reigned which should have foretold a coming downfall. By 
the close of 1836 the beginning of the end was in sight. Higher rates 
of interest began to prevail and soon those who could command cash 
reaped a harvest of usury. From three to five per cent, a month was 
paid in some near-by cities, and even at those figures there was a heavy 
demand. Finally, the issue of President Jackson's famous specie cir- 
cular precipitated the financial crash and the whole stupendous specu- 
lative fabric, founded on credit and held together for a time by dazzling 
expectations, came tumbling down, burying many in the ruins. Banks 
contracted their accommodations, a general suspension of specie pay- 
ments followed and bankruptcy was present on all sides. 

On the 16th of May, 1837, State laws were passed relieving all banks 
from such acts as refusal to pay their notes in specie, which would have 
otherwise made them liable to forfeiture of charters; this provision 
continued in force one year. About the middle of May, 1837, the New 
York banks resumed specie payments and recovery from the hard times 
began. A general banking law was passed in 1838, under the influence 
of which business gradually resumed its former activity. From the 
unfortunate consequences of this period of financial fever Madison 
county inhabitants largely escaped, as they had a few years previously 
from the cholera. Containing no very large villages and lying a little 
on one side of the great arteries of travel, its interests being mainly 
agricultural, there was little opportunity offered for the heavy business 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 187 

and bank failures that took place in other localities. That the money 
stringency, high prices of the necessities, and general stagnation was 
reflected to every community in some measure is true; but the sun 
shone and the rain fell on the productive Madison county farms as in 
other years and the people went quietly and peacefully on their way. 

The ten years beginning with 1844 may be properly called the plank 
road era in this State. On the 12th of April of the year named the 
first plank road company incorporated in the United States came into 
existence under a State act ; this was the Salina and Central Square 
Plank Road Company, and its road was the first one completed in the 
country, though two other companies were formed in the western part 
of the State the same year. The State now experienced a repetition of 
canal enthusiasm of a few years earlier, with the construction of plank 
roads as the object. Companies by the score sprank up in every direc- 
tion and it seemed that at last a roadway was discovered that would 
enable farmers to transport their produce and merchandise to and from 
market with comparative ease and speed. The first cost of the roads 
was not excessive and the money taken for tolls was entirely satisfac- 
tory. The Rome and Oswego road company was incorporated in 1847, 
and in the following year those extending west eight miles from Albany 
and southward from Syracuse, to eventually be extended to Cortland, 
were built. In 1849 the number of these companies was too large to 
need mention here. In the proceedings of the Board of .Supervisors 
for the year 1848 we find application made to the board for permission 
to lay out the Hamilton and Deansville plank road, which was to ex- 
tend from Hamilton to Deansville in Oneida county, passing through 
the towns of Hamilton, Eaton, Madison, Augusta and Marshall. 

On the 15th of December, 1849, a meeting of citizens of Georgetown 
and Otselic was held in the former town to arrange for receiving sub- 
scriptions for the purpose of constructing a plank road to extend from 
the southern terminus of the already projected road between George- 
town and Eaton, southward to Otselic. The capital stock of this com- 
pany was $4,400. The contract for building this road was let to Truman 
Armsby at $313 per mile. 

On June 27, 1851, the Canastota and Morrisville Plank Road Com- 
pany was authorized to borrow $5,000 to complete their road, and in 
the following year the Madison and Earlville Company was likewise 
authorized to borrow money to finish their highway from Oriskany 
Falls to Hamilton. In 1853 the Cazenoviaand Chittenango Plank Road 



188 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Company received legislative authority to convert a part or all of their 
plank road into a turnpike. On April 4, 1854, the Oneida Plank Road 
Company was incorporated to construct a road from Oneida Castle by 
way of Main and Mill streets to Oneida village. There was also a road 
from De Ruyter northward. 

These many plank roads served their purpose for a time, but it finally 
became evident that one important feature of the calculations had 
been overlooked ; this was the element of durability. A few years of 
travel and the effects of weather on the planks made it necessary to 
to relay the roadways, involving expense that the receipts would not 
meet, excepting on a few of the most frequently traveled routes. On 
this account many were abandoned as plank roads, and nearly all were 
finally given up. 

Among the public county affairs that received attention in 1841 was 
the publication by the general school committee of new school regula- 
tions, to which many persons took exception, and two additional mem- 
bers were placed on the committee. There was considerable discussion 
of the matter, but the action of the committee was finally approved. In 
the same year the State made an appropriation of $8,500 for the promo- 
tion of agriculture; of this sum Madison county received $120. In that 
year the Madison County Agricultural Society was organized with the 
following board of officers: J. D. Ledyard, of Cazenovia, president; 
Elijah Morse, of Eaton, H. G. Warner, of Sullivan, and J. H. Dunbar, 
of Hamilton, vice presidents; Alexander Krumbhaar, of Cazenovia, 
corresponding secretary; A. S. Sloan, of Eaton, recording secretary; 
Uriah Leland, of Eaton, treasurer. During several years the society 
held annual fairs in different parts of the county, and a widespread 
and salutary influence was exerted by it, which is indicated by the 
organization of several other agricultural societies, among which were 
the Brookfield Agricultural Society, organized in March, 1856, and still 
in prosperous existence, through the organization in 1898 of "The 
Madison County Fair" and its consolidation with the old society; the 
Lebanon Agricultural Society, organized August 19, 185G; the Farm- 
ers' and Mechanics' Association of Fenner, organized January 3, 1851; 
the Hamilton Agricultural and Horticultural Association, organized 
August 22, 1857; the Nelson Farmers' and Mechanics' Association, 
organized June 5, 1858; the Farmers'' and Mechanics' Association of 
Cazenovia, organized January 12, 1859. While all but one of these 
organizations have passed out of existence, they all aided in awakening 



CANAL AND EARLY RAILROAD ERA. 189 

added interest in agriculture in the county and thus served a beneficial 
purpose. 

The course of the business world was again seriously disturbed in 
1857 through the usual causes that are apt to grow out of a period of 
unusual prosperity such as was brought to a close at that time. Busi- 
ness of all kinds had been greatly overdone during a number of pre- 
ceding years; railroads and other large undertakings had been recklessly 
projected in all parts of the country; banks had multiplied and inflated 
the currency beyond necessity and prudence, and another financial 
crash came. The climax was reached when, in the fall of 1857, the 
New York banks suspended specie payments. The effects of this crisis 
were more widespread and more severely felt by small communities 
and individuals than in 1836-8; but there is little to record in connec- 
tion with it of a local character. Aside from a very few business fail- 
ures in the largest villages in Madison county, and the great scarcity of 
money among all classes, the crisis passed and was soon almost for- 
gotten. 

With brief reference to the further State legislation relating to the 
county previous to 1860, this chapter may be closed. Several villages 
in the county were incorporated: Oneida Castle on May 26, 1841; 
Chittenango on March 15, 1842; Madison on April 28, 1847. An act 
was passed on the 18th of April, 1843, appointing Delos De Wolf, 
Oliver R. Babcock, and David Carrier to investigate and settle the dis- 
puted boundary between the towns of Plainfield and Brookfield. On 
May 14, 1845, an act was passed authorizing the laying out of a high- 
way along the Chenango Canal from Cherry Valley Turnpike to Oris- 
kany Falls. Jonas Earll, jr.. Smith Coman and Portous Root were the 
commissioners named. On March 23, 1852, Levi D. Carpenter, Anson 
Rider and Charles A. Mann were named in a legislative act to examine 
the Unadilla River at Leonardsville and testify as to the necessity of a 
bridge at that point, and how much of the cost Plainfield and Brook- 
field should each pay. On the 16th of April of the same year an act 
was passed naming Oliver Pool, Edward Button, James D. White, com- 
missioners from the town of Nelson, to lay out a road at a cost of not 
over $1,500, from a point on the east side of the Erieville reservoir 
around the north end of the reservoir to intersect the road on the west 
side. On the 15th of April, 1859, eighteen men, a few of whom were 
from Madison county, were given legislative authority to organize a 
company and a lay a single track railway along the berme bank of the 



190 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Chenango Canal. Many of these improvements were carried out and 
were of great benefit to the community. 



CHAPTER XII. 
POLITICAL CHANGES— THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD. 

While the events of the preceding chapter were passing into history, 
the political field in this county, as well as throughout the State and 
country, had undergone many changes and was now approaching a 
crisis fraught with stupendous issues. Madison county after the forma- 
tion of the Whig party in 1833—1:, succeeding the old Federal party, 
gave its steadfast allegiance to that organization, as it since has to the 
Republican party, which succeeded the Whigs and to a great extent 
adopted their policy. An exception must be made to this statement, 
however, regarding the great Anti-Masonic crusade of 1837-33. The 
Anti-Masonic party found its first inspiration in opposition to the ven- 
erable order in the alleged abduction and murder of William Morgan, of 
Batavia, N. Y., for his threatened publication of the secrets of Ma- 
sonry. At the very first this opposition had very little political signifi- 
cance; but shrewd politicians saw in it the possibility of founding upon 
it a great party, and during about six years the organization thus sired 
was a power in the politics of the State and nation. Leading politi- 
cians saw their opportunity for intrigue and possible rise to power and 
influence, and political lines between the Jacksonian Democrats and the 
Anti-Masons were soon closely drawn. In the fall of Jackson's first 
election (1828) the contest was exceedingly spirited and Madison county 
gave a majority against him. There were at that time three lodges of 
Masons in Madison county. Cazenovia had the United Brethren Lodge 
No. 78, organized May 9, 1799, the first one in the county. At Chit- 
tenango was vSullivan Lodge No. 148, which was instituted June 29, 
1804. Hamilton had Hamilton Lodge No. 121, organized in 1805. All 
three of these lodges surrendered their charters soon after the Anti- 
Masonic movement was fully under way, and all were subsequently re- 
vived, the Hamilton Lodge in 1846 (it had previously been removed 
to Eaton (1817), but was revived in Hamilton); and the Cazenovia 



POLITICAL CHANGES. 191 

Lodge in June, 1849. The same fate befell nearly all the lodges in this 
State. Anti-Masonry developed immense and unexpected strength, 
not alone in this State, but in some others. In 1830 the Anti-Masonic 
party, which had wholly displaced the Adams legions, nominated can- 
didates for governor and lieutenant-governor and showed great 
strength; but Throop, the Democratic candidate for governor, was 
elected by a small majority. In 18:31 the new party showed increased 
strength throughout the State In 1832 Jackson was up for president 
on issues raised by the so-called National Republicans in Congress. 
The latter held a convention in Utica and nominated Francis Granger 
for governor; he was a leader in the Anti- Masonic ranks. In June of 
that year Onondaga and Madison counties were made the 23d Con- 
gressional District and the Democrats nominated Dr. William Taylor, 
of Onondaga, and William K. Fuller, of Madison, against Elijah 
Rhoades and James B. Eldrige, the latter of Madison. On these the 
Democrats had their usual majority, though it was not so large as in the 
previous year. 

With the inauguration of the campaign of 1834 there was a change. 
The .party in opposition to the Democrats had taken the name of Whigs 
in the preceding winter, a name which they were to bear many years. 
The Democrats held their congressional convention in Manlius and Dr. 
William Taylor and William K. Fuller were renominated. The Whigs 
met in Cazenovia and nominated Victory J. Birdseye and Jonathan D. 
Ledyard. The Whigs were badly defeated in the campaign and ren- 
dered very despondent. They had not the energy to even nominate a 
legislative ticket in 1835, leaving the local field in undisputed posses- 
sion of the Democrats. The recurrence of the presidential campaign 
of 1830, however, brought the Whigs again into action. The two con- 
gressional nominees from Madison county were Bennett Bicknell, Dem- 
ocrat, and Eliphalet S. Jackson, Whig, and again the latter were 
defeated. 

Anti-slavery agitation was now beginning. Anti-Masonry was dead 
and buried forever, and the radical Abolitionists, whose names were in 
after years to be enrolled among those of the great reformers of the 
world, began the crusade against slavery that was to result in its de- 
struction a quarter of a century later. In the year of 1837 the Whigs 
in this vicinity elected their whole ticket, astonishing even themselves; 
this was owing to a great extent to the factional differences of the con- 
servative and the radical Democrats. The action in the House of Rep- 



192 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

resentatives in 1839, refusing to receive petitions in favor of anti slav- 
ery, produced eflfects directly opposite to what was anticipated. The 
Abolitionists arose in their growing strength and were first in the field 
with a ticket. Gerrit Smith, among others, spoke at their convention 
in Syracuse. The gubernatorial nominees were William C. Bouck, 
Democrat; William H. Seward, Whig, and Gerrit Smith, Abolitionist. 
The enlargement of the Erie Canal was then in progress under Seward's 
"new impulse " policy, and the discharge of 1,000 of the employees on 
the work on the Jordan level, constituted one of the exciting features 
of the campaign. The Whigs swept the State and the local Democracy 
were much discouraged. 

The details of other important campaigns down to 1860 consitute an 
interesting part of the history of this State, but do not properly belong 
in these pages. The anti-slavery sentiment grew steadily, bringing 
with it the determination of a majority of the people of the country 
that there should be at least no further extension of slavery in States 
or Territories. The issue was to be settled only by the bloody carnage 
of the battlefield. 

A mass convention was held in Pittsburg on February 23, 185(i, to 
perfect the new Republican organization, the proceedings of which 
were harmonious and effective. The Democratic-Republican (as it 
was called in that year) State convention assembled in Syracuse, Sep 
tember 17, and the Liberty and Radical Abolitionists met on the same 
day. The Democrats nominated John A. King for governor, his op- 
ponents being Amasa J. Parker and Erastus Brooks. The ensuing 
Fremont and Dayton campaign is well remembered. The Know- 
Nothing party split and a faction joined each of the other parties. 
Border-ruffianism in the West, with veiled hints of disunion or submis- 
sion to the South, were the weapons used against the Democrats, but 
did not stem the tide, and James Buchanan was elected president. Old 
party lines disappeared and a heated canvass continued from mid-sum- 
mer until election. Madison county gave a majority for Fremont and 
Dayton. 

From that time until the memorable campaign of 1860 the Repub- 
lican party, as well as the body of radical Abolitionists rapidly in- 
creased in numbers. That campaign was the most important and the 
most prolific in momentous consequences that the country has ever 
seen. There were four national tickets in the field, headed respectively 
by Abraham Lincoln, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen 



THE CIVIL WAR. 193 

A. Douglass. The Democratic party was hopelessly divided into fac- 
tions, a condition sought by Southern leaders to force the issue which 
all statesmen knew must sooner or later come, and as a consequence 
the Republican victory at the polls was sweeping and decisive. The 
majority given in Madison county for the Republican candidates was 
over 4,000. There was great rejoicing throughout the North, but it 
was mingled with a swelling volume of dissatisfaction and rage which 
rolled up from the South and finally culminated in open rebellion and 
secession of those States. These demonstrations were looked upon at 
the Norih for some months as idle boasts and intimidating threats of 
the slave-holding element, and few then believed that the misguided 
Southerners would resort to war. 

The newspapers of April 15, 1861, were burdened with tidings of the 
bombardment of Fort Sumter on the 12th and 13th. Many are still 
living in this county who passed through the exciting scenes of the 
days that immediately followed. Business of all kinds, public and pri- 
vate, was largely neglected for discussion of the portentous event. 
War was almost the sole topic of conversation ; but even yet it was 
thought by most men of intelligence and judgment that the moment 
the strong arm of the government was uplifted against the offenders, 
they would abandon their rebellious purpose. Many months elapsed, 
blood was shed in the border States, and millions of treasure were ex- 
pended before even the highest government officials realized that a long 
and bloody war had begun. 

On the 15th of April, the day of the evacuation of Fort Sumter, 
President Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 militia for 
three months' service. This call was in itself sufficient evidence that 
the officials in Washington believed the war would be only a summer- 
long conflict. The quota under this call was 13,380 for this State and 
it was promptly filled. On the 3d of May another call for troops was 
issued under which, and acts approved July 32 and 25, 500,000 men 
were required. In response to these calls the whole North arose in 
enthusiasm. Flags leaped from thousands of windows and every ham- 
let showed its patriotism in numerous enlistments and efforts to pro- 
vide for the families of the men who marched to the scene of war. 
While the comparatively small number of inhabitants in Madison 
county precluded the possibility of raising an entire regiment within 
its bounds at that time, it is true that no section of the State responded 
more promptly or more generously iu enlistments, and during the year 
1861 a considerable number left the county for the front. 

13 



194 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Madison Observer, a leading Democratic newspaper published 
in Morrisville, said in its issue of November 15, 1860: " Scarcely had 
the excitement attending the Presidential election began to subside, be- 
fore the general attention was attracted to the dark cloud of Secession 
which looms up portentously in the South." Edward Norton, the 
able editor of the Observer for many years, although an earnest Demo- 
crat, gave moderate support to the Union cause through the war. 

The first notice in the Observer appeared April 35, 1861, and was 
headed, " Madison County, Arouse." The notice was as follows: "A 
public meeting of citizens without distinction of party will be held at 
the Presbyterian church in Peterboro on Saturday, the 37th inst., at 1 
p. M., to express their sentiments and feelings in relation to the present 
alarming state of our national aiTairs. " The call for this meeting was 
numerously signed. Another early reference to Morrisville in relation 
to the crisis stated that " A stranger passing through our village could 
have no doubt that Madison county is ' sound' on the Union question." 

A great Union meeting was held in Hamilton April 23, where Hon. 
John J. Foote presided. Speakers there gave assurance that the county 
would contribute her share to the support of the government ; it was 
stated also that a company had already been formed at Oneida by Earl 
Chapin, and another was forming; the Bruce guards were filling up at 
Canastota, and other companies were forming in Hamilton and Chit- 
tenango. On the 29th of April the Hamilton company (D) left for 
Utica to join Colonel William H. Christian's regiment, the 26th; it 
contained several Morrisville volunteers. On the next day the Bruce 
Guards left for Syracuse to join the 51st regiment. A company was 
then in process of enlistment in Peterboro, which left on May 16 for 
Elmira, being escorted to the railroad by the Morrisville band. Before 
leaving it was addressed by Gerrit Smith. A fund was there raised of 
$1,200 for the families of volunteers. The officers of this company 
were John C. Todd, captain; James R. Barnett, first lieutenant; George 
C. Brown, second lieutenant. 

In the battle of Bull Run Capt. Otis H. Tillinghast was killed; he 
was a son of John Tillinghast and a graduate of West Point in 1847; 
other sons of Madison county took part in that unfortunate engage- 
ment. On the 5th of September, 1861, it was announced that Capt. 
Daniel P. Mann, of Oneida, had enlisted nearly a full company of cav- 
alry; Capt. Broady, of Hamilton, had nearly a full company enlisted, 
and Lieutenant McQueen, of Morrisville, was recruiting for a battery 



THE CIVIL WAR. 195 

of field artillery. In that year the Volunteers' Aid Society was formed 
in Morrisville, and other organizations, with the same purposes in view, 
were formed early in the conflict. On the 17th of October, 1861, Capt. 
L. M. Wingman opened a recruiting office in Morrisville and on the 
19th of December took his company to Utica and joined the 81st regi- 
ment as Co. E. He was killed at Fair Oaks June 5, 1863. 

Captain Mann's company was an independent organization and dur- 
ing most of its term of service was on duty at the headquarters of the 
Army of Potomac. The first lieutenant was James E. Jenkins, and the 
second lieutenant was Frank Vane. 

In the early campaigns of 1862 the losses of the Union army were 
large and on the 2d of July of that year the president called for another 
300,000 men to serve three years. In order to systematize recruiting 
the State was divided into military districts which corresponded with 
the Senatorial districts, Madison, Chenango, and Cortland counties 
constituting the 23d District. In each of these districts war commit- 
tees were appointed to supervise enlistments and other matters con- 
nected with raising the quota. The committee for this district were 
as follows: Henry A. Clark, chairman, Bainbridge; B. Gage Berry, 
Harvey Hubbard, Philander B. Prindle, Norwich; Henry R. Mygatt, 
Oxford; Gen. Levi Harris, South New Berlin; Dr. William D. Purple, 
Frederick Juliand, Greene; Henry S. Randall, Horatio Ballard, R. 
Holland Duell, Cortland village; Gen. Benjamin F. Bruce, Lenox; 
Gen. Zadock T. Bentley, William F. Bonney, Morrisville; John J. 
Foote, J. Hunt Smith, Hamilton. On the 7th of July, 1862, Norwich 
was chosen as the recruiting headquarters for the district, and the com- 
mittee held its first meeting at the Eagle Hotel in that village on the 
17th. The work of enlisting the 114th Regiment was at once begun, 
and at the first committee meeting Gen. Benjamin F. Bruce was unani- 
mously nominated for its command. He declined the honor on account 
of disability and the choice then fell upon Hon. Elisha B. Smith, of 
Chenango county, who accepted, but with expressed misgivings as to 
his fitness for the post. The committee then appointed Dr. William 
D. Purple, Philander E. Prindle, and John J. Foote to report the proper 
apportionment to each county in the district to fill the regiment; the 
quota thus fixed for Madison county was 396 men. This apportion- 
ment was lost sight of in the enlistments and Cortland county supplied 
only a few recruits to the regiment. At a subsequent meeting of the 
committee Samuel R. Per Lee, of Norwich, was appointed adjutant of 



196 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the regiment and acted as recruiting- officer and quartermaster, and 
Levi P. Wagner, of Oxford, surgeon. 

A great mass meeting in which the whole county was represented 
was held in Morrisville on the 29th of July, 1862, to "express undi- 
minished confidence in the justice of our cause," etc. The meeting 
was organized in the court house park, but a storm drove the people 
indoors. Among the prominent speakers were Gen. Benjamin F. 
Bruce and Francis Kernan. Capt. H. B. Morse, of Eaton, Lieut. 
James E. Wedge and Capt. Charles E. Tucker, of Hamilton, recorded 
enlistments at the meeting for the 114th Regiment. The sum of $7,406 
was subscribed for the families of volunteers, besides $3,200 in Caz- 
enovia, $4,000 in Lenox, previously subscribed; these subscriptions 
were to be increased in the county to $25,000. Other meetings were 
held in the county at this active period in military affairs — in Cazenovia 
July 28; De Ruyter July 31 ; Eaton August 4; Fenner August 3; George- 
town August 5 ; Lebanon August 1 ; Nelson August 5 ; Peterboro August 
7; vStockbridge August 2; Erieville August 9; Sullivan August 2. This 
shows the prevailing enthusiasm and energy throughout the county 
that was concentrated upon the work at that particular time. 

Enlistments were very rapid and by the first of September the ranks 
of the 114th were more than filled. Company D, called the Eaton and 
Lebanon company, was enlisted in those towns and Nelson ; G, from 
Hamilton and Brookfield ; K, from Cazenovia, and part of H, from De 
Ruyter, and were the Madison contribution to the regiment. Among 
the prominent men of this county who made speeches at the various 
public meetings held during the month of August were Sidney T. 
Holmes, Charles L. Kennedy, L. B. Kern, Alexander Cramphin, P. P. 
Brown and A. N. Sheldon. Among others who contributed gener- 
ously of their time and efforts during the work may be mentioned B. 
E. Hoppin and Messrs. Avery and Baker, of Lebanon; Lucius P. Clarke 
and others, of Morrisville; Hon. S. Rider, A. V. Bentley, R. E. Fair- 
child, H. C. Miner, Colonel Whitford, J. B. Wells, of De Ruyter; Ellis 
Coman, George E. Morse, and Walter Morse, of Eaton, and many 
others whose names cannot now be recalled. During the raising of 
this regiment there were numerous enlistments from this county in the 
17th, 89th, and 161st Regiments of infantry and the 8th, 22d and 10th 
Cavalry, 

The original field, staff and line officers of this regiment were as 
follows : 



THE CIVIL WAR. 197 

FIELD OFFICERS. 

Colonel — EHsha B. Smith. 
Lieutenant-Colonel — Samuel R. Per Lee. 
Major — Henry B. Morse. 

STAFF OFFICERS. 

Adjutant — James F. Fitts. 

Quartermaster — J. Floyd Thompson. 

Surgeon — Levi P. Wagner. 

Assistant Surgeons — H. G. Beardsley, Harris H. Beecher. 

Chaplain — Henry Callahan. 

LINE OFFICERS. 

Company A — Captain, Oscar H. Curtis; 1st Lieut., Samuel S. Staf- 
ford; 2d Lieut., James E. Gilbert. 

Company B — Captain, Jacob S. Bockee; 1st Lieut., Lauren M. 
Nichols; 2d Lieut., Edwin O. Gibson. 

Company C — Captain, Piatt Titus; 1st Lieut., S. A. Brooks; 2d 
Lieut., William H. Longwell. 

Company D— Captain, Willie P. Rexford; 1st Lieut., James E. 
Wedge; 2d Lieut., Smith H. Case. 

Company E — Captain, Ransom Macdonald ; 1st Lieut., Nicholas A. 
Dederer; 2d Lieut. , George G. Donnelly. 

Company F — Captain, Charles H. Colwell; 1st Lieut., Adrian Foote; 
2d Lieut., John F. Buell. 

Company G — Captain, Charles E. Tucker; 1st Lieut., Charles W. 
Underhill; 2d Lieut., Homer W. Searles. 

Company H— Captain, Dyer D. Bullock; 1st Lieut., Robert P. York; 
2d Lieut., Edward M. Osborn. 

Company I^Captain, Hiram S. Wheeler; 1st Lieut., Nelson W. 
Schermerhorn ; 2d Lieut., E. Porter Pellet. 

Company K — Captain, Seneca Lake; 1st Lieut., Daniel C. Knowlton; 
2d Lieut., Erastus S. Carpenter. 

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. 

Sergeant- Major, Elijah St. John; Quartermaster-Sergeant, Aug. P. 
Clark; .Commissary-Sergeant, George E. Hawley; Hospital Steward, 
Ebenezer McClintock. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



FIRST SERGEANTS. 



Company A — Austin S. Southworth; Company B — George Ballou; 
Company C — Norman Lewis; Company D — James S. Stewart; Com- 
pany E — John G. Reynolds; Company F — William D. Thurber; Com- 
pany G — Charles F. Sunny; Company H — Orlando J. Aylesworth; 
Company I — Dennis Thompson; Company K — Robert N. Eddy. 

No attempt will be here made to follow in detail the history of this 
organization through its several campaigns. The history of any regi- 
ment that served through three years in the field would fill a moderate 
sized volume and constitutes a part of the general history of the war, 
which must be sought in other works. On the 3d of September the 
114th, which had previously been mustered by companies into the State 
service, was formally mustered into the United States service, and on 
the 6th departed for the seat of war, going by canal to Binghamton and 
thence by railroad. A great meeting was held in Norwich on the occa- 
sion of the regiment's departure, at which Colonel Smith was presented 
with a fully equipped war horse. The regiment arrived in Baltimore 
where it remained in camp two months and was armed. On the 2d of 
November it received orders to be ready for leaving at a day's notice. 
On the 6th it sailed down Chesapeake Bay to Fortress Monroe, whence, 
after a month's stay, it left to join Bank's expedition to the Gulf of 
Mexico. The regiment performed an honorable part in the operations 
in the South, participating in the battle of Bisland in April, 1863, in 
which its loss was nine men wounded, one fatally. On the 1st of June 
the regiment joined the forces before Port Hudson and on the 14th took 
part in the assault on that work, in which Colonel Smith fell mortally 
wounded. The regiment then remained in the entrenchments until the 
surrender of the place on the 9th of July. After sharing in the fruit- 
less Texas expedition in October the regiment went into camp at New 
Iberia. There Charles Turner of Company C was shot for desertion. 
Also Genei-al Weitzel at that time left the brigade to join the Army of 
the Potomac. At the end of the year the records of the regiment 
showed that there had been killed in battle 2 officers and 12 men ; died 
of wounds and disease, 3 officers and 150 men; discharged, 15 officers 
and 100 men; transferred, 1 officer and 32 men. The regiment was 
then under command of Lient.-Col. Henry B. Morse. In the reorgan- 
ization of the army, which took place in the spring of 1864, the 114th 
was made a part of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 19th Corps. In March 
the regiment left camp on the famous Red River campaign and suffered 



THE CIVIL WAR. 199 

considerably in the battle at Sabine Cross Roads. The regiment en- 
tered that engagement with 18 commissioned officers and 371 men; its 
casualties were 3 officers killed and 7 men wounded, and on the follow- 
ing day it had 3 killed and 5 wounded. 

In July, 1864, the regiment embarked to join the Army of the Poto- 
mac in front of Petersburg. Now followed a long series of marches 
and counter-marches in the Shenandoah valley, ending with the battle 
of Opequan on the 19th of September, in which the 114th won great 
distinction for bravery by holding its position t^ree hours under a hot 
fire. Again in the battle m which Sheridan won undying fame and 
the last engagement in which the 114th participated, it performed the 
most gallant service. The regiment lost 128 in killed, wounded and 
prisoners, about half of the number engaged. Among the killed in the 
battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, was Capt. David C. Knowlton. 

Without further memorable service the regiment participated in the 
grand review at Washington after the close of the war and was mus- 
tered out on the 8th of June, 1865. Returning to Elmira they were 
discharged on the 17th and returned home to receive the joyful public 
reception to which they were entitled. 

The 157th was recruited under the call of July, 1862, and left Ham- 
ilton, where it had made its headquarters, on September 25 of that 
year. The principal regimental officers were Philip P. Brown, colonel ; 
James C. Carmichael, major; William T. Manchester, adjutant; Perrin 
H. McGraw, quartermaster; Henry C. Hendrick, surgeon. Companies 
A and B were mostly from Hamilton and Oneida; Co. F was from 
Hamilton, Lebanon, Georgetown, Smithfield and the other towns of 
the south part of the county; Co. Gwas from Lenox; Co. I was from 
Hamilton, Smithfield, Sullivan and a few from other towns. The 
other companies were mainly from Cortland county. The line officers 
of the Madison county companies were as follows: 

Co. A — J. Hunt Smith, captain; George R. Seaton, 1st lieutenant; 
Julius D. Palmer, 3d lieutenant. 

Co. B — Thomas J. Randall, captain; Osbert E. Messinger, 1st lieu- 
tenant; Justin C. Ware, 2d lieutenant. 

Co. F — J. Riley Stone, captain; William A. Stone, 1st lieutenant; 
Samuel J. Wickwire, 3d lieutenant. 

Co. G — Abraham Tuttle, captain; Frank Harrison, 2d lieutenant. 

Co. I — William Bellinger, captain ; Thurlow W. Priest, 1st lieuten- 
ant ; Willing H. Snyder, 2d lieutenant. 



200 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The 157th left its headquarters in Hamilton on September 25, 1862, 
and proceeded to Peterboro, where a great demonstration was made, a 
dinner served, speeches made, etc. Thousands of people were in at- 
tendance from all parts of the county to bid good-bye to their fathers, 
sons and brothers. On arriving at Washington, Camp Chase on Arling- 
ton Heights was occupied a few weeks, from which a march was made 
to Fairfax Court House. The regiment was placed in the 1st Brigade, 
3d Division, 11th Corps, and a few weeks later started for New Balti- 
more, Md., passing through Thoroughfare Gap. It remained at New 
Baltimore until McClellan was relieved of his command. From there 
the regiment went to Centerville and thence to Fredericksburg, reach- 
ing there during the second day's fight, but taking no part therein. 
After about a month in camp near Acquia Creek, the regiment started 
to perform its share in the unsuccessful mud campaign of Burnside, 
and wintered near Falmouth. 

The year 1863 gave the 157th a trying ordeal, particularly in the 
great battles of Chancellorsville and of Gettysburg. In the latter the 
regiment lost within an hour 306 men in killed, wounded and missing, 
among whom were many of the sons of Madison county. After that 
event the regiment was sent South and had its headquarters at Hilton 
Head, S. C. ; took part in the siege and capture of Fort Wagner, and 
passed that winter on Morris Island. 

During the year 1864 the regiment was mainly in the South near 
Charleston and at Fort Pulaski, participating in the arduous campaigns 
of that year in the region and in several minor sharp engagements. In 
December a forced march was made to head off General Hardie from 
Charleston, which failed by a narrow margin and the regiment entered 
the city from the rear. The regiment remained near Georgetown, S. C, 
until spring, when several short campaigns were made in that region 
for the destruction of railroads, cotton gins and cotton. The end of 
the war was at hand and by a strange coincidence the news of John- 
ston's surrender, Lee's surrender, and the assassination of the President 
reached the i^egiment simultaneously. The 157th was mustered out at 
Charleston, July 10, 1865, proceeded to New York, thence to Albany 
and was paid off in Syracuse. 

In the battle of Gettysburg Lieut. -Col. George Arrowsmith was 
killed. He was a brave and efficient officer and the only field officer 
killed in the regiment. The regiment was heavily recruited during its 
service, its rolls containing about 1,600 names. 



THE CIVIL WAR. 201 

There were two companies raised in this county in 1863 to serve nine 
months. Capt. Albert S. Norton raised his company mainly in and 
around Morrisville, and Capt. Almon C. Messinger another at Hamil- 
ton, both of which joined the 176th regiment. Of Captain Norton's 
company, the 1st lieutenant was J. Douglass Fry; 2d lieutenant, T. 
Foster Petrie. Both companies left about the 1st of December, 1863, 
and proceeded directly to Louisiana, remaining in that vicinity until 
the expiration of their term of service, and taking part in the capture 
of Brashear City. The regiment was mustered out in November, 1863, 
in New York. 

The quota of this State under the call of July, 1802, for 300,000 
troops was 58,705, and there were furnished 78,904. Under the call of 
a month later for a like number, with a draft to follow on September 3 
wherever the quota was not full, the draft was averted by prompt en- 
listments and the credit of the surplus of the former call. The last 
mentioned call was for nine month's service. Under a call of 1863 a 
draft began in New York and New England in the second week in July, 
causing the memorable riots in New York city. For Madison county 
the draft began at Oswego on the 5th of August. The following sta- 
tistics show the enrollment and the number drafted in the several 
towns of the county : 

Enrolled. Drafted. 

Brookfield ..., 413 121 

Cazenovia 305 88 

De Ruyter 300 54 

Eaton... - 359 103 

Fenner 121 31 

Georgetown 138 38 

Hamilton 386 113 

Lebanon 148 38 

Lenox 733 212 

Madison 56 

Nelson 165 44 

Smithfield 130 34 

Stockbridge 181 48 

Sullivan... 678 199 

On the 25th of August the drafted men were ordered to Oswego for 
examination. Under this call credits were allowed for every man who 
paid a commutation fee of $300. The result, as might have been fore- 



202 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

seen, was the receipt by the government of a large cash revenue, and 
almost no soldiers at all. Out of the whole call for 300,000 less than 
75,000 went into the ranks. As a local example only one man out of 
eighty-two went from the town of Cazenovia. 

The first important action of the Board of Supervisors in connection 
with military affairs was the holding of a special meeting on August 
16, 18G2, which was called to consider the necessity of negotiating a 
loan for the purpose of facilitating enlistments. A committee was there 
appointed to submit a plan of work, consisting of John W. Lippitt, 
Calvin Whitford, Nathan Brownell, jr., Harris C. Miner and E. C. 
Philpot. This committee recommended the appointment of' another 
committee consisting of Sidney T. Holmes, D. B. West, W. E. Fiske, 
James Barnett and Daniel Stewart, with Silas Loomis of the board, 
and L. B. Kern, clerk of the board, to "raise on the credit of the 
county of Madison the sum of $80,000 upon county orders on interest 
payable eight months from date," etc. This was known as the "war 
loan of 1862." The board gave a pledge that the amount should be 
raised by taxation in the following year. Town committees were 
appointed also, to aid in the disbursement of the money. 

At the annual meeting of 1862 it was resolved to make no distinction 
in the payment of bounties to nine-months' men and three-year men. 

A special meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held on the 22d 
of February, 1863, at which a committee of three was appointed con- 
sisting of N. Brownell, jr., Alexander McGregor and D. W. C. Stevens, 
to settle the accounts of the town and county war committees. The 
committee reported the amount of orders issued up to August 18, 1862, 
as $50,750; to this was added in November, $3, SCO, and in December, 
$2,250. All of this was properly apportioned among the towns. 

The next call for troops was made on the 17th of October, 1863; this 
with the call of February 1, 1864, was for an aggregate of 500,000 men, 
including those raised by the draft of 1863 just noticed. The quota of 
New York under these calls was 81,993, and about 60,000 were fur- 
nished. A draft was ordered for January 5, 186-1, to fill all lacking 
quotas on the call of October 17 preceding. The quota for this district 
was 1,527. Active operations at once began in Madison county to 
secure the necessary number of volunteers and avert the threatened 
draft. Lucius P. Clark was appointed recruiting agent for this Assem- 
bly district and opened an office in Morrisville. The Board of Super- 
visors held frequent special meetings and voted the necessary money 



THE CIVIL WAR. 203 

for the large bounties then prevailing throughout the State and made 
arrangements for raising it by the issue of county bonds. Under the 
call of October 17 the following statement shows the enrollment and 
quota of the towns in this county : 

Enrolled. Dratted. 

Brookfield 283 58 

Cazenovia 330 43 

De Ruyter 140 29 

Eaton 358 51 

Fenner 90 18 

Georgetown 113 33 

Hamilton 274 54 

Lenox 533 103 

Madison 153 30 

Nelson 131 34 

Smithfield 94 19 

Stockbridge 138 35 

Sullivan 479 95 

A special meeting of the supervisors was held December 9, 1863, at 
which it was resolved that the board offer $300 bounty to each volun- 
teer under the last preceding call for 300,000 men. This resolution 
was unanimously adopted. A committee was appointed to formulate a 
plan for raising the money. This committee reported in favor of issuing 
county orders to be delivered to a committee of three in each town, 
such committees to be appointed by the board. The faith of the county 
was pledged to the payment of the orders. 

This draft was once postponed, but by energetic and generous work 
the quota of Madison county was filled. Under the succeeding call of 
February 1, 1864, the draft for unfilled quotas was ordered for March 
10. This was also averted in Madison county and the quota was filled 
directly in connection with the next former call, with which this one 
was associated. 

The men of Madison county who were enlisted during the filling of 
these several quotas went into various organizations and several full 
companies were formed. 

At a special meeting of the supervisors held February 4, 1864, it 
was resolved that the board authorize the continuance of the bounty of 
$300 to every volunteer credited on the quota then due, and a commit- 
tee of five was appointed to submit plans for raising the necessary 



204 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

money. Action similar to that under similar preceding circumstances 
was then taken. Another meeting was held Februarj' 24 at which it 
was resolved that a tax of $10,000 be levied for the payment of county 
orders. The bounty of $300 was further continued. 

At a special meeting of the board July 35, 1864, it was moved that a 
committee of five be appointed for the purpose " of devising some way 
to secure volunteers in the county of Madison under the recent call for 
500,000 volunteers." The committee was appointed and upon its re- 
port it was resolved that the county will pay $300 for one year men ; 
$400 for two year men, and $500 for three year men. County orders 
were to be issued for the necessary funds, payable on or before April 
1, 1866, at seven per cent, interest. If the quotas were all filled with- 
out a draft, the cost of obtaining the volunteers was to be made a 
county charge. If not, then each town was to be charged with the 
amount received and a tax for the amount levied and collected in each 
of such towns. It was also resolved that two agents be chosen to go to 
other localities to secure recruits, Georgia being the field that was 
selected. Recruiting agents were appointed also in each town. 

At the annual meeting for 1864 the committee on war loans reported 
the whole number of bonds issued as 1,916, amounting to $643,700. 
There had been paid to volunteers and substitutes $589,250. In that 
year there was to be raised by the county $350,000. 

A special meeting of the board was held June 2, 1865, at which the 
supervisors in the various towns were given authority to settle with the 
paymaster-general of the State for the excess of years of service per- 
formed under the call of July 18, 1864, and receive reimbursement 
therefor. 

On the 14th of March, 1864, a call was issued for 200,000 troops, with 
a draft for unfilled quotas on April 15. By this time, and even under 
the two previous calls, war prospects were anything but cheering. It 
was rapidly becoming more and more difficult to secure volunteers. 
The northern element that sympathized with the South was numerous 
and clamoring for ending the conflict in other ways than on the battle- 
field. As one means of inspiring enthusiasm and strengthening the 
Republican party, the Loyal League was organized throughout the 
North; it was a semi-secret, semi-military body and became an impor- 
tant factor in politics and military affairs. The general conservative 
element as well as the minority in the North who were outspoken 
against the war, were now appalled at the enormous debt that was be- 



THE CIVIL WAR. 205 

ing created for bounty purposes in every county, while the departure 
to Southern battlefields of so many of the best men of every hamlet, 
village and city had become most dispiriting. Union meetings were 
held in the large villages of Madison county, as elsewhere, where patri- 
otic speeches and appeals were made by eloquent men and money for 
bounties was generously provided. 

On the 24th of April, 1864, a statement was made public showing the 
condition of Madison county under the various preceding calls. By 
that it appeared that Brookfield, Hamilton, Lebanon, Georgetown, De 
Ruyter, Eaton, Stockbridge, Smithfield, and Fenner together had an 
excess of seventy-six volunteers, while Cazenovia, Nelson, Madison, 
Sullivan, and Lenox were lacking a total of forty. A little later this 
was supplemented by another statement which showed that with proper 
credits made the quota of the county was filled. 

On the 38th of July, 1864, a call was issued for 500,000 one year vol- 
unteers, with a draft to follow on the 4th of September if the number 
was not raised. The quota of this county was 886, but some of the 
towns had an excess, so that the number to be raised was only 745. 
By persistent and active work the quota was filled and the draft 
averted. 

On the 19th of December, 1864, the last direct call for troops was 
issued, the number being 300,000, but before the quota in the various 
States was filled the necessity for more soldiers in the field had ceased 
to exist. The long and bloody conflict was approaching its close. 
Desperate efforts were at once inaugurated in this county to fill the 
local quota, which was for the district, 1,522 men. The supervisors 
met and resolved to offer bounties of $400 for one year men ; $500 for 
two year men, and $600 for three year men. These large bounties 
were made necessary through the offer of similar amounts in adjoining 
counties, and the competition in securing volunteers became very 
active. A draft was to take place on February 15, 1865, for unfilled 
quotas; this was postponed when that date arrived, as the prospects 
were that the requisite number would be furnished. The quota of Madi- 
son county was filled by the payment of average bounties of $700. The 
county at the close of 1864 had a surplus of 105 men. 

With the surrender of Lee and his army at Appomattox the glad news 
came over the wires northward and the same feeling of exultation was 
felt in every neighborhood, hamlet, village and city ; the event was appro- 
priately celebrated in Morrisville, Oneida and other villages in this 



206 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

county. The people saw opening before them another era of peace and 
prosperit}\ 

There are brief and somewhat meagre and fragmentary records ac- 
cessible relative to the action of towns in the county on war matters 
which, with the muster rolls deposited in the offices of county clerks, 
are the only other sources of information on the subject. As a rule the 
towns of the county were prompt in ratifying the action of the Board 
of Supervisors, which frequently preceded any action taken by the 
towns themselves; this was particularly true regarding the bounty 
matters. 

During this great and costly struggle for the maintenance of the 
American Union and the spread of the cause of personal freedom, the 
ordinary public affairs of peaceful times were almost wholly neglected 
unless they imperatively demanded attention. From 1861 to 1865, the 
proceedings of the supervisors of Madison county show that matters 
which had been the subject of action regularly in preceding years, were 
generally left out of consideration. At a meeting held on the 38th of 
April, 1863, in Morrisville, a company was organized to build a mac- 
adam road from that village to Peterboro. Gerrit Smith, O. P. Gran- 
ger and others were conspicuous in the matter and a committee was 
appointed to examine the route. At a later meeting B. Tillinghast. 
L. D. Dana, G. E. Cummings, W. F. Bonney and D. Cross were chosen 
directors, and Mr. Tillinghast president of the company. The route 
chosen was the so-called eastern or swamp route, and the road was 
constructed in the fall and winter of 1863-63. 

A special meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held on October 
19, 1864, where it was resolved that immediate steps be taken to re- 
build the court house in place of the one destroyed by fire. A commit- 
tee of five was appointed to examine the walls of the burned structure 
and report on their condition, and a committee of three to receive bids 
for a new building. The bids averaged about $12,000, and the new 
court house was erected as elsewhere described. The report of the 
court hoase debt made to the Board of Supervisors in 1868-9 was 
little over $16,000. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 

The long march of events described in several preceding chapters in- 
volved to a large degree the general development, the public welfare 
and public interest of the county at large, and has been treated from 
that point of view, with the exception of the action of the separate 
towns during the war period. But while the county as a whole, was 
thus making for itself a half a century of general history, the footsteps 
of the spirit of progress were marked in every town, in every hamlet, 
in each neighborhood, and around every separate hearthstone. There 
it was, frequently in obscure places or among the toilers whose names 
were never to be known beyond their own narrow limitations, that 
were enacted the deeds of individuals and families, deeds that were, 
perhaps, trifling in themselves, the story of which is closely interwoven 
with the more significant and important features of the history of the 
county. After its formation, as described in earlier chapters, every 
town contributed its share to the great onward march of devel- 
opment and growth ; every village left its record to form a part of the 
story of the time ; each farm, even, and its occupants, made an im- 
press, however faint, upon the historic page. 

The changes that took place in Madison county during the half cent- 
ury preceding the Civil war, were chiefly only those which have char- 
acterized the development of most rural communities in this State. In 
the following chapters devoted to further account of the growth of the 
various towns the historian finds little to record, outside of the gradual 
and steady advancement of each community in the arts of peace. Even 
in numbers of inhabitants this county saw less change during that half 
century than most others in the State. With a population of 32,308 in 
1830, an increase from 35,144 in 1810," we find it with only 39,038 in 
1830; this number rose by slight increase during, each decade to 43,687 
in 1855, a number that has not since been exceeded. In 1865 it was 
43,607. 

' In 1810 Madison county had thirty-Sve slaves, reduced to ten in 1820. 



208 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In continuing the history of the towns of the county Eaton is taken 
up first, as it contains the county seat and was one of the five organ- 
ized in 1807, following the five original towns of the county. The most 
important event in this town in the early years of the present century 
was the incorporation of the village of Morrisville. There is no doubt 
but its selection as the county seat was influential towards this result. 
The date of its first incorporarion was April 13, 1819. Morrisville is a 
pleasantly situated village in the northwestern part of this town, on the 
Cherry Valley Turnpike, and now has a population of about 700. 
In 1850 the number of inhabitants was 500; in 1855 it was 715; in 1865 
it was 650, which is a little less than the present number. 

The early records of the village are lost, rendering it impossible to 
give the names of many of the officers and the proceedings of the au- 
thorities in early years. The last clerk under the old village govern- 
ment was Alexander Donaldson, jr., and it is supposed that he carried 
the records to New York, whither he removed. In 1848 the village 
was reincorporated under the general law and Abel B. De Forest, 
Bradley Tillinghast, Franklin T. Maybury, Luman E. Cole and Edward 
Norton were chosen the first trustees. The assessors were Moses Bick- 
nell, Albert S. Norton, Elisha C. Topliff; treasurer, A. Scott Sloan; 
clerk, James Norton; collector, Hibbard Martin; poundmaster, Dwight 
T. Williams. Abel De Forest was elected president of the village, and 
subsequently stated that he supposed he was given that honor as a reward 
for having constructed the first sidewalk in the village. Following is a 
list of the presidents and clerks from the incorporation to the present 
time: 

Presidents— 1849-50, Bradley Tillinghast; 1851, Edward Norton; 
1852-57, Moses Bicknell; 1858-59, John Tillinghast; 1860-61, F. F. 
Stevens; 1862, Lucius P. Clark; 1863, Dwight Cross'; 1864-65, Edward 
Norton; 1866, Lucius P. Clark ; 1867-73, Edward Norton; 1874, Ed- 
ward Townsend; 1875-77, H. S. Phelps; 1878, T. Foster Petrie; 1879- 
80, EdwmR Barker; 1881, Henry S. Phelps; 1883, William P. Cleve- 
land; 1883-87, Morris J. Blakeslee; 1888-89, E. G. Richardson; 1890- 
91, Georges. Tillinghast; 1892-96, Henry B. Coman; 1897-99, F. S. 
Haywood. 

Clerks— 1849-57, James Norton; 1858-66, Alexader H. Holmes; 1867, 
J. S. Stewart; 1868-79, J. B. Bicknell; 1880-94, George L. Robie; 1895- 
99, H. C. Wood. 

David Gaston, a prominent early settler, opened the first store at 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 209 

Morrisville, or Morris Flats, as it was known for many years. He be- 
gan business in 1804 at the corner of the Peterboro road. The store 
continued many years in connection with a tavern at the same place. 
In 1808 Bennett Bicknell came from Utica, as before stated, and opened 
a store on the opposite corner and began a career that was destined to 
bring him honor and leave a marked impress on the place. 

The post office was established about 1808 and located in Major Bick- 
nell's store. When it was subsequently removed to Farwell's public 
house, at the other end of the street, considerable strife was en- 
gendered between the up-town and down-town residents. Farwell's 
was the first regular hotel opened in the village and was kept in opera- 
tion a number of years from 1815; it was partially burned in 1859, but 
was later repaired and used for a dwelling. It stood on the site of the 
new Reidy block. The post-office difficulty was finally amicably set- 
tled by locating it first about midway on the street, and in 1833 it was 
settled in the Observer building, where it remained more than half a 
century and until it was recently removed to the Reidy building. A 
half mile east of the village still stands the house that was occupied as 
a hotel long before there was any important settlement on the site of 
Morrisville; it has long been known as the Runkel place and is now a 
fine example of the old-time farm home. The house was built by 
Abiathar Gates. 

The schools of Morrisville, succeeding the first one kept by Dr. James 
Pratt, were those of districts numbered 8 and 17; the former occupied the 
building now used by the fire department, while the house in district 
number 17 was ultimately absorbed in a dwelling. The Morrisville 
Academy was established in 1831 and with its successor, the present 
Union school, is fully described in Chapter XXIV. 

The first lawyer to settle in Morrisville was Andrew S. Sloan, who 
came from Mansfield, Conn. He was a graduate of Williams College in 
1813 and settled in Morrisville in 1819, where he continued to reside 
until his death in 1857. He was a deserving citizen of high character, 
held the office of county clerk six years and was first judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas. With Mr. Sloan was for a short period associated 
Hugh Halsey, who came from Long Island. He returned to his former 
home and died there. Epenetus Holmes, another prominent member 
of the bar, located in Morrisville about the same time with Judge Sloan. 
He was a native of Amenia, N. Y., born in 1784. He studied in 
Schaghticoke and after admission to the bar, practiced there for a time. 



210 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

His first public office in this county was justice of the peace, and after- 
wards for ten years he sat on the Common Pleas bench. He died in 
1861. His son, Sidney T. Holmes, followed him in the same profes- 
sion and was prominent in politics, holding the office of county judge 
from 1851 to 1863, and was elected to Congress in 1865 Iby the Repub- 
licans and served two terms. He removed to Bay City, Mich., in 1871. 
Other prominent attorneys of this town were A.Lawrence Foster, 1827; 
Otis P. Granger, 1821; William W. Farwell, 1854; Duane Brown, 1845; 
Alexander Cramphin, Charles L. Kennedy, Nathaniel Foote, father of 
A. A. Foote, Lucius P. Clark, S. Perry Smith, H. B. Coman, John A. 
Johnson, and others. 

Dr. James Pratt, the first physician in the place, was joined before 
1810 by Dr. Isaac Hovey, who continued in practice nearly fifty years 
and removed to Deansville where he died. Dr. William P. Cleveland 
came about that time, and had an extensive practice during about forty 
years; he died February 18, 1844. Other later physicians were Drs. 
Milton Barnett, F. F. Maybury, M. M. Marsh, Zabina M. Morey, J. R. 
Wells, Hayes, Curtiss, George S. Loomis, A. A. Mason, Crowell, Phil- 
hps, Brown, H. P. Mead, D. D. and Lynn Chase, F. D. Babcock, and 
others. 

A burial ground was established sometime previous to 1812 on the 
site of what became known as the Morrisville cemetery. Thomas Mor- 
ris donated about three-fourths of an acre of land for the use of the 
public and families selected therein such small sections as best pleased 
them. In 1857 the Rural Cemetery Association was formed under the 
State law, and additional land was purchased on the west and north 
of the old ground. The first burial in the old cemetery, as far as known, 
was that of a child whose name cannot now be learned. The second 
was doubtless James Madison Bicknell, son of Bennett Bicknell, who 
died March 19, 1814, aged eleven months. 

The tanning business was begun at Morrisville about 1814, and was 
one of the first industries in the place; Alanson Stillwell was the pro- 
prietor and he also manufactured shoes. He subsequently removed to 
Manlius where he built another tannery, leaving this one in charge of 
his son. Clark Tillinghast and his employer. Dr. Isaac Hovey, who 
had a drug store, bought the building and an acre of ground and estab- 
lished an ashery. Mr. Stillwell returned later and built another small 
tannery across the brook. In 1830 Bradley Tillinghast came from 
Mansfield, Conn., bought the ashery of his brother and began tanning 
on a larger scale, carrying on the business until comparatively recent 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 211 

years. About 1838 one of the Slocum family operated a tannery a short 
distance up the brook, where a saw mill was subsequently located. 
Hiram D. Cloyes occupied the site for a time with an ashery. In early 
years the manufacture of crude potash was one of the principal indus- 
tries in most of the towns, and was the source upon which the settlers 
largely depended for cash. The saw mill there was built about 1830 by 
Abel De Forest, and ten years later he constructed the last dam. In 
1861 he sold to William R. Jones; the latter was succeeded at his death 
by his sons; the property is now owned by Thomas Green. The other 
mill is now in operation by William Field. 

A silk factory was established about 1853 by F. F. Stevens and John 
F. Gurley and at one time from forty to fifty hands were employed, 
chiefiy in the production of sewing silk. Stephen Coman purchased 
the buildings, and in the spring of 1862 converted them into a cheese 
factory, the dairy business having by that date become an important 
industry. The building was subsequently burned. The town of Eaton 
has the honor of first introducing the cheese factory and creamery sys- 
tem, which after 1860 created a most important change in the agricult- 
ural life of the county. The first cheese factory was built at Eaton 
village in 1861 by George Morse, and in 1880 there were eight in opera- 
tion located at Morrisville, Williams's Corners, Hatch's Lake, West 
Eaton, Eaton, Pecksport, Pine Woods and Pratt's Hollow. The busi- 
ness has since greatly declined, and large quantities of milk are now 
shipped to New York by rail. There are now only two factories in the 
town. The Morrisville factory passed through the hands of H. E. 
Griswold, Avery & Wadsworth and J. B. Wadsworth in 1880. It is 
now operated by Hopkins & Champlin. The Eaton factory is con- 
ducted by Tupper Brothers. 

When Bennett Bicknell arrived in Morrisville in 1808 he at once be- 
gan the manufacture of combs, building the first factory and using horn 
for the purpose. Jonathan Gurley succeeded to the business, which he 
continued until 1840. Bicknell, Coman & Norton's distillery was built 
in 1836 and was successfully operated for some years, the product be- 
ing shipped to New York. The first firm was succeeded by Bicknell, 
Palmer & Norton, and they by Bicknell & Son. The business was dis- 
continued in 1860 and the buildings long ago disappeared. 

The grist mill was built in 1830 and still earlier a saw mill was built 
above the grist mill ; this was moved down to the latter in 1855 and 
ceased operation about the beginning of the war; the mill is now owned 
by A. F. Cook. A woolen mill was established in 1836 by Nathan 



212 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Shepard, which at one time employed fifty hands; among them was 
Emily Chnbbuck, then a little girl, who was destined to win fame as 
the authoress, " Fanny Forrester." In 1841 was established the ma- 
chine shop on the old distillery farm, long known as Torrey's machine 
shop, the buildings of which were afterwards used as a cooper shop. 
Saleratus was manufactured here a number years previous to 1840 by 
Babbitt & Darling. In 1830 Jefferson Cross built a foundry and shop 
for the manufacture of cast iron plows. Stoves were also made here 
in early years. Mr. Cross died in 1850 and was succeeded by his sons 
George and Dwight, who long continued the industry; the property 
is now occupied by Carlos Bennett. 

With the growth of the village mercantile operations were extended 
to meet the needs of the community. W. P. Chambers opened a gen- 
eral store in 1850 and is still in business, the oldest merchant in the 
town. Windsor Coman kept a drug store a number of years and was 
succeeded by a firm consisting of Dr. H. P. Mead and H. E. Chapin, the 
latter retiring in 1884 and Dr. Mead continuing the business until the 
present time. W. R. Kimball began business as a merchant and shoe- 
maker in 1883, succeeding his father, B. N. Kimball. H. S. Phelps 
was a general merchant a number of years prior to 1878, when he was 
succeeded by W. P. Jones. The firm of Storrs & Seymour (C. M. Sey- 
mour, Otis Storrs) conducted the general store in which Mr. Seymour 
now carries on the same business. E. N. Dexter is also engaged in 
mercantile business. Other present merchants are noticed in the later 
Gazetteer of the town. Edwin Barnard was a former harness maker 
and was succeeded by John Reidy. George Wilbur engaged some 
years ago in the furniture business and was succeeded by W. L. Field. 

The hotel called the Bicknell House was built on the corner opposite 
the before described Farwell House. It ultimately became the Burden 
House, with John Burden proprietor. The old Madison County Hotel 
stood on the site of the present Barker House and was long kept by 
Hiram Lewis, by William Morris and Samuel Tucker in partnership. 
The present house was built by Edwin R. Barker in 1872 and among 
its landlords have been T. O. Heacock, James Kinney, F. Murtagh and 
Charles Beekman. 

The Exchange Hotel was built for a store by Samuel Shepard and 
was converted into a hotel about 183G ; it has had various proprietors 
before passing to the present landlord, B. A. Wilbur. 

The next church organized in the town after the formation of the 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 213 

county was the First Baptist Church of Eaton, located in Morrisville, 
which was organized in 1809. A small meeting house was soon after- 
ward erected. In 1829 the society was given a more suitable site for 
a church building by Bennett Bicknell, and the iirst structure was re- 
moved to it and enlarged. In 1848 a new edifice was erected, the old 
one being sold at auction. With some improvements the building is 
still in use. Among those who have entered the ministry from this 
church are Rev. William Dean, D. D., the missionary to Siam and author 
of the Chinese translation of the Bible; Revs. Joel and Willis Nye, Al- 
fred Cornell, Henry M., Leonard J., William K. and Delavan D. Dean. 
Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick, D. D., was settled as pastor over the church, 
in 1817 and resigned in 1820. Later pastors have been Revs. Obed 
Warren, David Blakesley, Silas Spalding, Nicholas Johnson, Edwin D. 
Reed, Benjamin Putnam, Simon Davis, Luke Davis, John J. Teeple, 
John N. T. Tucker, Reuben Winegar, Ira Bennett, Isaac E. Howd, Ed- 
ward Royce, Norman C. Mallory, Samuel S. Utter, vStillman S. Bidwell, 
William Ostler, Eugene S. Gardiner. The present paster is Rev. Enoch 
Powell. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Morrisville was organized Febru- 
ary 24, 1834, in the court house, by Rev. William Worthing. The trus- 
tees then chosen were John Pratt, Benjamin Morse, Adolphus Brown 
and E. C. Topliff. The church edifice was begun within that year on 
the site presented by Bennett Bicknell. The society was slow in growth 
for many years, but is now prosperous. 

Morrisville, which for many years had only a hand fire engine for 
protection against fire, and a hose company, established an excellent 
water system in 1894-95. A Board of Water Commissioners was chosen 
consisting of Dr. A. M. Holmes, Dr. H. P. Mead, L. B. Burroughs, 
Sumner Gill and David D. Jones. The number in the board has since 
been reduced to three, the present members being Dr. H. N. Aldrich, 
L. W. Burroughs and David D. Jones. Bonds to the amount of $15,- 
000 were issued for the purpose and water was taken from springs a 
little southeast of the corporation. A reservoir was constructed of 
7,000,000 gallons capacity, giving an average pressure on hydrants of 
eighty pounds. There are now located twenty-seven two-way hydrants 
and private consumption of the water is large. The present fire de- 
partment consists of Morrisville Hook and Ladder Company, with 
twenty-two members and a Rumsey truck and the hose company. 

Prior to the establishment of the present lighting system of the vil- 



214 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lage several unsatisfactory attempts were made in that direction. In 
1897 an efficient electric lighting plant was put in operation which is 
the property of the D. A. Schuyler estate. For proper lighting of the 
streets and public buildings the village pays $500 annually. 

After the settlement of Joshua Leland and his fellow pioneers at and 
near the site of Eaton village, or " Log City," as it was for many years 
popularly known, the place assumed considerable business importance. 
Pleasantly situated in the midst of a rich farming district, and with a 
valuable water power, it was thought the place might grow to a large 
and thriving business center. These expectations were not destined to 
be realized. With the establishment of the mills by Mr. Leland, how- 
ever, a number of other industries gathered about and men of enter 
prise found a field for their labor at that point. In 1800 Joseph Morse, 
a man of energy and enterprise, employed Theodore Burr, an early 
millwright, to build a mill for him for $1,200. The stones for the mill 
were wrought from field boulders, which were ultimately replaced with 
stones brought from Germany by Col. John Lincklaen. In 1803 Mr. 
Morse removed to the homestead in Eaton village, and improved the 
power for his grist mill and saw mill, acquired land and established 
other industries. 

Among the pioneers of the village who came in soon after Mr. Morse, 
was Nicholas Byer, whose father was one of Burgoyne's Hessians in 
the Revolution; Nicholas was a blacksmith and had a shop in the 
place. Another settler there was Elisha Willis, a shoemaker. But 
there were only about half a dozen houses there in 180G when the 
county was formed. 

Isaac Sage built the first tavern on the site of Eaton village in 1802; 
it was situated on the corner opposite the site of the later Exchange 
Hotel and remained standing a half century or more. Rufus Eldred 
began keeping a store across the street from the tavern and Robert and 
William Henry were among the first merchants of the place. The first 
distillery was built in 1804 by Rufus and Zenas Eldred, on the site 
afterwards occupied by another and larger distillery operated by Ellis 
Morse. The first carding machine in that region was set up in 1806, 
in a building on the creek on the site of the later woolen mill by Heze- 
kiah Morse and Rufus Eldred. They soon added the manufacture of 
cloth, introducing spinning machinery and looms. In 1833 that estab- 
lishment was rebuilt of stone by Alpha Morse and Clement Leach, who 
had purchased the property. They added to the machinery for making 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 215 

woolen goods and did a considerable business for a number of years. 
The property subsequently passed through various hands and the build- 
ing was ultimately occupied for other purposes. 

A tannery was built in 1808 by Barry Carter which was operated by 
him and his successors for half a century. Alpheus and Ellis Morse 
built a small foundry at a very early date and there made some of the 
first cast iron plows of this section, which found a ready sale and soon 
displaced the old wooden tools. The bu.siness continued a number of 
years, but was never very extensive, as similar foundries were in oper- 
ation at many near-by points, where plows, stoves, etc., were manufac- 
tured. A small powder mill was established in 1806 on the river bank, 
by James McConnell; but it was soon discontinued as unprofitable. 

The Eaton Woolen Manufacturing Company, composed of Dr. James 
Pratt, Joseph Morse, Curtis Hoppin, and others, erected a small factory 
in 1817. The property was subsequently leased to Gilbert Jones, and 
he was succeeded by David Rogers, who put in cotton machinery. 
There were other later proprietors, but the business could not be made 
profitable. Just as enlargement had been completed in 1845, the mill 
was burned and was not rebuilt. 

After the construction of the Skaneateles Turnpike the augmented 
amount of travel seemed to demand greater hotel accommodations in 
Eaton, and Samuel Stow built a tavern on the corner opposite the later 
lower hotel, and kept the house himself. Opposite him was the early 
blacksmith shop of Samuel Chubbuck. He became a rival of Mr. Stow 
and built another tavern opposite Stow's; the latter thereupon set up a 
blacksmith shop opposite Chubbuck's. The Chubbuck house ultimately 
became the lower hotel. 

The first school in Eaton was kept in a building on the site of the 
cemetery; that building was burned, and the next one was built farther 
east on the Hamilton road. What was known as the old brick school 
house was built in 1808 and stood on the site of the Ellis Coman house: 
it was one of the earliest brick structures in the county, and served 
also as a town house. The site was donated by Esquire Eldred, but 
the location was unsatisfactory to some and various pretexts were made 
for its removal. It was hoped that if it was removed the lot would be 
used for a public square. lu 1834 or 1835 the building was taken down, 
the ground did not revert to the village and both school bniilding and 
park were lost. This building was of two stories and the school was a 
locally noted one for many years. A new frame school'house was erected 



216 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in 1836, which ultimately became a blacksmith shop, and in 1852 the 
present school building was erected. In early years a good select school 
was taught in the village and in 1836 Ellis Morse opened a private acad- 
emy, which was continued ten years, and employed several teachers 
who afterwards became famous. 

Dr. Charles W. Hull succeeded the pioneer physician, Dr. James 
Pratt, and during many years had a large practice. Dr. Albert Purdy, 
Dr. A. D. Head and Dr. E. L. Miller practiced in later years. Many of 
the prominent residents of early years were members of Masonic Lodge 
No. 131, which was removed hither from Hamilton in 1817 and remained 
until its dissolution in 1827. 

A scythe factory was in operation a number of years about half a 
mile out of the village, the product of which had a wide sale; the busi- 
ness was carried on by Gardner & Abbott and others. Later it was 
converted into an ax factory and operated by Samuel B. Winchester 
whose axes were highly regarded. The Madison county almshouse is 
situated a little to the south of the village, and is noticed elsewhere in 
this work. 

Among the older merchants of the place who have not been men- 
tioned were the firm of Leach & Morse, who were prominent many 
years; David Felton, O. A. Medbury, dealer in furniture; Henry Allen, 
druggist, in a store built in 1816 by Dr. Charles W. and Andrew C. 
Hull; Alpheus Morse, Baird Leavenworth, Sylvester Thayer, Butler & 
Burritt, and perhaps a few others. The Morse Brothers and Eugene 
Rabie are now in business. The first landlord in the Exchange Hotel 
was Cyrus Allen; it was built in 1836 by Ellis and Alpheus Morse. 
Frank Currier now keeps the house and the other hotel is conducted by 
Norman Hunt. 

The industry which became most widely known in this town was the 
agricultural and steam engine works of Wood, Tabor & Morse. This 
establishment had its origin in 1848 when Enos and Allen N. Wood 
erected buildings and began the manufacture of machinery for cotton 
and woolen mills, and miscellaneous castings. The business increased 
for a period but when the demand for that class of machinery declined 
in this region, the works were closed in 1857, the proprietors going to 
Utica to become members of the firm of A. N. & E. D. Wood & Co., 
for the manufacture of an improved steam engine. In 1859 A. N. 
Wood sold his interest in the works and returned to Eaton where the 
firm of Wood, Tabor & Morse was organized and the old works fitted 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 217 

up for the manufacture of portable steam engines. These attained 
wide celebrity and a very large business was built up and continued 
to two or three years ago. The works are now idle, though the 
machinery is still in the buildings. 

The grist mill was operated until quite recently by M. Wallace, when 
it was purchased of the Gardner Morse estate. The post-office was 
established in early years, with Dr. Charles W. Hall as the first post- 
master. 

The vSecond Baptist Church of Eaton was organized in 1816 under 
the ministration of Elder Joseph Cooley, who was succeeded by Rev. 
Nathaniel Kendrick. .Services were at first held in the brick school 
house and in 1830 a meeting house was erected, which with improve- 
ments is still in use. Dr. Kendrick served the church until 1833 when 
he was made president of Madison University. The present pastor is 
Rev. G. W. Thorne. 

The Congregational Church was informally organized on November 
23, 1831, with eight members. On the 37th of the next month it was 
reorganized as the Congregational Society of Eaton. The first deacons 
were David Hitchcock and Jesse Brown. In the next year a church 
edifice was erected at a cost of $3,000. The first pastor was Rev. John 
Foote, and the present pastor is Rev. John Bamford. Rev. W. N. 
Cleveland, brother of ex-President Grover Cleveland, was for a time its 
pastor. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Eaton village was organized in 
1856 by members of the West Eaton church who resided in this village. 
A meeting house was erected in the same year. The society is now 
prosperous under the pastoral care of Rev. S. S. Pratt. 

The settlement of Thomas Fry, Stephen Cornell, Perry Bui'dick, 
Barry Carter, David Darrow and others on and near the site of West 
Eaton village made it the center of considerable early activity. Mr. 
Darrow's farm included much of the site of the hamlet. The place 
grew slowly. Thomas Fry built a saw mill on the site of the later 
manufactory of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe, and later, in company with 
William Hopkins, built a grist mill near by. Isaac Sage was the first 
tavern keeper and Barry Carter a later one. A Mr. Dunham was the 
first merchant, keeping his store in part of a double building, in the 
other part of which a dwelling was installed for the family. Philip 
Lee was another early tavern keeper and from him the place became 
known as Leeville. A wool carding and cloth dressing works were 



218 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE;. 

established and owned by Abner Isbell on the site of the later woolen 
mill of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe. The old tavern finally disappeared 
and was succeeded by one built by Major Smith as early as 1830 and 
kept by Calvin Wellington. Joseph E. Darrow kept a store before 1840 
at about which date an added impulse was given to the business of the 
village. Mr. Darrow built a store in 1845 and in the same year the 
first woolen factory was established by A. Y. Smith, whose son was 
afterwards associated with him. Mr. Smith built also the Henry W. 
Chubbuck store and a number of houses. The factory was burned in 
1852 and at once rebuilt partly through aid of residents of the village. 
Mr. Smith failed in 1857 and Churchill & Gilmore were the next pro- 
prietors of the factory. After several changes in the membership of 
the firm the building was again burned in 1863 and rebuilt by Mowry 
& Huntoon, being given the name of the Monitor Mill. The business 
of making fine woolen goods was continued some years when the ma- 
chinery was removed to Pennsylvania. The saw mill of Philo Walden 
is on the site. 

The carding mill before mentioned of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe was 
established about 1845; in 1860 Otis Barnes became sole proprietor and 
in 1862 J. W. French purchased an interest. Under the proprietor- 
ship of Barnes & French the mills were enlarged and the name Eureka 
Mills adopted. James Mitchell succeeded Mr. French and H. C. Howe 
was admitted partner. Still later Otis Barnes & Son became proprie- 
tors and in July, 1880, John E Lewis, Richard R. Jones and Gary E. 
Barnes succeeded under the style of Lewis, Jones & Barnes. The busi- 
ness is now conducted by the recently formed West Eaton Woolen 
Company. 

A grist mill was built in 1865 which in 1868 became the property of 
Isaac Hopkins & Son, who added to its machinery and carried on saw- 
ing, grinding and cider making. It is now operated by John H. 
Northrup. 

Other early industries not yet mentioned were a distillery which was 
built in 1815 by Joseph Enos, and a small manufactory of augers estab- 
lished in 1830 by John Brown. Among merchants of the past were H. 
C. Palmer, L. L. Hamilton, James Mitchell, A. L. Howe, C. D. Tracy, 
J. E. Darrow & Son, Isaac Hopkins & Son. H. W. Copley and J. W. 
Mowry were wagon makers; John Pennock and H. M. Collis, black- 
smiths; M. S. Pennock, C. F. Owen, G. W. Johnson, shoemakers. 

The West Eaton post-office was established in 1852 with Joseph Dar- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 219 

row as the first postmaster. The late C. D. Tracy was a merchant, and 
the last postmaster. 

The village is included in school district No. 3, which was changed 
to a Union school under the law of 1874 and the present building 
erected. The first school house in the district was built sometime be- 
tween 1810 and 1815 and Thomas Hubbard was the first teacher. 

The Baptist Church of West Eaton was organized in 1820 by Elder 
Shaw who served as the first pastor; services were held in the school 
house. The members were principally of the Six-Principle persuasion. 
A dispute arose in the church fourteen years later and a rival society 
was formed with the name of the Baptist Society of Leeville; this was 
ultimately merged in the Eaton church. The original society continued 
until 1853 when a reorganization was effected with a membership of 
forty-five, under Elder Daniel Putnam ; a church was erected at a cost 
of $2,000. The society is still in existence, under the pastoral charge 
of Rev. Willard F. Dowd. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of West Eaton was organized as a 
class March 14, 1841, by James Tooke, a local preacher. There were 
only seven members and six of them were of the Darrow family. Elder 
Yarrington was the first pastor. A small meeting house was built in 
1843, which was superseded in 1869 by what was the finest church edi- 
fice in the town, which cost $15,000. The society is and always has 
been prosperous and earnest in its work. 

A Roman Catholic society was formed as a branch of the Hamilton 
church about 1880, and a meeting house was built at the same time on 
the site of the old Methodist church. 

The early settlement of the Pratt brothers, John and James, in the 
northeastern part of Eaton, at what became widely known as Pratt's 
Hollow, and their establishment of various industries there formed a 
nucleus of a considerable business center, most of which has passed 
away with the lapse of years. The first industry they established was 
a grist mill, as early as 1809, which was at once followed by a saw mill 
and a distillery, with several houses. A store was also erected and 
stocked with goods and their trade prospered. A little later they es- 
tablished a woolen mill which employed about twenty hands. A second 
woolen mill was started in 1809 by J. F. Chamberlain, who, in company 
with several eastern men, built a large cotton mill in 1824, which gave 
employment to 130 operatives. At that time the population of the place 
was nearly or quite 450. 



220 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The firm of Pratt Brothers carried on a large business and accumu- 
lated considerable wealth, but they met with reverses, lost money in 
some of their undertakings and finally dissolved the partnership and 
closed their works. From that time the village began its decline and 
never recovered. Most of the Pratt property passed to possession of 
members of the Fearon family and the Pratts moved away. 

J. F. Chamberlain and his associates established a store in connection 
with their factory, built a boarding house and several other dwellings. 
Mr. Chamberlain died in 1839 and his son succeeded to his business, 
which he continued successfully until 1852 when he was ruined by the 
burning of his factory without insurance. Many of the inhabitants 
who had theretofore obtained a good livelihood in that and the other in- 
dustries of the place, removed elsewhere, and the little village settled 
down to a quiet existence which has continued to the present time. A 
hotel is now kept by Adelbert Cole, a general store by W. W. Lewis, 
who is postmaster, a few shops, a Methodist church, a milk station on 
the railroad at White's Corners, where there is a saw mill operated by 
Amos Avery. The number of families of Protestant Irish, who located in 
the vicinity of Pratt's Hollow in early days gave the place a character 
that it would not otherwise have possessed. The Kerns, Tookes, Phil- 
pots, Tackaburys, Fearons, and others have been frequently repre- 
sented in public affairs and offices in the town and county and with 
honor to themselves. 

The Methodist Church of Pratt's Hollow was formed as a class prob- 
ably before 1810, the meetings being held for many years in the school 
house. The meeting house was built in 1838 largely through the liber- 
ality of John Pratt, who was an active member. The society is small. 

The beautifully situated settlement known as Pierceville, situated on 
Eaton Brook and the Skaneateles Turnpike, found its earliest stimulus 
in the tavern built in 1819 by Samuel Chubbuck, which stood at the 
corner of the road leading to Lebanon. In the days of heavy staging 
and other travel on the turnpike, this house had a large patronage and 
an excellent reputation. Luke Hitchcock was a large land owner there 
and Seth Whitmore was a prominent settler. About 1825 David Rogers 
built a small cotton factory, which was one of the three credited to 
Madison county in the census of 1832. Mr. Rogers built also several 
dwellings, set out trees and otherwise added to the attractiveness of , the 
hamlet. In later years John Brown became owner of the Chubbuck 
tavern, which he converted into a dwelling when travel had declined. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— EATON. 221 

George Dunbar established a planing mill and carpentry business about 
1835. In 1844 J. O. Pierce formed a company which purchased a large 
tract of land and erected a large cotton factory. An extensive busi- 
ness was carried on until 1850 when Mr. Pierce died. He was suc- 
ceeded by his son and. the firm was changed from J. O. Pierce & Co., 
to Pierce, Cady, Crocker & Co. In the financial crisis of 1857 the firm 
failed and the works were abandoned. Alpheus Morse erected and for 
many years operated a large woolen mill just west of Pierceville, but it 
was taken down and a grist mill stands on its site. 

The old Rogers factory was occupied for three years by E. & A. 
Wood, in the manufacture of machinery for the Pierce factory ; they re- 
moved to Eaton in 1848 as elsewhere stated. Pierceville has now only 
a cider mill owned by Le Roy Cook, and a carding mill; a saw mill 
operated by Healy Brown and a planing mill by John Copley. 

At Pine Woods, which has been noticed as the scene of Joshua Ice- 
land's pioneer settlement and labor, is now a mere cluster of houses 
with post-office, store and a plant for storing and shipping by rail large 
quantities of ice. The tavern formerly kept here was built in 1834 by 
James Madison and passed under management of various proprietors. 
In 1835 the firm of Howard & Markham built a carriage manufactory, 
which finally became a blacksmith shop only. vSolomon Root was a 
prominent early settler on the town line near by and was a leader in 
the old Methodist church of Bouckville; meetings were first held in his 
house and he acted as class leader. Then he built a chapel which ulti- 
mately became a dwelling. 

Josiah Peck, who came from Rhode Island in 1806, took up a large 
farm and built a log house east of the site of the tavern across the 
canal. His son Alonzo succeeded to the homestead. The opening of 
the Chenango Canal inspired the hopes of dwellers here, as it did at 
many other points, that large industries would come into existence and 
business would flourish along the line. Mr. Peck's land was crossed 
by the canal and he built large storehouses and engaged extensively in 
forwarding here and in Hamilton. All this has, of course, passed 
away. 

Eagleville (or Eaton Center) as it was more properly known, acquired 
a little late-coming importance in 1869, when Dwight Graham & Co. 
moved their machine shop from Morrisville in order to take advantage 
of the better water power. In addition to doing custom work and re- 
pairing they added in 1879 the manufacture of a new model of agricul- 



232 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tural engine; but the business was finally given up and the building 
was occupied by the electric light plant of Morrisville until 1896, when 
the structure was burned. It will be remembered that one of the first 
woolen mills in Madison county was established here on the river by 
Perly Ayer. The factory passed to Clark Tillinghast in 1851 and he 
made enlargement and improvements; but a few weeks later the dam 
was carried away and again suffered the same fate after having been 
rebuilt. The factory was not reopened. 

When the railroad was built through this town it stirred the expecta- 
tions of many of the inhabitants to an extravagant degree. It is almost 
needless to state that these expectations have not been realized. It is 
true that the Midland Railroad gave and still gives many people better 
and more convenient means of reaching markets and business centers; 
but aside from this it has been and is a great burden in other ways. 
The town was bonded to aid in the construction of the road to the 
amount of $150,000, and received back $7,000 for the shares assigned 
to the town when it was sold to the Ontario and Western Company. 
This matter is elsewhere treated in these pages. Before the town was 
thus bonded ia 1868 the town expenses were $2,153.65. Ten years 
later, in 1879, they had increased to $15,547, with an existing debt 
then of almost $150,000. But with all of this to contend against the 
town is one of the most prosperous in the county. It was unfortunate, 
but probably unavoidable, that Morrisville was isolated from the rail- 
road by a distance of about three miles and that the other stations in 
the town reached from Pratt's Hollow, Eaton and Pine Woods, are also 
some distance from the line of the road ; but at most seasons the roads 
of the town are in good condition and travel is not difficult. 

The ordinary town expenses at the present time are close to $3,000, 
while the interest and principal account brings them up to nearly 
$7,000 and the aggregate taxation to nearly $13,000. The number of 
acres of real estate is given as 35,669, with an assessed value of $42.78 
per acre; this is slightly reduced by the equalized valuation. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— CAZENOVIA. 

The history of Cazenovia succeeding what has already been written 
in earlier pages consists very largely of the record of the development 
of the village, the surrounding region remaining a quiet and prosperous 
agricultural community. Three years before the county was organized, 
in 1803, a village census showed the following business establishments 
in the place with the number of persons in each family, making 100 
in all : 

John Lincklaen 6 Roberts & Hill, carpenters 6 

John N. M. Hurd, storekeeper. 7 Elisha Farnham, tanner and 

S. S. Breese, lawyer 4 shoemaker 7 

Hiram Roberts, blacksmith and Eliakim Roberts, storekeeper 9 

tavern keeper 17 Horace Paddock, blacksmith 3 

Isaac Lyman, doctor 4 Ebenezer Johnson, tavern keeper 10 

William Whipple, carpenter and William Kyle, clerk 4 

constable 4 Jonathan Forman, storekeeper. 9 

Moses Phillips, brickmaker 4 Samuel Ashard, miller 6 

At that time the population of the whole so-called Road Township 
was 1,164. The village itself, at that early year of the century, was a 
business center of considerable importance, a fact due largely to the 
enterprising an able character of many of the inhabitants. The lawyer 
mentioned in the foregoing list was Samuel Sidney Breese, who after- 
wards became a foremost member of the Oneida county bar ; he was 
the first clerk of Chenango county in 1798, and a member of the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1821. Jonathan Forman was elected to the 
Assembly from Chenango in 1800 and 1801. J. N. M. Hurd was county 
clerk in 1815-21. James Green, a pioneer of 1793, was in the Legisla- 
ture at one period. Jeremiah Whipple was a famous landlord, and 
served the county as sheriff in 1806-1810 and 1811-14. The laying out 
of the Cazenovia and Oneida Turnpike from Vernon to Cazenovia, and 
the Cherry Valley Turnpike a little later, added to the importance of 



224 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the village. By the year 1810 the population had so increased that it 
was determined to incorporate and the necessary steps weie taken; the 
date of the incorporation was February 7 of that year. The first meet- 
ing of the voters was held May 1, 1810, at the house of E. S. Jackson, 
at which Elisha Farnham, then a justice of the peace, presided. The 
following officers were there elected: Trustees, Elisha Farnham, Perry 
G. Childs, Jonas Fay, E. S. Jackson, Samuel Thomas; treasurer, J. N. 
M. Hurd; bailiff and collector, Jacob A. Dana. A week later Jonas 
Fay was chosen president, and Caleb Ledyard, clerk. Following is a 
list of the village presidents and clerks to the present time: 

Presidents— 1810, Jonas Fay; 1811, Samuel S. Forman; 1812-14, 
Jabish N. M. Hurd; 1815, Noble S. Johnson; 1816, John Williams; 
1817, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1818, William Whipple; 1819, Matthew 
Chandler; 1830, Samuel Thomas; 1821, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1822, 
Zadock Sweetland; 1823 and 1825, Perry G. Childs; 1824 and 1826, 
Charles Stebbins; 1827, Ebenezer Knowlton ; 1828, John Williams; 
1829, Jesse Kilborn; 1830-31, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1832, Lemuel White; 
1833, E. Carpenter; 18.34-35, John Williams; 1836-37, William Bur- 
ton; 1838, William J. Hough; 1839-40, Benjamin F. Clarke; 1841, 
William J. Hough: 1842, Rensselaer Jackson; 1843, S. H. Henry; 
1844, Simon C. Hitchcock; 1845, Henry Ten Eyck; 1846, Sidney T. 
Fairchild; 1847-48, William Burton; 1849, S. H. Henry; 1850, S. C. 
Hitchcock; 1851-56, Elisha Litchfield; 1857, Lewis Raynor; 1858, 
Lewis B. Stone; 1859, B. Rush Wendell; 1860, William L. Storke; 
1861-63, Lewis B. Stone; 1864, D. Eralzman Haskell; 1865, Albert 
Card; 1866, Lewis B. Stone;' 1867-68, Charles Stebbins; 1869-70, 
Martin Spear; 1871. Orrin W. Sage; 1872, George L. Rouse. 

On July 6, 1873, the village voted to reincorporate under the act of 
April 20, 1870, which makes the office of president elective by the vot- 
ers. Under this charter the first election was held December 3, 1873. 
The list continues as follows: 

1873, Everet S. Card; 1874, Winfield S. Smyth; 1875, George 
S. Ledyard; 1876-78, William M. Burr; 1879, R. J. Hubbard; 
1880, L. Newton Goff; 1881, John Stebbins; 1882, Burr Wendell; 
1883, Charles M. Potter; 1884, Charles Brown; 1885, Edgar C. 
Bass; 1886-87, L. Wolters Ledyard; 1888, Will H. Cruttenden ; 1889, 
L. Wolters Ledyard; 1890-91, Edgar C. Bass; 1892, I. Newton Goff ; 

' August 2.3, 1866, Harley S. Keller was elected president vice Lewis B. Stone, deceased 
August 17, 1866, aged sixty years. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 325 

1893, M. H. Kiley; 1894, David H. Doremus; 1895, William Watkins; 
1896, George W. Salisbury;' 1897, John W. Howson; 1898, P. H. 
Donnelly; 1899, William W. Rice. 

Clerks— 1810-11, Caleb Ledyard; 1812-13, Edward S. Stewart; 
1814-21, Charles Stebbins; 1822-28, Samuel Thomas; 1829-33, Will- 
iam J. Hough; 1834-35, Charles H. S. Williams; 1836, William J. 
Hough; 1837-39, Sidney T. Fairchild; 1840-45, Calvin Carpenter; ' 
1846-56, Richard Thomas; 1857, George L. Rouse; 1858-59, Charles 
Stebbins; 1860-61, Charles Stebbins, jr.;' 1862, L. Wolters Ledyard; 
1863, Charles Stebbins, jr.; 1864-65, Delos W. Cameron; 1866, Charles 
Stebbins, jr. ; 1867, George M. Weaver; 1868, John Fairchild; 1869-72, 
D. W. Cameron; 1873, John W. Howson;* 1874, Augustus P. Clarke; 
1875, John C. Fowler;' 1876, H. B. Smith; 1877-87, W. D. Wells; 
1888, H. D. Messenger; 1889-92, George W. Salisbury; 1893-97, W. 
D. Wells; 1898-99, Alphonzo E. Fitch. 

The following tax list of the village in 1811 is valuable as indicating 
the rate and valuation at that time: 

Tax. Valuation. 

E. S. Jackson.. $10 00 $4,000 

William McLean 6 90 3,000 

Eliakim Roberts 9 20 4,000 

J. N. M. Kurd 9 20 4,000 

Samuel S. Forman 7 00 3,000 

Elisha Farnham 9 20 4,000 

Jeremiah Whipple 5 75 2,500 

Luther Bunnell 5 75 2,500 

ElishaStarr 5 75 2,500 

Joseph Burr, Jr. 4 60 2,000 

Thomas Williams & Son 4 14 1, 800 

Jonas Fay 2 00 800 

R. P. Day 4 60 2,000 

JoabGillett 92 400 

P. G. Childs 3 50 1,500 

» Resigned June 5, 1896, and P. H. Donnelly appointed to fill vacancy. 

'August 13, 1841, Benjamin T. Clarke was appointed clerk vice C. Carpenter removed. No- 
vember 8, 1841, C. Carpenter was restored to the position. 

3 L. Wolters Ledyard was elected clerk February 13, ISiil, vice Charles Stebbins, jr., resigned, 

' April 3, 18T3, George A. Spear was elected clerk vice J. W Howson, resigned February 
11, 1873. 

' May 6, 1875, Irving C. Forte was appointed clerk vice J. C. Fowler, resigned, 
15 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Tax. Valuation. 

Samuel Thomas 3 23 1,400 

David B. Johnson 1 84 800 

Jeremiah B. Pierce 2 30 1,000 

Alfred Hitchcock 2 30 1,000 

IsaacLyman 2 50 1,000 

William Whipple 2 76 1,200 

Jesse Kilborn 1 84 800 

Uriah Aldrich 1 84 800 

Vebber Crocker 1 61 700 

JamesMoore 2 30 1,000 

Fay & Richardson, mills and dwelling 

house 4 60 2,000 

Selah Munson 4 14 1,800 

Eli F. Hill 1 15 500 

Matthew Chandler 1 15 500 

Orrin Chandler 46 200 

Ami Crocker 92 400 

Noble S. Johnson 2 30 1,000 

Widow Chloe Andrews 115 500 

John Townsend 46 200 

Richard French 44 200 

John Francis 125 500 

John B. Seely 92 400 

Hezekiah Bowen 46 200 

John Locke 12 50 

Nathan Williams 38 150 

Otis Ormsbee ' 92 400 

Orin E. Baker 1 38 600 

Horace Bills 23 100 

William Wells 46 200 

Samuel Button 46 200 

Brevoort & Allis 93 400 

Amos Par mely. 23 100 

Timothy Foster 69 300 

Nehemiah White 23 100 

Andrew Russell 69 300 

Edward S. Stewart 46 200 

John Lyon 23 100 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 227 

Tax. Valuation. 

Calvin Elmore 23 100 

John Kelly 69 300 

Richard Button 23 100 

Rinaloo Webber 1 15 50O 

Zadock S weetland 50 

David Dearborn 75 

David Kern 58 a50 

John Anderson 69 300 

John Lewis 23 100 

Ebenezer Brown 23 100 

Ebenezer Johnson 46 200 

Manassett Prentice 23 100 

Obadiah Seely 46 200 

John Lincklaen 4 60 2,000 

Murray B. Lester 50 

Caleb Ledyard 75 

Total tax, $150 

Total valuation, $63,550 

Mercantile operations in the village following those first established 
and before mentioned in these pages: William M. and Joseph Burr, 
brothers, opened a store in 1811, coming from Hartford, Conn.; their 
store was on the site of the present Burr block. Benjamin T. Clarke, 
long an enterprising merchant, had his store on the southeast corner of 
Albany and Mill streets. Mr. Clarke was born in 1797 and died in 
1875. John Williams was a merchant and manufacturer here from 
1815 to 1847 and a very estimable citizen. He sold his store in 1847 to 
Henry Nichols and Samuel D. Clark, who continued a few years. 
Thomas P. Bishop, who was member of assembly in 1857, was in busi- 
ness about forty years, and sold in 1866 to John Richard Watts and 
Rollin Knox Blair, who continued together about six years, when Watts 
bought his partner's interest and soon afterwards took Eber Feet as 
partner. After 1878 the firm was Watts & Cobb, through association 
in the business of Peter P. Cobb ; the firm sold to Bernard VoUmer. 

From about 1834 to 1840 E. B. and E. D. Litchfield were prominent 
merchants in the village; they removed to New York. William Green- 
land and his son, William S., came from New York in 1834 and estab- 
lished a merchant tailoring business which continue^ until the death of 



228 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the father in 1866 ; the son still continues in trade. About 1835 Burton 
& Perkins began dealing in stoves and tin ware and about ten years 
later sold to'George C. Brown, whose brother Charles joiped him in 
1848. The former died in 1871 and Charles continued. He sold to the 
present firm of Driscoll & Marshall. 

In 1834 William Mills, Charles Crandall and Frank Moseley, under 
the firm name of Mills, Crandall & Moseley, opened a bookstore and en- 
gaged in the publication of school books This business was success- 
fully carried on until about 1860, when it was sold by Mr. Crandall, 
who had become sole proprietor a little earlier, to Chester L. Chappell 
& Son. Three years later John Annas purchased an interest, but re- 
tired within year. In 1866 William W. Watkins bought an interest and 
within a year purchased the whole from Chappell & Son and is still in 
the business. 

John C. Reymon, now of Syracuse, carried on the clothing business 
in the village more than forty years from 1841. L. G. Wells settled 
with his parents in the village in 1830 and in 1843 began the furniture 
and undertaking business, which he transferred to his sons, Dwight W. 
and Edward G., in 1878. Henry Groff v.^as a general merchant in com- 
pany with Arnold Woodward for a number of j'ears after 1844. John 
Hobbie, who came to the village in 1840 and served as a clerk five years 
with different firms, formed a partnership with Benjamin T. Clarke, 
the style being Clark & Hobbie, and the business was continued by 
them six years. At that time Samuel D. Clarke, son of Benjamin, pur- 
chased his father's interest. In 1856 Benjamin T. Clarke and George 
L. Rouse purchased Samuel D. Clarke's interest and the business con- 
tinued under the firm name of Hobbie, Rouse & Co. About 1867 
George L. Rouse purchased Clarke's interest, the firm name becoming 
Hobbie & Rouse, and the business continued until 1892, when the 
firm dissolved. The store was discontinued a few years later by E. C. 
Rouse. 

Other merchants of Cazenovia, some of whom still continue in busi- 
ness, were George Morse, who has been in the drug business since 1847. 
Andrew Dardis, an immigrant from Ireland to Cazenovia in 1853, dealer 
in boots and shoes a number of years from 1855. Ebenezer B. Knowl- 
ton, a native Cazenovian, began the jewelry business about 1848 and 
continued many years. T. S. Whitnall was an early harness and trunk 
dealer and sold to E. A. Blair in 1863, who still continues. 

Bowman H. Stanley began grocery business in 1863 with his brother, 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA, 229 

Benjamin F. ; later he was associated with his son, C. M. Stanley, who 
afterwards conducted a bakery, now in the hands of F. E. Wilson. Til- 
lotson & Nichols (L. B. Tillotson and E. R. Nichols) general merchants, 
succeeded the business of J. D. Beach established about 1861. David 
P. Dean in company with his brother, James C, bought in 1869 the 
grocery and millinery business of Jesse W. Hall and carried it on a 
number of years. The millinery business of the village is now con- 
ducted by Mrs. M. L. White and Mrs. F. D. Holdridge, established in 
1895. Will H. Cruttenden began the jewelry business in 1870 and did 
a successful trade many years. Jesse W. Hall began as a jeweler in 
1878, buying out John Greenland, who was in the business twenty years. 
Mr. Hall is still in trade. Harry N. Clark began a jewelry business in 
1898. 

Henry A. Johnson, H. H. Hannum and Henry H. Colton as the firm 
of Colton, Johnson & Co., had an early hardware business in which they 
were succeeded in 1877 by Colton & Webber; the business is now car- 
ried on by Mr. Colton. Driscoll & Marshall (M. Driscoll and F. F. 
Marshall) have been in hardware trade since 1895, succeeding Collins 
& Driscoll. Another hardware business is conducted by Marshall & 
Bumpus, which was commenced by A. E. Marshall in 1895; Mr. Bumpus 
came into the business in April, 1897. 

Nichols & Covell began the clothing trade in 1871 ; this business is 
now conducted by Charles W. Covell & Son. R. A. Niles & Co., cloth- 
ing dealers, succeeded by C. P. Remore in 1895 ; Mr. Remore was pre- 
ceded by Eben Bentley. 

John Aldrich Wells and his brother W. De Los removed to Cazenovia 
with their parents from Nelson, and began business as general mer- 
chants in 1872 under the firm name of Wells Brothers, succeeding D. 
N. Pulford, and are still in trade. Nichols & Loomis (S. C. Nichols, 
G. E. Loomis), general merchants, succeeded the firm of Davis & 
Nichols in 1889, who had succeeded Tillotson Brothers; the firm is now 
Geo. E. Loomis & Co. B. VoUmer, general merchant, commenced 
trade in 1881 in company with P. P. Cobb, who retired in 1883. The 
firm of Cobb & Vollmer succeeded Watts & Cobb, who were preceded 
by John R. Watts. F. C. Phelps began business as a general merchant 
in 1893. Clark & Mulligan (F. G. Clark and P. E. Mulligan) began 
trade as general merchants in 1896, succeeding S. B. Groff. 

Rice & Co. (J.W.T. and William W. Rice) began business as druggists 
in 1873 ; the store is now conducted by the latter. Henry A. Rouse settled 



2:!0 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in Cazenovia in 1836 and began a general mercantile business in 1876, 
which he continued until his death; the business is now managed by C. 
H. Rouse. Samuel T. Jackson and his cousin, Frank E. Jackson, were 
dealers in hats and caps, boots and shoes, either as partners or .separate, 
a number of years from 1877. Isaac L. De Clercq began grocery trade 
in 1878 by the purchase of the store established a little earlier by W. B. 
Noxon. John Keeler began trade in musical merchandise in 1874. 
William Donnelly was a grocer some years from 1878. H. M. Gush- 
ing, druggist, started soon after 1870, and in 1879 sold out to Severe 
Dorion. E. C. Hackley and C. M. Stanley were confectioners about 
1880. Other merchants of the present are noticed in the later Gazetteer 
of Towns. 

This comprehensive account of mercantile operations in Cazenovia 
denotes that the village in past years was a trade center of much im- 
portance. This condition was fostered by the early establishment of 
various manufacturing industries which depended largely on the splen- 
did water power of Chittenango Creek. The selection of Cazenovia as 
the county seat in 1810 and its continuance as such during seven years, 
doubtless also contributed in some degree to the business importance of 
the village in early years. The census of 1810 gave the village a popu- 
lation of 500, with sixty-nine houses, five stores, one grist mill, one saw 
mill, two cloth-dressing establishments, two carding machines, two 
trip-hammers, two potasheries, two tanneries, one brewery and distill- 
ery, and a post-office. A printing office should be added to this list, as 
The Pilot was founded in the village in 1808 by Oran E. Baker. In 
the pages of its early numbers, through the medium of advertise- 
ments, something additional is learned of the industries of the place. 
The woolen factory of Elisha Starr & Co. had been recently pur- 
chased by Matthew Chandler. The new tannery of Thomas Chandler 
& Son was noticed. A hat factory was operated by John Brevoort 
and Jere Allis. A. Hitchcock announced the addition to his stock of 
goods of a new line of drugs and medicines. S. Forman had opened 
a book store, and J. Gillett advertised his ability to repair clocks and 
watches. J. Kilbourn was the village tailor, and W. Brown a painter 
and glazier. A Mr. White's chair factory is noticed and the trip- 
hammers of Luther Bunnell also. 

From that far time until the financial disaster of 1830-38 swept 
over the country, Cazenovia prospered, like most other well located 
villages in Central New York where good water power was avail- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 231 

able; and much of that prosperity was due to the eiiforts of the 
energetic men who established manufactories. The early chair fact- 
tory of Nehemiah White, above mentioned, was purchased by Eben- 
ezer Knowlton, who built also an oil mill about 1815; both of these 
industries were carried on by Mr. Knowlton many years. In 1813 
John Lincklaen and Elisha Starr built a woolen mill which is be- 
lieved to have been the first one in Madison county. It passed to 
Matthew Chandler & Son. About 1810 Thomas Williams and his 
son John, from New Hartford, Oneida county, established a tannery, 
which they sold in 1815 to R. & R. G. Allen. Orrin Chandler suc- 
ceeded his father in the Lincklaen & Starr woolen mill and sold it in 
1829 to John Williams. It was burned May 1, 1834, and at once rebuilt 
and Mr. Williams operated it until his death in 1853; he was the first to 
introduce power looms in this town. The old woolen factory building 
is now occupied by J. H. O'Neil as a carriage shop. 

Leonard Williams, son of John, was interested in the woolen mill, 
formed a partnership in 1847 with George S. Ledyard and John Steb- 
bins (Williams, Ledyard & Stebbins), and the firm purchased of Mr. 
Williams twenty-four acres of land, including the Chittenango water 
power, one and a quarter miles below the village, and the saw mill and 
fulling mill ; the saw mill was built by David B. Johnson, and the full- 
ing mill by Sidney Roberts, of whom John Williams purchased it. The 
firm demolished the fulling mill and in 1848 erected the Shelter 
Valley Woolen Mill; this was burned in 1869 and rebuilt in 1871 by 
Williams & Stebbins, Mr. Ledyard having in the mean time retired. 
In March, 1879, Williams sold his interest to Mr. Stebbins. The busi- 
ness was substantially closed on account of the unsatisfactory condition 
of the trade; but the mill is now operated in a small way by the Caz- 
enovia Wool and Felt Company. 

The saw mill above mentioned was operated about five years more 
and was then demolished. John Williams carried on the fulling busi- 
ness in connection with tanning leather from 1840 to 1850 in the old 
Elisha Farnham tannery building, which now is occupied as a black- 
smith shop. 

The Cazenovia paper mill was built in 1810 by Zadock Sweetland 
and was for many years a very important industry for this region. He 
operated it successfully and gradually increased its capacity, until a 
few years previous to his death in 1855; he was then succeeded by his 
sons under the name of Sweetland Brothers, who still further increased 



233 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the product. The mill was burned in 1859 and at once rebuilt. In 
I860 a great freshet carried away the dam and did a large amount of 
other damage along the creek. Henry Munroe bought the property, 
rebuilt the dam and started the mill. It was again partially burned, 
was rebuilt and then wholly burned. The property passed to Joseph 
H. Crawford, of mower and reaper connection, who rebuilt the last 
mill ; after his failure it was acquired by Lewison Fairchild, who sold 
it to Eben Bentley. After being occupied a short time with the unfor- 
tunate shoe manufactory, it was left vacant 

The Cedar Grove Woolen Mill was built about 1837 by E. S. Jackson 
& Son, and was purchased in 1850 by Henry Ten Eyck. It was a large 
mill, had five sets of machinery, was in good order and successful oper- 
ation when, in 1852, it was burned, causing heavy loss. E. Swan after- 
wards during the Civil war, carried on the making of binders' boards 
on the site of this mill. 

The Allen tannery, before mentioned, was operated between 1869 
and 187-1 by Dardis & Flanagan, and by Andrew Dardis and his son 
John A. for two years longer. The American Lock Manufacturing 
Company, incorporated in 1875, with a capital of $25,000, purchased 
the business in that year of the American Lock Company, which had 
for several years manufactured a lock of new design in a machine shop 
near the Albany street bridge. In the same year a building occupied 
by Stephen Chaphe as a machine shop was purchased by the new com- 
pany and fitted up for their business. In April, 1878, the business was 
sold to the Yale Lock Company and removed to Stamford, Conn. 

What was known as the Fern Dell Mills were built in 1848 by Led- 
yard Lincklaen for a woolen mill, but were never used for that purpose. 
About 1850 O. W. Sage, Newton Ames, and Charles Ames began there 
the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, continuing until about 1877 
when Newton Ames sold his interest to O. W. Sage, and a year later 
the latter bought also the interest of Charles Ames. About the year 
1873 Carlos Nichols acquired an interest which he soon relinquished. 
In 1874 T. W. Thayer bought a third of the business and the next year 
Ambrose Ames purchased a like share. In 1878 Mr. Sage sold out to 
Ames & Thayer. A large business was done and the works are now 
operated by T. W. Thayer & Co. 

In 1871 Joseph H. Crawford established the manufacture of a mower 
and reaper in Ilion and five years later removed his business to Caze- 
novia, at the same time purchasing the Onondaga Chief works at Man- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 233 

lius which he merg-ed with his former interest. He occupied the old 
Cazenovia foundry, a little below the village, which was established in 
1825 by the Shapley Brothers (N. W. & J. S.), on the site of the old 
building of the lock company. In 1875 he erected the ^one building 
which was also occupied by him. In the spring of 1876 a stock com- 
pany was formed under the name of J. F. Crawford & Co., with a capi- 
tal of $300,000. This company was dissolved and in February, 1878, 
transferred its property to the firm of J. F. Crawford & Co. The busi- 
ness for a time seemed to have a prosperous future, but active compe- 
tition elsewhere caused its ultimate failure. 

What was known as the Eagle Foundry, situated on Albany street, 
was built by Elisha Allis about 1842; it was later removed up the 
stream and passed through various proprietors' hands. A morocco 
factory was established by a Mr. Phinney, east of the village, about 
1851 and was operated a number of years. The Bingley Mills are situ- 
athd about two miles from the village on Chittenango Creek; they were 
established at a very early date and were operated from 1831 to the 
present time by William Atkinson. A saw mill was also built near by 
and a few dwellings were gathered about. 

The Lake Mills in the village were built in early years by Jonas Fay 
and in 1850 passed to Reuben Parsons from William Burton. They 
had other owners and operators and in 1895 were burned and rebuilt. 
They are now operated by Albert Chaphe. The foundry and machine 
shop near the bridge on Albany street was built for an oil mill by Ed- 
mond Knowlton who occupied it as such until about 1864, when it was 
purchased of Chester Bates by the firm of Stone, Marshall & Card 
(John J. Stone, Justice W. Marshall, and Milton E. Card), who con- 
verted it into its present use. The firm is now Marshall & Card. Mr. 
Marshall is one of the oldest and best known mechanics in this section. 
He settled in Cazenovia in 1844 and learned his trade with the Shapley 
Brothers. Later he purchased the machine shop of A. W. Van Riper 
who was for many years a manufacturer of town clocks. 

The well known Chaphe planing and saw mill was built early in the 
century as it originally stood. S. F. Chaphe and Reuben Parsons pur- 
chased the property, including the grist mill at that point, of William 
and James Burton in 1850, and a few years later divided. Parsons tak- 
ing the grist mill and Chaphe the saw mill. In 1874 Mr. Chaphe en- 
larged his mill, put in a planing machine and added steam power. The 
mill was partially burned since that time and rebuilt. 



234 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In 1878 M. E. Card and Will H. Cruttenden began the manufacture 
of a glass-ball trap invented by Mr. Card, the work being carried on 
in the foundry of Stone, Marshall & Card. It proved a popular device 
for gunners and large numbers were sold in various countries. Com- 
petition of other kinds of traps ultimately caused a cessation of the 
manufacture. 

M. J. Trowbridge carried on the manufacture of cabinet ware here 
from 1864, when he purchased of Leonard White the building erected by 
John Williams for a woolen mill in 183-1. The business failed about 
twenty years later. 

In the year 1895 a Camden turbine water wheel was installed in the 
stream at the foot of Albany street, the power of which is used by 
Marshall & Card for their machine shop. This firm has also a five-year 
contract with the village corporation for pumping water for the auxil- 
iary water supply, the water being taken from a driven well near by. 

George Witherell established a foundry business in 1890 in the old 
furnace building, but it was soon discontinued. 

The few foregoing pages inform the reader that in past years Caze- 
novia village possessed far greater importance as a manufacturing cen- 
ter than it does at the present time. Active competition at points more 
favorably situated for shipment and the general trend of manufacturing 
operations towards large corporations, with other causes, have wrought 
a great change in this and many other villages where the water power 
of streams gave in early years sufficient stimulus to effect the founding 
of many industries. The industries of Cazenovia at the present time 
consist mainly of the grist mills, Marshall & Card's machine shop, J. H. 
O'Neil's and P. H. Calhoun's wagon and blacksmith shops; Charles 
Bordwell, blacksmith, who succeeded his father, Peter Bordwell, who 
began business in 1842; Martin McCabe, blacksmith, where his father, 
John McCabe, carried on business more than fifty years; that shop is 
one of the oldest buildings in the village. Barney Riley, a blacksmith 
during more than twenty-five years; and the Brooklyn Creamery, in 
which are manufactured butter, cheese, ice cream, etc., in charge of 
Ludum Blodgett. 

For the financial accommodation of these various business and manu- 
facturing interests the Madison County Bank was organized under the 
safety fund act, March 14, 1831, with a capital of $100,000. Lemuel 
White, Jacob Ten Eyck, Justin Dwinelle, Bennett Bicknell, John 
Knowles, Sylvester Beecher, Elias P. Benjamin, Jonathan D. Ledyard 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 335 

and Samuel Thomas were the commissioners appointed to receive sub- 
scriptions. The first directors of the bank were Perry G. Childs, Jacob 
Ten Eyck, John Hearsay, Jesse Kilborn, H. H. Cubb, Rufus Allen, 
William M. Burr, Arnold Ballou, Bennett Bicknell, John Williams, 
Lemuel White, J. D. Ledyard and Sylvester Beecher. Mr. Childs was 
chosen the first president of the institution and the bank opened for 
business on January 1, 1833, and was a source of great benefit to the 
town and county. Dividends of ten per cent, annually were paid many 
years and at the expiration of the charter $1.25 on the dollar was re- 
turned to stockholders. 

The Bank of Cazenovia was incorporated February 21, 185G, with a 
capital of $120,000, and the following first board of directors: Charles 
Stebbins, Ledyard Lincklaen, Benjamin F. Jarvis, John Hobbie, David 
M. Pulford, Austin Van Riper, Lewis Raynor, Reuben Parsons and E. 
M. Holmes. Charles Stebbins was chosen the first president of the 
bank and B. F. Jarvis the first cashier. In 1865 the bank passed under 
the national system, becoming the National Bank of Cazenovia, and 
the capital was increased to $150,000. Twenty years later, in 1876, 
this bank failed, and was succeeded during four years by the private 
banking establishment of E. S. Card & Co., who failed in 1880. Soon 
afterward a private banking house was opened by J. H. Ten Eyck Burr, 
which he still conducts. 

The Pilot, the first newspaper in this village, which has been men- 
tioned as starting in 1808, the same 3'ear in which the Madison Free- 
holder was established in Peterboro, continued its existence until Au- 
gust, 1833. In that year the Republican Monitor was founded by L. 
L Rice. From April, 1825, to January, 1832, it was published by John 
F. Fairchild; by J. F. Fairchild & Son until July, 1840, and by J. F. 
Fairchild until March 4, 1841, when it was discontinued. 

The Madison County Eagle was established in February, 1840, by 
Cyrus O. Poole. He was succeeded the next year by Thomas S. Myrick, 
and W. H. Phillips, the former of whom withdrew in 1842; in May, 
1845, the name was changed to Madison County Whig, and the paper 
vigorously and ably supported the principles of that party. In August, 
1848, H. A. Cooledge succeeded Mr. Phillips and changed the name of 
the paper to The Madison County News in October, 1853. In May, 
1854, it was again changed to The Madison County Whig. Three years 
later, in January, 1857, the paper was discontinued. The next paper 
in the village was the Cazenovia Gazette, which was published by Baker 



236 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

& Debnam from October, 1851, to May, 1852. The Progressive Chris- 
tian was published two years from April, 1853, by A. Pryne. What 
became the Manlius Monitor was started in Cazenovia in November, 
1878, by Henry C. Hammond and E. S. Vanvalen. On March 1, 1879, 
Mr. Hammond became sole proprietor and a few months later removed 
it to Manlius. 

The Cazenovia Republican was established in 1854; by W. H. Phillips 
and Seneca Lake. A few weeks afterwards Mr. Phillips retired and 
Mr. Lake continued the publication until September, 1862, having en- 
listed in Co. K of the llith Regiment, wherein he served with credit 
throughout the war. He was an able writer and made the Republican 
an influential newspaper. He was succeeded by Crandall Brothers 
(F. A. and E. Bowen Crandall), who were followed in March, 1863, by 
Francis A. Crandall. In October of the same year E. Bowen Crandall 
became proprietor and was succeeded in September, 1864, by Irving C. 
Forte; he was followed by Forte Brothers, then by Irving C. Forte, 
and he in June, 1875, by the former proprietor, E. Bowen Crandall. 
In May, 1877, Mr. Crandall was succeeded by F. M. Taylor, who ably 
conducted the paper until October, 1889, when he was succeeded by 
George H. Witherhead. He remained proprietor until February 20, 
1890, when J. A. Loyster purchased and took charge of the establish- 
ment and has since filled the editorial chair with signal ability. The 
Republican has always earnestly supported the party from which it is 
named. It is somewhat remarkable that since its e.stablishment nearly 
half a century ago, the Republican has never missed an issue. It is 
now an eight-page weekly and is wholly printed in its own office. 

The tax list copied a few pages back informs us that in 1803 Hiram 
Roberts added to his trade of blacksmithing, the keeping of a tavern, 
and that Ebenezer Johnson was the other landlord of the place at that 
time. The record of possible tavern-keepers in the first quarter of the 
century is not complete, but we know that the Lincklaen House was 
built in 1835 by John Williams and his associates in a stock company; 
the property came into possession of Mr. Williams in 1839, and he re- 
tained it until his death in 1853. It was, however, leased to Oliver 
Jewell from 1841 to 1852 inclusive, and he purchased it upon the death 
of Mr. Williams and kept the house until his death in July, 1877. In 
October of that year Messrs. Clark & Jewett purchased the property, 
since which time it has had numerous owners and proprietors. The 
house is now kept by Walter H. Young. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 237 

The Cazenovia House was built in the early years of the village, had 
a number of proprietors and in 1877 became the property of Perry Cran- 
dall who kept the house a number of years. The present proprietor is 
Charles E. Pratt. 

What was formerly the Lake House has stood for many years and 
was purchased in 1879 by C. B. Stanton, who changed its name to the 
Stanton House and made extensive improvements. He was succeeded 
for a few years by John Finch and he by Edward Parker. In 1894 the 
house again came into possession of Mr. Stanton. — . 

Cazenovia village has had a number of attorneys in past years who^ 
were prominent in the bar of the county. Among them were Schuyler 
Van Rensselaer, Samuel Sidney Breese, David Dearborn, David B. 
Johnson, Perry G. Childs, a man who had ani'lionorable business and 
official career; Charles Stebbins, Justin Dwinelle, William J. Hough, 
Sidney T. Fairchild, Calvin Carpenter, Richard Thomas, Hobert G. 
Paddock, D. W. Cameron, William L. Storke, and a few others. 

The first physician to settle in the village was Dr. Isaac Lyman who 
came from Northampton, Mass., in or before the year 1799, and con- 
tinued in practice until shortly before his death in 1854. Dr. Theoph- 
ilus Wilson began practice in 1814, after graduating at Dartmouth Col- 
lege. He was stricken down by death about a year later. Other early 
physicians were Drs. Jonathan Silsby, David Mitchell, Alvin Foord, 
Fordyce Rice, E. M. Adams, John K. Charaberlayne, Stephen M. 
Potter, Isaac Newton Goff, Elbert A. Ainsworth, A. D. Smith, Henry 
Foord. 

Cazenovia has always had an efficient fire department and has not 
suffered as have many villages from the destructive element. At the 
first meeting of the village corporation $100 was voted for the purchase 
of a fire engine; that was in May, 1810. A month later it was ordered 
"that Hezekiah Strong, Jacob A. Dana, Daniel Gilbert, Nehemiah White, 
John M. Black, Joab Gillett, Caleb Ledyard, William Adams, Timothy 
Foster, M. P. Mather, William Wills and Isaac Dawson be firemen for the 
village of Cazenovia, and that they meet on Monday next at 8 o'clock 
A. M., to choose a captain from their number, who shall have the direction 
of the engine, and the firemen belonging to the fire compan}', and that 
the captain shall call out and exercise the company in using and exam- 
ining the engine at least once a month, which shall be on the last Sat- 
urday in each and every month, and that the time of meeting on said 
Saturday at sua two hours high in the afternoon and may be kept out 



238 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

till sun-set." In the closing month of that year the trustees ordered 
every merchant and tavern-keeper in the village to provide himself with 
five leather buckets, and every other owner or occupant of a house with 
one bucket for use in case of fire. At the first a fine of fifty cents was 
imposed for non-attendance at meetings of the fire company; this fine 
was increased to one dollar in June, 1813, and more buckets were or- 
dered in shops, offices, etc. In 1812 the first engine house was built 
at a cost of $55. 

For some cause unexplained the fii-e company was disbanded in May, 
1816, and on May 7, 1817, the engine was ordered to be sold; it was 
doubtless about useless, as later in the same year Ebenezer Reynolds 
and Sylvanus Dyer offered to put it in repair for $60 and that the vil- 
lage might then have the option of selling it to them for $15. The offer 
was accepted. 

In May, 1822, residents of the village were ordered to provide ladders 
long enough in each case to reach the roof of the dwelling. On Octo- 
ber 4 of that year the engine house was ordered sold at auction on the 
next day. In May, 1827, the first hooks and ladders were provided for 
at a cost of $20. 

In May, 1829, the trustees were given authority to purchase "one of 
DaboU's fire engines." On July 14 of that year a new fire company 
was organized with thirteen members, of which John W. Birge was 
elected captain. When this company disbanded in 1831 a new one was 
formed of eighteen members, of which Rufus Allen was captain, and 
Elisha AUis was chosen chief engineer. On September 16, 1834, the 
trustees were ordered to purchase a fire engine at the price of $700 
from William Piatt & Co. In Maj', 1835, they were given authority to 
construct "three sufficient reserviors," holding about 10,000 gallons 
each, and to pay Elisha AUis a reasonable sum for building an engine 
house; this house cost $92. In the following month a hook and ladder 
company was organized. 

On the first of May, 1843, the fire company adopted a code of by- 
laws and took the name Cazenovia Fire Company No. 1. In July of that 
j'ear Fire Company No. 2 was organized with sixteen members. In 
August of the next year a second engine was purchased, with hose and 
other appurtenances. The new engine was purchased of L. Button & 
Co. at a cost $550. Cazenovia Fire Company No. 2 was organized with 
thirty members on December 21, 1844. 

The sum of $2,000 was voted on March 5, 1854, for building a hall 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 239 

in association with the town, which also voted that amount at the annual 
town meeting of that year. The village was to have right of perpetual 
use of the basement for the fire department, and the hall for village 
meetings. In March of the following year the school house in district 
No. 1 was purchased for an engine house at a cost of $400, with half 
that sum for adapting it to its new purpose. 

The Owaghena Fire Company No. 1 was first organized July 12, 1862, 
with Abram Lockwood, foreman. Deluge Fire Company No. 2 was 
formed on the same date, with H. A. Gifford, foreman. In August, 1863, 
the trustees authorized the chief engineer to purchase a new Cowing 
engine for $1,150. A reorganization of the department took place im- 
mediately after a disbandment of the whole department, on March 30, 
1875, when two fire companies numbered 1 and 2 were formed and a 
hook and ladder company. This arrangement did not continue long 
and in 1877 Owaghena Engine Company No. 1 and Deluge Engine 
Company No. 2 were organized. Ledyard Hose Company No. 1 was 
organized in September, 1879. 

In 1890 an efficient water works system for the village was estab- 
lished upon which has thus far been expended $42,000. This action 
was taken as a result of a vote at a special meeting. A reservoir with 
a capacity of 8,000,000 gallons was constructed at an elevation of 178 
feet above the lake, giving an average pressure of sixty pounds. The 
reservoir is fed by springs in the vicinity and the auxiliary pumping 
station operated by Marshall & Card, before mentioned; this station 
has a daily capacity of 280,000 gallons and is in use about six months 
in each year. About 300 taps are now in use and eight miles of pipe 
have been laid. The income from the system in 1897 was $2,100. The 
water commissioners are Edgar C. Bass, William Watkins and D. H. 
Doremus. 

The introduction of this system rendered the fire engines substantially 
useless and the fire department now consists of two hose companies and 
a hook and ladder company; the hose companies are named Citizens' 
Hose Company, Owaghena Hose Company No. 1, and the other organ- 
ization is Cazenovia Hook and Ladder Company. In case of a fire a 
general alarm is sounded on the Baptist church bell by push buttons in 
various parts of the village, a system inaugurated in 1893. C. H. Bar- 
rett is chief engineer. 

What is known as Cazenovia Hall was erected in 1897 by the Caze- 
novia Hall Association, a stock company, in which Henry Burden was 



340 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

by far the largest owner and the principal promoter. He was made 
president of the association; William Watkins, vice-president and mana- 
ger; John R. Watts, treasurer; Charles S. Fairchild, William W. Rice, 
directors. The building is a symmetrical structure of brick and cost 
about $12,000. The village corporation leases from the association a 
commodious office for its business and records. 

Cazenovia is efficiently drained by a complete sewer system, work on 
which was begun in the fall of 1894 and finished in the following year. 
The cost of the system was $31,000, for which bonds were issued to 
run twenty years. 

The church next formed in Cazenovia after the organization of the 
Presbyterian in 1798, as before noticed, was the Baptist, which was the 
result of meetings held in 1803 in the school house two miles south of 
the village, and conducted by Elder Bacon, pastor of the church in New 
Woodstock. Other elders conducted the meetings there until 1813, 
when they were held in the court house in the village until 1817. In 
that year the foundations of a Baptist meeting house were laid and in 
the following year it was in condition for occupancy. On September 
6, 1820, thirty-six male and fifty-five female members were dismissed 
from the Baptist church of New Woodstock and a separate organiza- 
tion was effected in Cazenovia. After two years of pulpit supply. Elder 
David Pease was called and served five years, during which period in 
1823 the Sunday school was opened. In March, 1837, Elder Lewis 
Leonard became pastor and continued eight years until 1835, in which 
year the church was repaired and improved. Rev. William Clarke was 
the next pastor, beginning his term in 1836 and serving until 1851, to 
be succeeded in the following year by Rev. George Mathews; he con- 
tinued only two years when Rev. Mr. Clarke was again called and re- 
mained pastor until April, 1864. From 1865 to 1868, J. B. Childs, a 
student at Hamilton, filled the pulpit. In the year named last exten- 
sive changes and improvements were made in the church and Rev. 
John C. Ward was called to the pastorate, serving until March, 1873. In 
June, 1875, Rev. Samuel H. Greene was ordained. The present pas- 
tor. Rev. J. J. Keyes, began his pastorate in 1893. The church edifice 
was burned in 1871, and the society rebuilt its present handsome brick 
church at a cost of $15,000, which was dedicated in June, 1880. 

A Methodist class was formed in Cazenovia as a part of the Cortland 
Circuit which was organized in 1816. Previous to that year services 
had been held in the village by circuit preachers. Rev. William Cam- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 241 

eron formed the class in 1816, and in the next year Elisha Bibbins and 
George Peck were the preachers ; the latter described the Cazenovia 
church as consisting of "John Rowland, his wife and two daughters, 
Grace and Hannah; Eunice Parsons, subsequently extensively known 
as the devoted Sister Cobb, . . Stephen Dodge and his sister; 
Luany Martin, Dolly Codwell, and a few others we cannot name, to- 
gether with some half a dozen who lived out of the village. . . . 
Mr. Rowland owned the grist mill on the outlet, and was a man of 
some means; the remainder of the class were poor, a majority of them 
single persons." There are no records of this church prior to Novem- 
ber 4, 1830, when a meeting was held and the title, The First Society 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Cazenovia was adopted ; Timothy 
Crandall, Russell G. Allen, Whitman Cobb, Augustus W. Smith, Will- 
iam Sherman, Newell Wright, and David B. Johnson were chosen trus- 
tees. A subscription was soon started to obtain funds with which to 
build a chapel, the subscriptions not to be binding unless $3,000 or 
more was subscribed. As only a little less than $3,000 was pledged, 
the project was abandoned. On January 25, 1832, it was resolved to 
raise a fund by selling the pews of a contemplated church to be built 
on the corner lot south of the Seminary, of brick or stone. The sales 
of pews continued at a few intervals until January 1, 1833, at which 
time little more than $4,000 had been realized. In the spring of that 
year work on the building was begun and it was probably finislied dur- 
ing the year. This building was used until 1873, when the present 
fine edifice was completed at a cost, with furnishings, of about $39,000. 
The church was first constituted a charge in 1825, with Rev. Fitch 
Reed, pastor. 

The organization of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in November, 
1844, was the result of meetings which had been held in the high school 
room on the public square. On November 4 of the year named Will- 
iam Greenland, Anson W. Spencer, Sherlock W. Perkins, Martin W. 
Shapley, J. Dean Hawley, Kendrick N. Guiteau, John Ryan, James A. 
White, Rollin A. Mitchell, D. Ira Baker, George Adams, and John 
Adams met for the purposes of incorporating a church. Rev. Mason 
Gallagher was then a missionary in Cazenovia and occupied the chair. 
A resolution of incorporation was adopted and William Greenland and 
Anson W. Spencer were elected wardens, and Martin W. Shapley, Ken- 
drick N. Guiteau, J. Dean Hawley, Sherlock W. Perkins, Charles G. 
Warden, John Ryan, Edward F. Pratt, and David G, Keeler, vestry- 
16 



243 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

men. On December 1, 1844, the congregation worshiped for the first 
time in the room at the northeast corner of the square, which had been 
appropriately fitted for the purpose. Owing to informality in the pro- 
ceedings of organization above described a reincorporation of the church 
was effected November 17, 1845. In January, 1847, a site for a church 
was selected and the edifice there erected was completed and conse- 
crated on December 28, 1848. Rev. J. T. Rose was installed as pastor 
in 1891. 

St. James's Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1849 by Rev. 
Michael Hayes, of Syracuse, who had previously conducted meetings 
in dwellings in the village. The brick church edifice was erected in 
1849-50, and the first services were held there in May of that year. In 
1853 Rev. James Cahill became the resident pastor and was succeeded 
in 1856 for two years by Rev. Michael Rooney. The other pastors 
have been Rev. Bonaventure Carney, 1858-62; Rev. C. P. Brady, 1862- 
75; Rev. C. A. Reilly, 1875-82; Rev. John L. Reilly, 1883-85; Rev. 
Edward M. Brady, 1885, leaving in fall of that year; James L. Mahar, 
1885-95; Rev. Father Doody came October 20, 1895, and is the present 
pastor. The church is a prosperous one, free from debt, owns a good 
parsonage and a cemetery. 

The First Universalist Society was organized March 23, 1853, at a 
meeting at which William G. Burr, Rufus May, and Chester S. Bates 
were chosen trustees. S. B. Ward, Francis Parsons, Thomas Worlock, 
Albert Cook, and Amasa Swift were appointed a building committee 
and their meeting house was built during that year. The society has 
always been small and was served by Revs. C. E. Hewes, D. Skinner, 
J. M. Austin, and J. C. B. Heath. After 1857 only occasional services 
were held. 

There is very little existing record to denote just what was done in 
the very early years for the promotion of education in Cazenovia; but 
it is quite safe to assume that schools were established from the first 
and were supported with such liberality as the circumstances allowed. 
The town was early divided into districts the number of which was for 
many years eighteen. This number was reduced in 1874 by the con- 
solidation of districts Nos. 10, 17 and 21 to form a Union Free School 
district. Two earlier attempts were made for this purpose, which were 
unsuccessful. This district and the old and well known Seminary are 
properly described in the chapter on Education. 

Cazenovia supports an excellent public library containing about 5,000 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 243 

volumes, which is now located in the old Williams Holmes residence. 
This property was purchased by R. H. Hubbard and presented to the 
village for its present purpose. This library was supported during a 
number of 3'ears by individual subscriptions, and partly by fees. The 
present librarian is Miss Emma Hutchinson. 

While the progress thus described was taking place in the central and 
northern parts of this town, similar advancement was made in the 
southern part in the vicinity of New Woodstock, It has already been 
noted that David and Jonathan Smith and Charleville Webber were the 
pioneers in this section of the town, and were soon followed by Isaac 
Warren, Robert Fisher, John Savage and others of the sturdy men who 
subdued the wilderness. A hamlet sprang up on the site of New 
Woodstock at an early day, the place being easily accessible by a good 
road from Cazenovia southward. The Baptist meeting house of the 
parent society was built here in 1803, and a tavern, store and shops 
were soon in existence. The first merchants of whom there is definite 
knowledge were Harvey and Alvin Smith, brothers, who traded from 
181G to 1830; they also established that necessary institution of the 
pioneers, a distillery, which they subsequently sold to Philetus Lathrop. 
Joseph F. Clark was a merchant contemporary with the Smiths, his 
store being opposite theirs, just east of the railroad on the north side of 
the street. He continued in business until his death in 1834. Jesse B. 
Worden was a merchant here from about 1816 to 1819; he left it to be- 
come a Baptist minister. Harvey Morris, from Eaton village, opened 
a store about 1834 in the building that afterwards became a part of the 
store of T. F. Huntley; he continued until his death in 1842. T. M. 
Avery succeeded Mr. Morris. Baum & Stanton were in trade a few 
years previous to the Civil war, and were succeeded in 1862 by O. D. 
Huntley & Son, who came from Sharon, N. Y. ; they continued until 
the death of the father in 1866, when the business was sold to another 
son, T. F. Huntley. He admitted his brother William as a partner a 
year later, who sold back his interest three years afterwards and T. F. 
Huntley continued a few years, when he sold to James Reed and moved 
to Syracuse; after other brief periods of proprietorship the store came 
into possession of Perry Jaqueth and his son. William W. Huntley opened 
a store in 1875 and continued a number of years, when he was succeeded 
by C. A. Fox, present proprietor. E. W. Gunn and F. W. Tucker, as 
the firm of Gunn & Tucker, were in trade before 1880, and the former 
was an earlier merchant, beginning in 1856; his partners at different 



44 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

periods were J. J. Tucker and Alonzo Tucker, who purchased the store 
subsequently occupied by the firm. The hardware business started in 
1865 by R. J. Sunderlin was carried on by Sunderlin & Tucker after 
1867, through the admission of J. J. Tucker as a partner. Henry 
Ryder bought Sunderlin's interest and William Huntley recently pur- 
chased the whole. Orrin S. Smith began trade in 1S66 with John Fer- 
guson, whose interest he purchased a year later. 

New Woodstock has not been noted for manufacturing. The New 
Woodstock Mills, formerly including a flouring mill and a saw mill, 
were built a little before 1840 by Samuel Walker, who had previously 
owned and operated a grist mill and saw mill built in the early years of 
the village by Nathan Smith; these were carried away in a freshet just 
before the present mills were built. The mill property passed to Wal- 
lace & Corbin who sold in 1869 to J. J. Randall. At his death it 
passed to his son-in-law, Merritt C. Wood. 

A wool carding factory was established many years ago on this 
stream below the grist mill, which later was converted into a machine 
shop and cider mill which was subsequently at different times burned 
and rebuilt. In 1855 it passed to possession of G. W. Wightman who 
sold it in 1861 and repurchased it two years later; it was burned in 1862 
and was rebuilt in 1863, and was again burned in 1871 and rebuilt by 
Mr. Wightman in 1873. The property passed to W. H. Gardner and 
from him to the present owner E. K. Gardner. It now consists of a 
saw mill, planer and shingle machine. It has been twice burned since 
1873. 

Silas E. Morse has been in the wagon-making business here since 
1850, during the first five years with Ralph Bell and James L. Savage. 
This shop was ultimately closed. Henry S. Gorton also carried on this 
business many years, but finally failed. 

The first cheese factory in the town was established at this village in 
1863-3 by E. W. Gunn and J. J. Tucker, the merchants before men- 
tioned; it was subsequently owned by J. M. Lounsbury & Sons, and 
has been conducted by G. A. Buckingham since 1883. He also con- 
ducts the milk station and handles the milk of 1,800 cows. Seven other 
cheese factories were afterwards opened between that time and 1873, in 
different sections and for many years this business was very active. A 
factory is now in operation at Webster's, another at the head of the 
lake by Wager & Reynolds, and Burr Wendell has a butter factory near 
the Chenango Valley station. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 245 

Although the legal profession has not been actively represented by 
resident members in the village, a number of physicians have followed 
their profession here in past years. The first doctor in the place was 
Joseph Moffett, who settled here about 1810 and practiced until his 
death in 1820. He was followed by Dr. Levi Gibbs who removed to 
Perry, N. Y., some years later. Dr. Stephen P. Collins was in practice 
from 1828 to 1838. Dr. John Goodell, jr., practiced several years just 
before his death in 1850. Others who were in practice here only short 
periods were Drs. Lorenzo Heffron, C. W. Adams, A. D. Smith Joseph 
Ferry, Franklin W. Root, N. P. Warner and perhaps a few others. 

The only church at New Woodstock besides the Baptist, which has 
been described, is the Methodist, which was organized in 1830; at that 
time it was in the Pompey Circuit. The members of the class at that 
time were L. Davis and wife, N. Abbott and wife, James Allen, B. Pad- 
dock and W. Batchelor. Services were held in the West Woodstock 
school house. The meeting house at New Woodstock was built in 1850 
and was subsequently enlarged and improved. The records are so im- 
complete that a list of the pastors cannot be given. 

Webster's is a station on the Chenango Valley branch of the West 
Shore road about two and a half miles south of Cazenovia. A post- 
office was established about 1876, with P. A. Webster, postmaster. T. 
C. Farrell is the present official. A cheese factory and a milk station 
are the only business interests of the place. 

What are known as Bingley's Mills are situated on the Elmira, Cort- 
land and Northern Railroad, two miles above Cazenovia on Chitte- 
nango Creek. A grist mill was operated here among the first in this sec- 
tion. It was owned by William Atkinson from 1831 until his death in 
1871, and is still operated by members of that family. 

Two miles north of New Woodstock, at what is called Belmont, is a 
grist mill which is now operated by Erastus Seymour. E. P. Jepson 
was a former proprietor a number of years. About a mile above on the 
same stream is a saw mill built by Clark Taber, which has been oper- 
ated many years by the Judd Brothers. 



246 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— HAMILTON. 

Since the organization of Madison county in 1806, the town of Ham- 
ilton, formed from Paris March 5, 1795, the settlement of which has 
been adequately described in an earlier chapter, has been one of the 
most important in the county. While public affairs, legislation, etc., 
in which the town at large was directly and deeply interested have not 
been of such significance as to demand particular attention, the villages 
of Hamilton in the northwest part of the town, Earlville, a part of 
which is in the extreme southwestern part, and Poolville in the central 
part have become business centers of importance, where large interests 
are represented and fine churches, excellent schools, societies, and all 
of the institutions of advanced civilization have been established and 
actively supported. The town as a whole constitutes a rich agricul- 
tural district and in past years was one of those in the county noted for 
extensive cultivation of hops — an industry that in more recent years 
is being superseded by dairying with more reliable and larger profits. 

The early town records, after giving the list of officers and other 
brief proceedings of the first town meeting, held in April, 1795, con- 
tained the customary simple results of votes for the regulation of pub- 
lic affairs as they then existed. Until 1807 the town embraced 
an immense area, including what are now the towns of Lebanon, Eaton 
and Madison, giving such officers as were chosen an extended jurisdic- 
tion and their edicts an influence that was far-reaching. In Hamilton 
village, then a mere cluster of dwellings with a tavern, a store, and a 
few shops, were held the first Courts of Common Pleas in Chenango 
county, of which the town was a part until 1806. The first court met 
in a log school house near the pioneer home of Elisha Payne, in June, 
1798. After the formation of Madison county the courts alternated be- 
tween this school house, and another one in the town of Sullivan. But 
there was very little litigation among the peacefully-inclined people of 
those times; they had had personal interests of greater import to at- 
tract their attention than waiting upon the slow progress of the law. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 247 

Their greatest enemies were not their neighbors, but wild beasts, and 
the young hunters received a considerable revenue during a number of 
years from the bounties offered by the town for killing wolves, bears, 
etc. In 1799 it was voted to give, besides the bounty then in force 
(the amount of which is not stated) "10 Dollars for a Full Grown 
Wolf, 5 for a whelp;" also "to give 1 Dollar as bounty for killing a 
full grown Bear." This indicates the relative amount of damage done 
by those two kinds of beasts. The bounty on wolves continued through 
1801 and in the next year was raised to $25 and $15 respectively for old 
and young animals. This was repealed in 1803. In this town bounties 
were paid for killing crows as late as 1831. 

The early dwellers in the town of Hamilton as now bounded, suffered 
less from many privations than those of other localities. For example 
there was a grist mill at Brookfield from the first, established in 1783, 
a distance then considered short for obtaining the much-desired grind- 
ing. The road was very bad to that mill and many preferred to go to 
New Hartford in Oneida county for a considerable period. In 1797, 
however, when Daniel Wheeler built a grist mill at Lebanon, this source 
of difficulty was removed. A very early mill was built also at Hub- 
bardsville, and in 1810 the grist mill in Hamilton village was built by 
William Pierce and Josiah and Medad Rogers, on the site of the second 
mill, which was also built by them in 1832. The property passed to 
James Furman in 1849, who operated the mill some forty-five years; 
the building is now occupied as an ice storage house. 

The log school house before mentioned as the scene of the first court, 
was built soon after the first settlement, and was an example of others 
erected in different parts of the town before the formation of the 
county, all of which soon gave place to better frame structures, made 
possible by the starting of Ichabod Wheeler's saw mill at this point. 
Frame additions to log dwellings and a few frame houses were built by 
1806, and a three story brick building was erectedin the village in 1816, 
mainly for school purposes. 

Hamilton village was given its first tavern in the dwelling of Elisha 
Payne, from whom the settlement was for a time known as Payne's 
Settlement. In 1802 he built a new tavern on the corner of Broad and 
Lebanon streets, which stood for many years. There was another 
small tavern building erected on the site of the later Park House as 
early as 1800. The log school house disappeared by the beginning of 
the century and a square roofed frame building was erected on what 



248 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was the public green at the head of the later established park. In 
1800, also, Dr. Thomas Greenly had settled in the place, to the great 
relief of the afflicted; Joseph Colwell had a store on the corner of Broad 
and Lebanon streets, as the first merchant in the village, and continued 
in trade until 1816, when he associated with Capt. Esek Steere and 
built a brick store, which was subsequendy rebuilt by Captain Steere. 
The saw mill of Ichabod Wheeler was on the Chenango not far from 
the site of the grist mill. Several churches were in existence in the 
town, as noticed already, and the inhabitants were enjoying most of 
the blessings of life in their new homes. 

Hamilton village was incorporated April 13, 1816, but the early 
records down to 1853 are said to have been kept only in a fragmentary 
manner and many of the leaves of the record book were cut out and 
lost. A still greater calamity followed in the great fire of February 19, 
1895, in which all the records were wholly lost. They were in a safe 
and under all but exceptional circumstances would have been saved; 
but unfortunately the safe fell into a cistern in the cellar of the old hall 
building, the water penetrated the safe and rendered the records almost 
wholly illegible. All the street surveys of the village and the highway 
records of the town, the boundaries of school districts, and other records 
of the greatest value were destroyed. 

From publications already in existence it is learned that at the vil- 
lage meeting of May 2,1819 (the record of which was the first one that 
was complete) Thomas Cox was president; Willian Pierce, 2d, Esek 
Steere, and Thomas Hubbard, trustees; J. Foote, clerk, an office held 
by him as late as 1824. We are able to give the following nearly com- 
plete list of presidents of the village from 1853 to the present time: 

Presidents. — 1853, Lewis Wickwire; 1854, Benjamin B. Babcock; 
1855, Albertus Starr; 1856, John J. Foote; 1857, Eben Curry; 1858-60," 

Erastus D. Wheeler; 1861, George F. Burr; 1862, -. — ;' 1863, D. 

B. West; 1864, Paul R. Miner; 1865 and 1867, Eben Curry; 1866, Will- 
iam N. Case; 1868, Edward E. Welton; 1869, Lyman B. Foster; 1870, 
William F. Bonney; 1871-72, E. W. Foote; 1873, Americus V. Bardeen ; 
1874, F. D. Beebe; 1875-76, Joseph Curtis; 1877, Eugene P. Sisson ; 
1878, David C. Mott; 1879-81, H. W. Keith; 1882, Charles W. Under- 
hill; 1883-86, W. T. Manchester; 1887-95, Eugene P. Sisson; 1896-98, 
N. R. Wickwire. 

' Since 1869, the president, who was previously elected by the trustees, has been elected by 
the inhabitants. 

* The records do not show who was president in 1862. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 249 

Clerks.— 1853, William Fairchild; 1854, Charles Parker; 1855, S. 
Kimball Putnam; 1856, George B. Eaton; 1857-58, Wilber M. Brown; 
1859, William Fairchild; 1860-62, R. F. Randolph; 1863, Erastus 
Wellington;' 1864, Orrin M. Stiles; 1865-67, William Fairchild; 1868, 
Joel Barber;" 1869-70, John M. Banning; 1871, A. Eugene Lewis; 
1S72, George Sperry; 1873, Edward P. Kenyon; 1874-76, David C. 
Mott; 1877-78, E. Watts Cushman ; 1879, C. W. Stapleton ; Barna J. 
Stimson has been village clerk since 1884, when he succeeded Charles 
M. Wickwire, chosen in 1881 and preceded by Joseph Beal, who fol- 
lowed C. W. Stapleton. 

The State legislation affecting Hamilton village is not extensive, In 
the year 1830 the authorities of the village were given authority to 
license the sale of liquors. In 1832 (April 25) the Hamilton Water 
Association was incorporated by an act of the Legislature; Benjamin 
W. Babcock, Thomas Greenly and Seneca B. Burchard, with their as- 
sociates, were incorporators. The capital stock was only $3,000. The 
present water system was not in operation until 1895, as described 
further on. 

In 1840 (May 11) the charter of the village was extensively changed, 
its provisions condensed and materially amended. The election of five 
trustees was provided for, with three assessors, a clerk, a collector and 
three fire wardens. The trustees were given broader powers for the 
conduct of village government upon lines more in consonance with 
the dictates of experience up to that time. 

Again in 1868 the charter was still further changed in chapter 435, 
to which the reader is referred for details. Only comparatively 
unimportant amendments have since been made, as found in chapter 
250, laws of 1870; chapter 18, laws of 1874; chapter 142, laws of 1875; 
and chapter 166, laws of 1877, which repealed all former laws and now 
is the governing charter. At the annual elections there are elected a 
president, two assessors, a treasurer, clerk, a street commissioner, a 
collector and two fire wardens, all of whom hold office one year. The 
Board of Trustees consists of six members, two of whom are elected 
each year. 

The Hamilton Fire Department was organized May 19, 1830, though 
there were facilities of some nature for extinguishing fire previous to 
that time, the records of which are lost. At the meeting of the trus- 

' William Fairchild was appointed clerk, June IT, 1863, vice Wellington resigned. 
• E. D. Van Slyck was elected clerk, June 15, 1868, vice Barber resigned. 



250 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tees on the date named the following named persons were appointed 
firemen: Ferdinand Walker, Marcus Clark, Thomas Barton, John O. 
Crocker, J. Addison Mott, James Putnam, J. Franklin Munger, Philo A. 
Orton, Fay N. Harvey, Erastus D. Wheeler, Hiram Upham, Joshua Wil- 
lard, Ransom Hayward, David Bellows, Horace Pierce, Samuel Morse 
and Hiram Savage. This was doubtless the first legally constituted 
fire company in the village. 

Fountain Fire Company No. 1 was organized July 31, 1873, with thirty- 
seven members, and Fountain Hose Company with fourteen members. 
The first officers under this organization were: H. T. Wilcox, chief en- 
gineer; Eli Barber, first assistant engineer. On November 13, 1876, 
the trustees authorized Fountain Fire Company to incorporate under 
the provisions of chapter 397 of the law of May 2, 1873. Three years 
later, in 1879, the chief engineer reported the following equipment of 
the department: One Button hand engine, one hose jumper, 200 feet 
leather hose, 200 feet " ante-speptic" (antiseptic?) hose, 50 feet rubber 
hose, 50 feet linen hose, (500 feet hose all in good order,) two fire-hooks 
with poles, four fire axes, one fire-hook, chain and rope, one alarm bell, 
five ladders, three lanterns. There were twenty-nine engine men and 
twenty two hosemen, and seventy uniforms. L. R. Fairchild was chief 
engineer, A. M. Russell, first assistant, T. H. Beal, second assistant. 

In 1888 a Button steam engine was purchased, with two hose jump- 
ers and 1,000 feet of new hose. Since that time about 1,500 feet of 
hose has been kept on hand. 

The establishment of the present Hamilton water supply system 
brought the fire department under entirely new conditions. A reor- 
ganization was effected under which there were two hose companies in 
service, composed of about twenty-five men each, and a hook and lad- 
der company, which is now acting as a hose pending the purchase of a 
truck. The old steamer is to be sold. In 1897 the village gave the 
old hand engine to the department. It is known throughout the State 
for its past great efficiency and the number of contests in which it has 
been the victor. Three hose carts and 1,000 feet of hose are in use; 
the carts will ere long be superseded by two hose wagons. The officers 
of the department are Carl Baum, president; A. P. Lewis, vice-presi- 
dent; J. S. Kimberly, secretary; W. H. Case, treasurer; Thomas H. 
Beal, chief engineer; Charles O. Wedge, assistant engineer. 

The water supply of the present works was turned into the mains at 
the same date in August, 1895, with the introduction of electric light- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 251 

ing. The water supply is taken from Spring Lake and flows by gravity 
two miles through a tile main to a filter bed and thence into a well whence 
it is pumped into a stand-pipe of 200,000 gallons capacity, giving a 
pressure in the pipes of 100 pounds to the square inch. The works are 
owned by the village and give the citizens an abundant supply of pure 
water at a nominal cost. 

The electric lighting plant, also owned by the village, is one of the 
best in the State. The power is supplied by boiler and engine set up 
in duplicate, so that in case of accident in either the lighting or water 
works, there need be no stoppage. The present commission consists of 
William W. West, president; James M. Taylor, secretary; Melvin Tripp, 
treasurer. 

The post-office was established at Hamilton at an early date, but there 
are no available records of the ofSce back of 1853, when H. G. Beards- 
ley was appointed postmaster, to be succeeded in 1861 by George F. 
Burn. E. R. Bardeen was appointed in 1866, and was succeeded by 
Benjamin F. Bonney, in 1869. He held the office more than ten years 
and was followed by E. W. Cushman, he by T. H. Beal, he by G. C. Wal- 
dron, and he by George Beal, and he by E. W. Cushman, present post- 
master. 

Contemporaneous with the first store of Joseph Colwell, before men- 
tioned, was that of Charles Clark, who came at the same or about the 
same time with Colwell, and opened a store in which from about 1805 
he was associated with James Dorrance. Charles T. Deering kept a 
store in that location a little later and continued to about 1810, when he 
built on the opposite side of the street, in conjunction with Henry M. 
Graves, a brick block. In that year also Colwell and Esek Steere built 
a brick store. 

Soon after 1800 Henry M. Graves and Samuel Dascom opened a store 
in a red building on the site of J. B. Grant's book store; the property 
was then owned by Dr. Thomas Greenly, whose daughter Mr. Dascom 
married. A few year later Messrs. Graves and Fargo were in business 
in the same store. Lewis B. Goodsell and a Mr. Sparrow were in mer- 
cantile business here a little later, and still later, Rufus Bacon and 
Ferdinand Walker were merchants; Mr. Bacon continued a little later 
than 1821, and the others named, excepting Walker, who confined to 
1852 and failed, were out of trade previous to that year. Bacon sold out 
to his brother Ezra who became associated with Julius Candee, but con- 
tinued only a few years. 



252 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In 1821 Joseph Mott came from Bridgewater and opened a store and 
in the next year started in trade with drugs, as the first in that line in the 
village, placing his son, Smith Mott, in charge. Soon after the elder 
Mott's death in 1824 the business passed to John Foote, who carried it 
on fifteen years and was succeeded by his son, John J. Foote; he in 1854 
took as partner Benjamin F. Bonney. In 1866 the firm was succeeded 
by John C. Foote, son of John J., and James K. Welton, and the firm of 
Bonney & Welton continued many years. Mr. Bonney's father, Benja- 
min Bonney, was a pioneer of this town in 1808, settling about a mile 
north of the Center. 

Joseph Mott, who was the first druggist, was a merchant in general 
goods also, both here and in Utica. In 1830 the son, Smith Mott, 
joined in partnership with his brother, Joseph Addison Mott, under the 
firm name of S. & J. A. Mott and continued in trade until 1833. Upon 
the dissolution of the firm at that time J. A. Mott formed a partnership 
with Amos Crocker, purchased his interest a year later and and contin- 
ued in trade until 1847. Smith Mott, after the dissolution, became a 
partner with Judge Philo Gridley, purchased the latter's interest about 
three years later and took in Otis B. Howe. This firm dissolved a few 
years later and for a period Mr. Mott's son, T. S. Mott, was in trade 
with his father. 

Sanford Boon was an early jeweler, beginning in 1836, and erected 
the building afterwards occupied by the bank. In 1839 Esek Steere, 
John Foote, and John J. Foote established a hardware business under 
the firm name of E. Steere & Co., until 1846 and for many years later 
as Foote & Gaskell. 

O. L. Woodruff opened a general store in 1849 in company with John 
Owen and Erastus F. Wellington, and continued in trade either with 
others or alone more than thirty years. Mrs. L. A. Rice was a milliner 
of 1846 and continued thirty years or more. Robert Patterson opened 
a boot and shoe store in 1800 and is still in business. Valentine Piot- 
row established a ready-made clothing store in 1860 and is succeeded by 
his son, Fi-ederick G. Piotrow. Melvin Tripp, grocer, and W. K. Lip- 
pitt, began trade in 1865 and continued many years. J. M. Banning & 
Co. carried on a drug business some years from 1866, and John Harmon, 
hardware, and A. E. Lewis, clothier, were in business twenty years ago, 
Mr. Lewis still continuing. Mr. Harmon now conducts the mills at the 
station. Joseph L. Kelly was engaged in the book business beginning 
in 1871 and continuing ten or more years. A. E. B. Campbell began 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 253 

the manufacture and sale of furniture in 1873, succeeding to an estab- 
lishment that was started early in the history of the village, as related 
a little further on. Mr. Campbell was succeeded by Rowlands & Beal. 

Francis J. and Elmer C. Root began the drug trade in 1873 as Root 
Brothers; E. C. Root still continues in the same line, with groceries. A. 
W, Bartle was in the grocery business a number of years from 1874, 
and L M. Roycein 1875 began the grocery and crockery business which 
he still carries on. A. C. Rice began grocery business in 1876 and Peter 
McMorrow and John Bradin, as the firm of McMorrow & Co., opened 
a dry goods business in 1878. In the same year F. N. Tompkins estab- 
lished his jewelry business which he still conducts. James L. Bright 
opened a hardware business in 1878 and in the next year J. P. Butler 
engaged in grocery trade. 

The foregoing brief notes tell the story of almost all of the early and 
some of the present mercantile estabhshments of the village. For a list 
of the many other present merchants the reader must be referred to 
the Gazetteer in later pages. 

Hamilton village has never been noted for extensive manufactures 
and those of the present day are not at all important. While the place 
was remarkably active in a business sense from the date of beginning 
the Chenango Canal in 1834 for a number of years and the most enthu- 
siastic anticipations were indulged in by many of the more sanguine 
inhabitants, the trend was not especially strong towards permanent 
manufacturing industries. It was during the period soon after the be- 
ginning of the canal that building operations received their first real 
impetus. Hiram Savage and his associates put up the Exchange Build- 
ings; Mr. Savage was one of the very early tin and hardware dealers. 
The Commercial Block also was built in that period, and the Eagle 
Hotel, and a Mr. Wadsworth erected a third public house near the new 
canal, now occupied as a store by M. M. Wilcox. 

Cabinet making, or furniture manufacture as we more frequently term 
it in these later days, was among the earliest industries of Hamilton, 
as in many other villages before machinery was brought to bear upon 
that work to the extent it now is. James Higgins began cabinet 
making in the village in 1810 and was the first in the business here. 
He sold to Erastus Wheeler who had learned the trade with Higgins. 
In 1827, about two years after he purchased the business, Mr. Wheeler 
removed it to Lebanon street and about 1840 took Wilson Parker into 
partnership. Ten years later Charles B. Gardiner purchased Wheeler's 



254 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

interest and the firm of Parker & Gardiner continued until 1864, when 
Mr. Parker sold to Madison Hall. In 1871 Gardiner sold his interest 
to Madison Leach, who in 1873 sold to Archibald B. Campbell. The 
next year Mr. Campbell purchased Mr. Hall's interest. Mr. Campbell 
continued a number of years and the factory was subsequently oper- 
ated for a time by J. N. Rowlands and others, to finally come into pos- 
session of Rowlands & Beal, who conduct a furniture and undertaking 
business, but do not manufacture. 

A tannery was built by Thomas Orton not long after 1810, which 
early became the property of Esek vSteere, and about 1870 passed to 
Charles J. Johnson. He operated it some years when it was burned 
and not rebuilt. 

A foundry and machine shop was established before 1830, which 
passed through a large number of proprietorships. Henry Powers 
operated it many years and in 1875 it passed into possession of F. B. 
Wilcox and Amos Beebe and was operated by Mr. Wilcox until his 
death. 

A sash, door and blind factory was established in 1872 by John Har- 
mon and Charles Stringer who continued it three years, when Washing- 
ton E. Brown purchased Harmon's interest. A year later Brown sold 
to Charles Stringer. It passed from him to Eugene Wedge, then to 
Wedge & Allen and from them to the present Hamilton Lumber Com- 
pany; the plant is now substantially idle. 

A wire cloth factory was operated here for some years by the Hamil- 
ton Wire Cloth Company, of which Frank Root was president. The 
plant burned in 1895 and was not rebuilt. It became the property of a 
syndicate. 

The first mills in the village have been noticed. A large storehouse 
was refitted and converted into a steam grist mill in 1878, by Adon N. 
Smith. He and several others operated it until it was burned and not 
rebuilt. When burned it was the property of Hitchcock & Gavin. 

There is a feed mill in operation at the depot, and a machine shop 
also near there which is operated by Dwight Graham. 

The old Park Hotel was built soon after the opening of this century 
by Artemas Howard and was long a celebrated hostelry. In 1822 he 
exchanged the property with John D. Blish for a tavern in Lebanon. 
Blish kept the hotel until 1840, enlarging the building in the mean time. 
Several later enlargements gave it its latest form and dimensions. 
William and Samuel Russell succeeded Mr. Blish as landlords and a 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 255 

few years later Bonney & Lewis took the house, followed by Thomas 
Nye, Eli Barber, John Ingalls, C. T, Alvord who was succeeded by W. 
G. Lippitt, the present proprietor. 

The Eagle Hotel was built in 1834 by a stock company, prominent 
in which was Curtis Porter. What became the wing of the house, on the 
north, had previously been a dwelling built and occupied by Charles 
Williams. The hotel was built of stone, four stories high above the 
basement. It had various proprietors, but has fallen into partial decay, 
the wing part being occupied as a restaurant. 

The Maxwell House was built in the fall of 1895 and opened by 
M. F. Maxwell, who was succeeded by his widow and she by John 
Keegan. 

Dr. Thomas Greenly has been mentioned as the first physician to 
settle permanently in Hamilton. He was long a prominent citizen 
who took an active interest in all public affairs. The second phy- 
sician in the village was Dr. Peter B. Havens, a graduate of Hamil- 
ton College, who practiced here until his death in 1860, attaining a 
high reputation as a surgeon. He married Martha C. Clark, of Buf- 
falo. His former home is now occupied by J. W. Clark; but previ- 
ous to that he built and resided in for a time the building afterwards 
used for the Female Seminary, which was sold by him to C. C. Buell, 
the founder of the seminary. Dr. Havens then purchased the resi- 
dence subsequently occupied by his son, Dr. Peter B., who also prac- 
ticed here until his death. The house is now occupied by J. W. Clark; 
it was built by Dr. John Babcock, a bachelor, who resided there with 
his mother and sister. He and his brother. Dr. Benjamin Waite Bab- 
cock, came hither about 1830 and practiced in partnership or alone a 
number of years. 

Other former physicians were Dr. Henry G. Beardsley, Dr. Samuel 
Peck, who removed to Peterboro; Dr. J. S. Douglass, who was in prac- 
tice fifteen years and went west; Dr. J. Trevor, who practiced a year; 
Dr. Mortimer W. Crawe, who practiced from about 1857 until the war 
and served as assistant surgeon in the 157th Regiment and now resides 
in Watertown; Dr. W. B. Brown, who removed to Rochester in 1865; 
Dr. William Oaks, who came from DeRuyter about 1857 and continued 
to his death in 1863; and perhaps a few others. Gilbert L. Gifford, a 
native of Brookfield, is now in practice in Hamilton, as also is Hull S. 
Gardiner. Other present physicians are Drs. O. S. Langworthy, who 
was formerly associated with Dr. Frank D. Beebe, a prominent citizen 



256 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and a surgeon in the Civil war, now deceased ; F. O. Lloyd began prac- 
tice in 189-2; and Dr. G. W. Wilcox. 

In early years Hamilton was the home of several lawyers of distinc- 
tion, the first of whom was Nathaniel King, a native of Amenia, N. Y., 
born December 36, 1767, and graduated from Yale in 1793. Resettled 
in this village in 1797; was the first representative from Chenango 
county in the Assembly and twice in later years. He rose to the rank 
of major-general in the militia and served at Sackett's Harbor in the 
war of 1812. In 1809 he was appointed district attorney for the Ninth 
District, which included Madison, Cortland, Onondaga, Cayuga and 
Chenango counties. He was one of the founders of Hamilton College 
and the first teacher in that institution. He died in Hamilton July 25, 
1848. 

The second attorney to locate here was Thomas Hill Hubbard, a na- 
tive of New Haven, Conn., and a graduate of Yale. He settled in 
Hamilton about 1805 and continued in practice until 1824, when he re- 
moved to Utica where he died in 1857. He was the first surrogate of 
Madison county (1806-1816), and was then appointed district attorney 
for the Sixth District. He was also the first district attorney of Madi- 
son county; was elected to Congress in 1817 and again in 1831, and in 
Utica was appointed clerk of the Supreme Court. 

Other early attorneys of prominence who practiced in this village 
were John G. Stower, who studied with Mr. Hubbard and was his 
partner until 1834; was surrogate from 1831 to 1837, representative in 
Congress in 1827-39, and State senator 1833-35. Judge Philo Gridley 
was for a short time a partner with Mr. Stower, and removed to Utica. 
John Foote studied law with Mr. Hubbard and began practice about 
1813, which continued through his long life until recent years. He was 
father of Hon. John J. Foote. Charles Mason settled in Hamilton to 
take the place of Philo Gridley when the latter removed to Utica, was 
appointed circuit judge in 1838; was appointed district attorney of 
Madison county in 1845 and two years later was elected justice of the 
Supreme Court for the Sixth Judicial District and was re-elected. In 
January, 1868 he was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Court of Ap- 
peals and in 1870 was made clerk of the United States Circuit Court and 
removed to Utica. 

John Adams Smith was for a period a partner with Thomas H. Hub- 
bard and an early practitioner at the bar. Lorenzo Sherwood settled 
in Hamilton in 1839, coming from De Ruyter where he had been in 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 257 

practice a few years in company with James W. Nye. Mr. Sherwood's 
system developed consumption and he removed to Texas, while Mr. 
Nye, who had formed a partnership with him in Hamilton, continued 
in practice here until his election to the office of surrogate in 1844. He 
was elected county judge in 1847 and soon after the close of his term 
removed to Syracuse and later to New York city. 

From 1845 to 1848 Albert N. Sheldon and James B. Eldredge were 
partners in law practice and Mr. Sheldon is still in the profession. He 
was elected district attorney in 1859. Mr. Eldredge was in the Assem- 
bly three terms and was elected county judge in 1833; died in 1864. 
Henry C. Goodwin and David J. Mitchell were a conspicuous law firm 
at a little later period, but both died before reaching their prime, the 
former in Hamilton and the latter in Syracuse. 

Joseph Mason and David Gerry Wellington, formerly partners, are 
still in practice but in separate offices. Mr. Mason is a native of Platts- 
burgh and settled in Hamilton about 1843; was elected county judge 
in 1863, and representative in Congress in 1878. Mr. Wellington was 
elected to the Assembly in 1867 and again in 1874, was a member of 
the last Constitutional Convention, and held other offices. 

Samuel D. White, born in Nelson, February 16, 1835, and Charles 
W. Underhill, born in Bedford, N. Y., December 27, 1841, have been 
in practice many years. Hosmer H. Keith, formerly in practice, re- 
moved to South Dakota, and William M. Hartshorn, a native of Leb- 
anon, after a number of years' practice, removed west to engage in real 
estate business. Barna J. Stimson, born in Erieville, April 24, 1837, 
has been in practice many years. A. Smith Sheldon is in partnership 
with his father, Albert N. Sheldon; James W. Welch and E. W. Cush- 
man (also postmaster) constitute the present bar of the village. 

It was not until 1817 that Hamilton had a newspaper, nine years 
later than one was started in Peterboro and simultaneously with the 
starting of the Gazette and Madison County Advertiser, also in Peter- 
boro. The Hamilton Recorder was founded in 1817 by John G. Stower 
and Dr. Peter B. Havens. Two years later it passed to the firm of 
Stower & Williams and a little later was published by John P. Van Sice. 
In 1829 it was removed to Morrisville and consolidated with the Madi- 
son Observer, which had been established in Cazenovia in January, 
1821, and removed the following year to Morrisville. 

The Hamilton Courier was started in February, 1834, by G. R. Wald- 
ron; the name was soon changed to the Hamilton Courier and Madison 

17 



258 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

County Advertiser and the paper was discontinued in 1838. In that 
year the Hamilton Palladium was established by John Atwood and con- 
tinued six years. During the single year 1839 G. R. Waldron published 
the Hamilton Eagle. In 1842 Mr. Waldron and Wallace W. Chubbuck 
started the Democratic Reflector, which they continued about six 
months, when Waldron acquired Chubbuck's interest and within a year 
took in Arthur M. Baker. Baker's interest was bought by Waldron in 
1854, and in 185G the paper was consolidated with the Madison County 
Journal, which was established in September, 1849, by E F; & C. B. 
Gould. At different periods thereafter W. W. Chubbuck, F. B. Fisher 
and Thomas L. James (later postmaster of New York city) were inter- 
ested in the establishment. When the two papers were consolidated 
the name was changed to The Democratic Republican and the publi- 
cation was continued by Waldron & James until 1860, when the latter 
sold his interest to J. Hunt Smith, to whom Waldron also sold out in 
1861. Smith sold to his father, Adon Smith, a few months later and 
about six months afterwards he transferred it to A. Lord ; from him it 
passed to E. D. Van Slyke, formerly publisher of a paper in Cortland, 
in February, 1863. He was succeeded by W. E. Tooke, from whom it 
again passed to Mr. Van Slyke who sold to the present proprietors, 
Hawkins & Elliott (Herbert H. Hawkins and Fletcher M. Elliott). 
The Democratic Republican is now one of the leading journals of the 
interior of New York State. 

In October, 1856, Levi S. Backus started the Democratic Union in 
Hamilton. In the next year it passed to possession of W. H. Baker, 
who continued the paper in Hamilton until 1803, when he removed it 
to Oneida, where it is still continued, as described in the history of that 
village. 

The only other newspaper of Hamilton of any considerable perma- 
nence was the Democratic Volunteer, which was started as the Inde- 
pendent Volunteer in July, 1863, by George R Waldron and J. M. 
Chase ''and was published simultaneously here and in Morrisville; after 
1866 it was confined to Hamilton. Waldron acquired Chase's interest 
and two years later took as a partner George G. Waldron. When the 
Morrisville edition was stopped the name of the paper was changed to 
Waldron's Democratic Volunteer. Waldron & Son continued the pub- 
lication until 1875, when the elder partner was compelled to relinquish 
his labor on account of blindness from disease contracted in the army. 
The paper was ably conducted, had a large circulation, but ivas discon- 
tinued i'fter the great fire. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 259 

The village of Earlville, in this town, noticed a little further on, has 
supported a good newspaper for many years. The Earlville Recorder 
was started December 9, 187G, by Frank W. Godfred, but about two 
months closed its existence. The Earlville Enterprise was started April 
5, 1878, by Eugene M: Lansing. The paper was at first only 16 by 33 
inches in size, but it was enlarged three times within the first year of its 
existence and met with excellent success, for a time, but was finally dis- 
continued. 

The Earlville Standard was established in 1886 by L. D. Blanchard, 
who sold out to Burch& Briggs in November, 1895. It is a successful 
independent weekly journal. 

Succeeding the formation of the First Baptist Church in Hamilton 
village in 1796, which has been described, there was no other formal 
church organization perfected in the village until 1838, unless it was, 
perhaps, a Methodist class, of which records are not in existence. The 
Congregational Church of Hamilton Village, as the title stood, was 
formed in the year just named, with eight members, at the house of 
John Foote. Services were held a year in the brick academy, until the 
first church edifice was completed. That was burned in 1851, but im- 
mediately rebuilt, and in 1871 was remodeled and greatly improved at 
a cost $4,000. The first pastor was Rev. Pindar Field. A severe 
storm in June, 1874, damaged the building considerably, but it was at 
once repaired. There are now nearly a 175 members and the society is 
prosperous. 

In a brief memoir of Gen. Nathaniel King is found a statement that 
the first Methodist preachers to labor in Hamilton came in 1819, at 
about which time there was a strong awakening of religious feeling in 
the county. The first class was probably formed in the village that 
winter, with James Higgins, leader; he was succeeded by Stephen 
Stocking. General King was a member and a zealous worker. The 
meagre history of this society can only be drawn from what is remem- 
bered by the older members. The society long labored against a dis- 
couraging environment and the membership has never been large. 
During many years prior to 1836 the meetings were held in a small 
chapel which stood about two miles northeast of the village. The pres- 
ent church building was erected on the corner of John and Charles 
streets and there remained until 1867, when it was removed to its pres- 
ent locati in. A handsome parsonage was erected in 1895-6. The 
church membership is about 140 and the present pastor is Rev. Mr. 
Reynolds. j 



260 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

St. Thomas Episcopal Church was incorporated September 21, 1835, 
by Rev. L. A. Barrows, the pastor who had held services in the acad- 
emy. Alanson Munger and G. B. Stevens were elected wardens, and 
George Williams, John D. Blish, Peter B. Havens, Ferdinand Walker, 
Lewis Wickwire, William R. H. Treadway, John Atwood, and Nelson 
Fairchild, vestrymen. The organization of the society took place about 
a year before the incorporation. From 1835 to 1846 the church records 
are lost; it was, however, in the latter year that the church edifice was 
built through the persevering efforts of a few generous persons. In July, 
1847, Rev. Edward De Zeng was invited to the church, and he re- 
mained about a year, to be succeeded by Rev. D. C. Millett. He was 
succeeded in 1850 by Rev. S. H. Norton, during whose rectorship the 
church was enlarged. The present pastor is Rev. A. H. Rogers. 

St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized in October, 1869, as the 
Church of the Immaculate Conception, by Rev. Anthony P. Ludden,who 
had officiated in services in this vicinity for some time previous. A 
mission was founded in Hamilton about 1854 by Father McCabe, who 
was succeeded by Father Charles Brady, then located in Norwich ; he 
officiated about five years from 1856. Fathers James McDermott, P. 
B. McNulty and Daniel O'Connell then filled the interval until 1869. 
Father Ludden came and a separate mission was established and the 
first church was built in that year. It was a frame building and was 
blown down on June 6, 1874. A temporary chapel was then built 
which was in use until the completion of the church edifice in 1880. 
The congregation is a large one and the church is prosperous. Father 
Ludden was succeeded in 1880 by Rev. W. B. Hannett, under whose 
pastorate the pretty church at West Eaton was built. The present pas- 
tor, Rev. J. V. MacDonnell, was appointed in January, 1890. The 
church owns the St. Joseph's cemetery, purchased in 1873, and the 
parochial house, which was formerly the frame church. 

The present Hamilton Union School was formed by the union of the 
three districts formerly including the territory of the village in 1853. 
In each of these was then a poor school house and the better class of 
citizens were determined that a change should be effected. At the 
meeting held for the purpose a fierce strife was engendered over the 
matter and it was 2 o'clock a. m. before an affirmative vote was made. 
A Board of Education was then elected, consisting of Charles Payne, 
Charles Gardiner, Abram Sanford, Samuel S. Abbott, Mulford Rogers, 
James L. Fay, Horace B. Burchard, Alonzo Thurston, and Albert N. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON, 261 

Sheldon. Mr. Payne was chosen president. At a later meeting a tax 
was voted for the purchase of a site for a Union school building. On 
account of the claim that the proceedings of the meeting were invalid, 
many of the citizens refused to pay the tax. The matter was finally re- 
ferred to the Supreme Court, which decided in favor of the Board of 
Education, and before 1855 a new school building was erected and the 
old conditions passed away. Henry L. Sherrill was the first principal 
and the school became very popular. 

The Hamilton Female Seminary, established in 1856 by Clinton C. 
Buell, and Madison University are properly noticed in Chapter XXIV. 

The second largest village in this town is Earlville, portions of which, 
however, are within the bounds of Lebanon in Madison county and 
Sherburne and Smyrna in Chenango county. The principal part of the 
village is in Hamilton. It is pleasantly situated between the two branches 
of the Chenango which join a short distance below the village. It is a 
station on the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley, the New 
York, Ontario and Western railroads, and the southern terminus of the 
Chenango Valley branch of the West Shore road. In early years the 
place was known as the Forks, from its situation between the branches 
of the river, and the village and post-ofifice retained that name until 
1834 when the construction of the Chenango Canal gave the inhabitants 
new hopes of future business importance and a desire for a more pre- 
tentious title; Earlville was chosen in honor of Canal Commissioner 
Earl. The village had little business importance until after the build- 
ing of the canal. 

Settlement began early along the Chenango in this vicinity, as already 
noticed, the pioneers, Major Bigelow Waters and Charles Otis (1795), 
being soon followed by the other adventurous spirits. A little north 
of the business center of the place was early concentrated a little busi- 
ness industry, by the establishment there in 1811 of a tannery by Jared 
Pardee; it stood on the site of the later tannery. A tavern was built 
near by of which James B. Eldredge was proprietor; he was also the 
first postmaster. Erastus Daniels erected and operated a large dis- 
tillery in early years, and Mr. Pardee enlarged his tannery and took as 
a partner a Mr. Crain. It subsequently passed through several hands 
and ultimately to N. W. Torrey. The establishment as it came to him 
was built in 1851. It was burned in the great fire of 1886. 

The post-office at the village was established about 1824 with Dr. 
Consider H. Stacy, postmaster. The entire list of officials cannot be 



263 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

given, but C. L. Cotton was in the position from 1861 more than twenty 
years and his successors have been Newell Douglass, I. W. Rowe, L. 
R. Nash, B. B. Wilcox, and S. B. Cloyes. 

Joseph Stowell was the first physician in the place and purchased a 
farm west of the village and extending across the river. He was fol- 
lowed by Dr. Stacy, and later physicians have been Drs. James Shef- 
field, who died in 1849; Laban Tucker and D. Ransom who practiced 
before 1840; A. S. Nichols, J. A. Ressegieu, Andrew S. Douglass and 
a few others. The present physicians are Dr. H. H. White and Dr. 
Earl Wilcox. 

Joseph Whitmore, attorney, settled in the village in 1843 and con- 
tinued in practice about six years, when he removed to Michigan. Al- 
fred Nichols, a native of Hamilton, opened an office about 1851 and 
practiced to 1869, when he removed to Sherburne. Ernest C. Dart 
opened an office in 1879. The present attorneys are S. B. Cloyes and 
E. N. Cushman. 

There was very little if any mercantile business done in this village 
before the opening of the canal; it was a mere settlement about the 
mills and the distillery and tannery. But with the construction of the 
water way a new order of affairs was inaugurated. Marvan Tanner 
opened a store, which he continued a number of years, and about the 
same time Henry Waters also engaged in mercantile trade. Orange 
Waite was another merchant prior to 1840 and continued in trade sev- 
eral years, to be succeeded by Sidney B. Webb and Thomas Kershaw 
in the same store in partnership. About 1847 the partnership was dis- 
solved and Kershaw continued the business five or six years and sold 
to Higgins & Hendrick; a few years later Hendrick withdrew and 
Higgins sold to Horace A. Campbell, who continued only a short time. 
Webb & Kershaw in 1843 built a new store, which was connected 
with two others of wood; two others of brick stood on the northwest 
corner and all of these were burned October 12, 1858. William Felt 
built his brick block there in the next year. Mr Campbell was suc- 
ceeded in trade by Henry R. Long. Spencer and Ely Willis, two farm- 
ers from Lebanon, carried on business before 1840 and failed in 1841. 
Charles G. Otis and Job Collins also were merchants of that period and 
went out of bu.siness before 1840. Otis B. Howe and Benjamin F. 
Skinner began trade in 1843; about two years later Skinner bought his 
partner's interest and took as partner John Blish ; they continued until 
1847. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 263 

After the failure of himself and brother, Spencer Willis formed a 
partnership with Amos Bigsby and Charles Billings and began the sale 
of the Willis stock of goods; the business closed in a few months. Will- 
iam Willis and his brother traded a few months in 1858 up to the date of 
the fire. Wolcott Leavenworth opened a store about 1847 and was in 
trade until about 1858. Nicanor Brownell and E. Volney Chapin, na- 
tives of Hamilton, opened a store in 18G3 or 1863, the business being 
sold to Chapin two years later, who soon sold to O. W. Leavenworth & 
Brother; they continued about a year, A little later O. W. Leavenworth 
formed a partnership with William O. Bancroft under the style of Ban- 
croft & Leavenworth, who continued a few years and failed. Leaven- 
worth then resumed business alone and continued until 1879. A few 
other merchants sold goods in the past, but mostly for only short periods. 

George King began as a hat and cap dealer in 1869; I. W. Rowe be- 
gan jewelry trade in 1873; N. L. Douglass, druggist, began in 1873, and 
is still in trade; Le Roy Nash, grocer, commenced in 1877, and Gorham, 
Cushman & Co., in 1878. Chaphe & Morgan opened hardware trade in 
1879, a business now followed by F. D. Morgan. W. H. Williamson 
opened a grocery, and Ambrose W. Rice a jewelry store in 1879. 

Other present merchants of the village are C. W. Smith, R. P. Hall, 
R. H. Williamson, Casety & Miller, and Cushman & Brainerd, general 
merchants, L. W. Farr and F. C. Buell (former partners) in hardware, 
succeeding Tillotson Brothers, J. L. Rowe, Jennings & Taylor, L. L. 
Sawdy, groceries, confectionery, tobacco, etc. ; George E. Bergen, jew- 
elry; A. M. Hoadley, clothing, etc.; Eugene Pierce, harness dealer; 
Todd & Gurney, lumber and builders' supplies ; C. F. Foster, furniture 
and undertaking. S. B. Cloyes and Parker Newton are engaged in in- 
surance business. 

The Earlville grist and saw mills were built in the summer of 1839 
by William Felt, who operated them twenty-seven years and at his 
death in June, 1866, bequeathed them to William Babcock, whose 
father, Thomas Babcock, had been Mr. Felt's miller during the whole 
period. The mill building is now occupied by the Parsons Low-Down 
Wagon Works. 

In comparatively recent years considerable miscellaneous manufac- 
turing has corne into existence in the village. The Earlville Furniture 
Works were established by S. Bentley in 1886, and were managed by 
E. C. and G. D. Bentley, who were from New Berlin. The firm pur- 
chased property on East Main street and employed about twenty men. 



t/ 



264 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The building was struck by lightning in 1893 and burned and the firm 
rebuilt the same year on the same site. The firm failed in 1816. 

The Arnold Furniture Company removed hither from Fayetteville in 
1890 and built their present factory for the manufacture of desks, etc. 
About thirty men are employed. The officers of the company are L. 
S. Arnold, president; H. C. Allen, vice-president; L. W. Arnold, secre- 
tary and treasurer. 

The C. L. Cotton Perfumery and Extract Company was the successor 
of a small extract business established in 1878 by C. L. Cotton, the 
druggist. The present stock company was incorporated in 1893 with 
nominal capital of $50,000. Five traveling salesmen are employed and 
the goods of the company are widely known. The officers of the com- 
pany are C. L. Cotton, president; Henry G. Green, vice-president; F. E. 
Williams, secretary and treasurer; F. C. Devolant and H. C. Allen are 
additional directors. 

The M. C. Dermott- Bergen Dairy Company operate a milk station at 
N. Y. O. station, taking about 7,000 pounds of milk daily. 

J. N. Holmes began the manufacture of wagons in 1870 on East Hill, 
and subsequently moved into the village where he continues. J. D. 
Washburn also has a carriage and blacksmith business. 

The Parsons Low-Down Wagon Company was incorporated in 1891 
with a capital of $.50,000. The business was established in 1887 by J. 
R. Parsons. In January 1, 1898, the establishment became a private 
industry and the title was changed to the Parsons Low-Down Wagon 
Works. A wagon of low construction is largel)' manufactured, about 
fifty hands being employed. 

The First National Bank of Earlville was incorporated December 15, 
1890, with the following officers: H. G. Greene, president; George B. 
Whitmore, vice-president; Guy H. Clark, cashier. The capital stock 
was $50,000. The first board of directors consisted of the above named 
officers and N. L. Douglass, C. L. Cotton, George E. Nash, A. K. 
Dixon, H. C. Allen, John Dow, H. H. White, H. Clay Ackley, Charles 
G. Brooks and I. Newton Niles. The only change in the officers of the 
bank has been the substitution of George E. Nash for George B. Whit- 
more as secretary; Abel Comstock for A. K. Dixon; H. A. Truesdell 
for I. N. Niles; C. W. Smith for George B. Whitmore, and W. O. 
Clark for H. Clay Ackley. 

With the completion of the canal, further hotel accommodations were 
needed in the village, and what became known as Brown's Hotel was 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 265 

built in 1836 by Orange H. Waite. Nicanor Brown purchased the 
property in 1868 and kept it until 1878, when his sons. Lyman and 
Frank, succeeded. They were the last proprietors. The house was 
burned in the great fire, but was rebuilt and during the last eleven 
years has been kept by Fay Sawdy as the Sawdy House. 

The Earlville House was built in 1833 by Gardiner Waters. In 1868 
it was bought by William H. Jones, who kept it until his tragic death 
on July 5, 1876. His widow succeeded and sold to Hoyt Kinney, who 
kept the house about five years and sold to Edward D. Avery, the pres- 
ent proprietor, who changed the name to the Avery House. 

The West End Hotel was erected in 1887 by N. Brown. Albert 
Bennett is the present proprietor. The East End Hotel was built in 1897 
and is conducted by A. M. Sly. 

The great fire, as it is known, which desLroyed much of the business 
part of Earlville, took place on August 21, 1886. Many dwelHngs were 
also burned and the loss was very heavy. But the inhabitants showed 
commendable energy under the discouragement and rebuilt the place 
better than it was before. A second destructive fire occurred four years 
later and although the loss was not as heavy as in the first one, it was 
grievously felt. Many of the new structures which had been erected 
fell in the flames. The Avery Hotel escaped in both conflagrations. 
To-day Earlville is a handsome village and has an appearance of new- 
ness not frequently seen. There had been the usual inadequate fire 
extinguishing facilities in the village from about the time of the build- 
ing impulse before described, but the destructive fires mentioned caused 
an adoption of abetter policy, and now there is an excellent fire depart- 
ment composed of about 125 men, in three companies — Douglass Hose, 
Cotton Hose, and a hook and ladder company. Engines are not needed, 
as in 1894 a complete system of water works was constructed, which 
gives a pressure of 100 pounds in the mains and supplies pure water to 
the inhabitants. The Parsons Low Down Electric Light Company has 
supplied illumination for the village sin:e 1894. Earlville was incorpo- 
rated in 1887. 

The First Baptist Church of Sherburne, as its title reads, is situated 
in Earlville and was organized June 24, 1802, at the house of John Ben- 
ton, with about fifteen members. During that and probably a number 
of succeeding years, meetings were held in houses. The first meeting 
house was built in 1818 on the hill to the east of the village. The pres- 
ent church in the village was erected in 1835; it has been extensively 



266 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

repaired since that time. It was sold in recent years and removed to 
the south side of Main street and remodeled into an opera house, and 
was burned in the second large fire. The present Baptist church build- 
ing was erected in 1887-88. This society supplied thirty members for 
the formation of the churches at South Hamilton and Sherburne. The 
list of pastors is mcomplete and is a very long one, and will not be fol- 
lowed here. 

The first Methodist Class in Earlville was formed in 1803 at the house 
of Joseph Crandall and consisted of seven or eight members. Rev. 
Charles Giles was the first pastor, and the first organization of the soci- 
ety took place on January 9, 1815. The trustees then chosen were 
Elam Felt, Noah Hall, and Asa Felt. Money was at once raised and 
the first meeting house was built in 1816. This was used until 1838 
when a new structure was erected. After being extensively repaired 
in 1871 it was burned in the first fire and soon afterwards the present 
handsome edifice was built. 

The Episcopal Church was organized in 1877 and the house of worship 
was erected in the same year. It was a mission station and the mem- 
bership is small in number. 

The settlement about 1810 of Abijah Pool and his sons, Abijah and 
Isaac, on the east branch of the Chenango and a little southwest of the 
center of the town, formed a nucleus around which ultimately gathered 
the hamlet and village of Poolville. The actual settlement of the 
Pool family was made about midway between Earlville and Poolville, 
where the son Isaac established a wool-carding and cloth-dressing busi- 
ness. A few years after this settlement was made, Gideon Randall 
Pool, a cousin of Isaac, came from near Plainfield, Mass., the former 
home of all this family, and took an interest in the business with Isaac. 
About 1825 they removed it to Poolville, where a few families had 
gathered. In 1830 the post-office was established. After the death of 
Gideon R. Pool, in 1827 the business was carried on by Amos and Lsaac 
Pool, who were also cousins, under the firm name of A. & I. Pool. 
They established also an extensive shoe manufactory, and a few years 
later Caleb Lowd succeeded to both industries which he continued until 
1835 under the name of Thaxter Pool, when they were discontinued. 
Nathan Eaton revived the carding mill, opened a store, and established 
an ashery and during a few years did an extensive business; but he 
failed about 1850. The building of the woolen mill was originally a 
grist mill and soon after Eaton's failure it was converted to its former 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 267 

use by Elihu Thompson and William G. Brainard. James Jackson 
purchased the property about 1859 and sold it to the present proprietor, 
George W. Berry; the mill has been remodeled and improved as a yarn 
mill. A saw mill was built which took water from the same dam; 
this came into possession of Damond Richmond before the war. The 
site is now owned by Mr. Berry, the mill having been demolished. 

A tannery was erected here in 1831 by Loomis, Lowd & Co., Caleb 
Lowd, before mentioned, being a member of the firm. In the hard 
times of 1835-6, when many business enterprises in this vicinity were 
forced to suspend, the firm failed and the tannery passed to Richard 
Berry, who operated it with success until his death in 1852. It was 
then leased to H. & G. Berry and in 1855 was sold to Henry Berry, 
from whom it was transferred to George W. and Frank O. Berry. The 
building is now in use for cold storage purposes. 

A machine shop was established here in 1830 by Enos Wood; but in 
the general business decline of 1835 he removed it to Pierceville. A 
milk station is conducted here by the Empire State Dairy Company, 
with H. J. Spencer, local manager. Only a small quantity of milk is 
shipped, but large quantities of butter and cheese are made. About 
8,000 pounds of milk are taken daily. 

A hotel was built in the village in 1833 by Samuel Pool, who kept it 
until his removal to Ohio a year or two later. A second hotel was 
built in 1879-80 by F. H. Kinney which was burned and the present 
Everett House was erected in 1884:-85 by Dr. C. D. Green, who prac- 
ticed here a few years and until his death. The house is now owned 
by his widow. The so called Railroad Hotel was built in 1868 by An- 
drew Forbes and for a time served also as a depot. William Dietz 
bought the property in 1870, and in the same year sold it to G. B. 
Cleveland. It was afterwards kept by A. M. Sly and was burned April 
37, 1898. 

There has always been a small mercantile business at Poolville. 
George E. Nash has had a store about forty years and is- the present 
postmaster, an office which he has held many years. Cook & Dunham 
succeeded J. M. Jennings, who succeeded D. W. Hyland; the latter es- 
tablished his store in 1865. E. D. Keith is a dealer in coal. 

A Methodist class was formed at Poolville probably before 1830 and 
meetings were held in the school house. The membership finally de- 
creased to three or four who joined the Earlville church. About twen- 
ty-five years later another class was formed and built a meeting house, 



268 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

which was repaired in 1869 and again in recent years. The church is 
on the same charge with East Hamilton and the same pastor serves 
both. 

A Universalist society was formed from the Hubbardsville church 
and built a house of worship in 1816. The membership is not numer- 
ous. 

The hamlet of Hubbardsville, in the northeast part of the town, took 
its name from Calvin Hubbard, a prominent settler of 1813 in that sec- 
tion. He resided in a dwelling subsequently owned by Nathan Brow- 
nell, who married Mr. Hubbard's granddaughter. Mr. Hubbard was 
an enterprising and energetic man and soon engaged in business. He 
established an early tannery and a distillery, both of which he operated 
many years, accumulating a competency. His daughter, and his only 
child who lived to maturity, was Emily, who married Elias K. Hart. 

Ephraim Chamberlain was an early settler here and opened the first 
store about 1820. His store was situated on the site of the one in which 
D. D. Livermore has carried on business more than twenty years. 
Sherebiah S. Hunt and Elias K. Hart built in 1835 the store in which 
they traded as the firm of Hunt & Hart until 1837. Charles Green was 
in business there from 1838 to 18-11 when he sold to Gideon Manchester; 
he leased the store to Nathan Peck, who was in business until 1848. 
In the spring of 1849 Clark R. Nash and William T. Manchester took 
the business and a year and a half later Manchester sold to Dr. Julius 
Nye, who a few years later sold to his partner. In 1864 Francis C. 
Shepardson bought an interest in the store and C. R. Nash & Co. con- 
tinued until 1867 when Shepardson retired. Mr. Nash continued alone 
(excepting from 1871 to 1875) until he was succeeded by his son and 
D. D. Livermore, whom Nash bought out in 1875 

In the other store Nathan Brownell succeeded Chamberlain and dur- 
ing several years did an extensive business. In 1853 Theron Nye suc- 
ceeded Brownell, after the store had been unoccupied several years. 
After two years in business Nye sold to Clark R. Nash. The next mer- 
chant there was Nicanor Brownell, son of Nathan, who was in business 
from about 1860 to 1863, when he was succeeded by John O. Wallace, 
who came from Brookfield. The store burned in the fall of 1865 and 
Wallace built another store. Wilmer Rhodes is a present merchant of 
the place, and H. J. Kinney has a meat market. 

The mills of Hubbardsville were long known as the Dunbar Mills 
and were built in 1850 by Charles Blanchard and James H. Dunbar, on 




CALVIN HUBBARD. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— HAMILTON. 369 

the site of the old mill, which was one of the earliest in this section. 
The mills had many proprietors and were operated from 1871 to 1880 
or later by A. G. Ingalls. W. M. Jennings is the present proprietor. 

The post-office at this point was removed hither in 1849 from East 
Hamilton and retained that name until about 1856 when it was changed 
to Hubbard's Corners, and subsequently to Hubbardsville. William T. 
Manchester was the first postmaster and held the office until 1851, when 
C. R. Nash was appointed and held it more than thirty years with brief 
intermission. James Clark is the present postmaster. 

Hubbardsville is the home of Charles Greene, who is well known as 
one of the largest hop dealers and a foremost farmer of Madison county. 

East Hamilton, a hamlet situated a mile south of Hubbardsville, was 
formerly known as Colchester Settlement. In early years considerable 
business centered here and it was one of the points that was urged as 
the proper place for the public buildings in case a half-shire should be 
createcl in the county. The first physician in this section located there 
in the person of Dr. Noah B. Foot, who came from Connecticut in 1800 
and continued in practice until his death in 1845. His son, David Y. 
Foot, succeeded him and was followed by Dr. Franklin Foot, who came 
from Vermont. Dr. George Palmer was a later comer. Dr. Silas 
Graham, formerly a blacksmith, became a botanic physician at Hub- 
bardsville about 1830 and continued about fifteen years. Dr. Julius 
Nye began practice there about 1845. Dr. Adelbert E. Crowell was a 
later physician there. At East Hamilton the business interests are not 
now important. Chauncey Munson is proprietor of a general store, and 
Elliott Fitch and Stephen Underdown carry on blacksmithing. A hotel 
is kept by Frank Kinney. 

There is a post office with the name South Hamilton in the southeast 
part of the town, where there is a small cluster of dwellings, a grist and 
saw mill which have been long in existence and now operated by Adel- 
bert Sutherland; a general store by E. J. Wiley, who is also postmaster, 
and a blacksmith shop by L. Washburn. 

What was known as Hamilton Center was chosen, as the settlers had 
seen done so many times in their former homes in the east, as the site for 
the meeting house of the first Congregational Church of Hamilton, 
which was built in 1800 ; there they worshiped many years. The society 
was incorporated September 24, 1798, and Jonathan Stephens, Richard 
Butler, Lucius Scjtt, Reuben Foot, Isaac Skinner, andjared T. Hooker 
were chosen trustees. This church closed its existence in early years 



270 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and in 184:2 the building was removed to Poolville, where it was used for 
a time for town meetings and finally for dwellings. 

The First Universalist Society of Hamilton was organized at the 
house of David Dunbar in Hubbardsville in 1808, by Rev. Nathaniel 
Stacy; their meeting house was built in 1834. The society has never 
been very strong, but has retained its existence to the present time. 

The meeting house of the Second Baptist Church of Hamilton is sit- 
uated about half way between Poolville and South Hamilton. The 
society organized with thirty members February 1, 1819, and Robert 
Powell, a licentiate, was called to the pastorate. Up to 1834 meetings 
were mostly held in school houses; the church was built in 1835 and in 
the winter of 18G9 was remodeled and refurnished. The pulpit has fre- 
quently been vacant for considerable periods, and during a large portion 
of the time has been supplied from Hamilton College. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— LENOX. 

The most important features of the early settlement and improve- 
ment in the old town of Lenox the reader has found described in Chap- 
ter IX, coming down to about the date of the county organization in 
1806. At that time Quality Hill in the southwestern part of the town 
was the business center, wheie there were at one period two good stores, 
one kept by Capt. William Jennings and later by Maj. Joseph Bruce, 
and another by the firm of Walton, Beebe & Hall. There were also 
two taverns which had a large patronage, mainly from the extensive 
travel along the Seneca Turnpike. It is related that at times in the 
winter season when teaming east and west was at its height, a person 
standing on Quality Hill and looking eastward towards Federal Hill, 
could see as many as forty teams transporting freight along the great 
thoroughfare. And there were the numerous and popular old stage 
coaches, laden with passengers and making daily trips, which swelled 
the tide of travel and the patronage of taverns along the way at all 
points. Besides the two taverns at the Hill, there were several others 
along the turnpike in this town early in the century, as there were on 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 271 

all important roads. Quality Hill had in earl)- years a Ma onic Lodge, 
several shops, a post-office, and a church as early as 1810, which is 
noticed further on. The headquarters of the old 75th Regiment were 
there and the annual trainings were events of great popularity. 

But one of the sweeping changes characteristic of many localities 
through which pas.sed the Erie Canal and the early railroads, was ap- 
proaching, and the course of travel from east and west was soon to seek 
another avenue, drawing away from the old turnpike the merchants 
and shopkeepers who had found their profits largely dependent upon it 
and upon the farmers settling along its course. 

While the pioneers were locating in the western and southern parts 
of the town, as before described, progress was being made in the east- 
ern part at Oneida Castle, where the old chief, Skenandoah, kept a 
public house before the period of white settlement. There also the In- 
dian church and school house were built under missionary influence. 
Governor Clinton in 1810 passed through the town and stopped at Sken- 
andoah's house. The old chieftain was then 101 years old and was 
pathetically described in Clinton's journal. The governor also noted 
the residence there of Abram Hatfield and his wife, who had been sent 
on by the Quaker sect, mainly to educate the Indians in agriculture, 
for which they were to receive $200 a year. Clinton saw a few white 
settlers at the Oneida Reservation. A mission was established at the 
Castle in 1816 by Bishop Hobart and placed in charge of Rev. Eleazer 
Williams. With the influx of white settlers a village of considerable 
importance was built up. 

In the mean time the dry and fertile lands along the southern border 
of Oneida Lake were quite rapidly filled with settlers after about 1808, 
though Colonel Cadwell was a pioneer in that section in 1807. He 
cleared a piece of land in the forest and laid out and improved some of 
the early roads, inducing other settlers to come in. A little hamlet 
gathered at Oneida Valley, a Presbyterian church was organized, a 
store opened and shops established. 

One of the early important industries of the town, which drew around 
it a number of early settlers, was the Lenox Furnace, which was estab- 
lished by the Lenox Iron Company, organized in 1815 with a capital of 
$20,000. The furnace was erected about a mile and a half south of 
Wampsville and the manufacture of hollow ware of all kinds, and later 
stoves, plow castings, etc., was made from ore brought from the vicinity 
of Clinton. Among the early stockholders from Madison county were 



272 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Conradt Moot and James S. Sennet, Col. Stephen Chapman, and Will- 
iam Cobb, all of the town of Lenox. Most or all of the others were 
from Oneida county. Lewis J. Dauby, of Whitestown, was the first 
agent, but was soon succeeded by William Cobb, of Lenox, who con- 
tinued until 1827, when he was succeeded by J. N. Avery. The first 
iron was made in 1816 and the business was closed up in 1847, mainly 
on account of the scarcity of timber in the vicinity for fuel. A board- 
ing house, a number of dwellings, a blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, 
and a store were opened there and Lenox Furnace Village became a 
well known business point. George B. Cady established a woolen fac- 
tory here in 1860, and fine cloths were manufactured. He put in new 
and improved machinery in 1807 and from that time to the close of 1879 
employed about twenty hands. 

In the south part of the town in the vicinity of the present Merrills- 
ville and Bennett's Corners (formerly called Pine Bush) small hamlets 
came into existence in the first quarter of the century. The latter place 
took its name from John Bennett, who was an early settler. The first 
store was kept by P. McDowel who began business in 1832; he was 
also postmaster about half a century and built one of the two taverns 
that were kept there, John Bennett having built the other. W. & H. 
Eddy are present merchants and Winfield Eddy is postmaster. At 
Merrillsville a woolen factory was established, among the first in the 
county, and an old saw mill is still in existence. A Methodist church 
was organized in 1851, and one of the Indian missions was in this 
charge. 

The Erie Canal through Madison county was opened for traffic in 
1820, when in July George Perry, a resident of the town of Sullivan, 
began running the boat Oneida Chief three times a week between Utica 
and Montezuma. The great impetus given to business, the impor- 
tant changes in location of trade centers, and the rapid purchase 
and settlement of lands along the line of the new waterway have been 
described in earlier chapters of this volume. Previous to that time the 
villages of Canastota and Oneida, as well as many others, were un- 
known; but shrewd men of foresight were able even thus early to de- 
termine where to purchase land, erect buildings and otherwise expend 
their money and energies. 

The site of Canastota' was not an ideal region in which to build up a 

1 The word, Canastota, is believed to have been derived from the Indian word, " Kniste," 
signifying ''cluster of pines," and " stota," meaning "still, silent." Mrs. Hammond locates a 
cluster of three large pine trees near the point where the railroad bridge crosses the creek in 
the village, and believed they were the ones referred to in the name of the place. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 273 

village. It was mainly a low, swampy forest during the first decade of 
the century, with a small clearing at the west side and along the Cowas- 
selon Creek, and was a part of the Canastota Tract, from which it was 
reserved when the sale of the tract was made by the Oneidas to the 
State. It was' also included in the Canastota Reservation, which was a 
part of the Canastota Tract. The sale just mentioned included land 
extending from Oneida Lake to within half a mile of the Seneca Turn- 
pike and contained ninety-one lots. The Reservation contained 
3291/^ acres. Capt. Reuben Perkins, who had settled in the west part 
of the town, obtained from the Indians the land on which the village 
was built, for which he obtained a State patent in 1810. At this time 
a few Indian families were living therein log houses; a blockhouse 
also had been built, which was repaired and an addition erected and 
Captain Perkins there made his temporary home. He afterwards built 
a frame house on the same site, which later years was moved across 
the street by its owner. Dr. Jarvis. 

At the time of Captain Perkins's purchase there was no road leading 
northward from the turnpike through his land; an Indian trail crossed 
the swamp towards Oneida Valley. In 1814 Captain Perkins sold 100 
acres of his purchase, including the eastern part of the village site, to 
Ephraim Sherman. This tract was subsequently owned successively 
by Jason W. Powers, Samuel Halliday Barnard Nellis, and Joshua A. 
Spencer, after which it was subdivided into village lots and sold. In 
1821 Thomas Hitchcock and Thomas N. Jarvis came from Dutchess 
county and bargained with Captain Perkins for the remaining two- 
thirds of the Canastota reservation, for $8,000. In 1824 the Jarvis 
farm, which was part of this tract, was conveyed to Milton Barlow (a 
brother of Mrs. Lydia Jarvis), who subsequently conveyed it to Lance- 
lot Jarvis, father of Thomas N. Jarvis. On the death of the father it 
passed to his heirs and was ultimately divided into village lots. 

When the canal was opened there were only three or four houses at 
this point, one of which was occupied by Thomas Menzie, son-in-law of 
Captain Perkins. Another was occupied by James Graham, who turned 
it into a tavern for the accommodation of the workmen attracted hither 
by the canal. He also opened a small grocery on the canal bank in 
1817. At about the time of opening the canal, about 1817, Reuben 
Hawley opened a store on the west side of Peterboro street, south of 
the canal, at what was then called the canal basin, and was for many 
years a leading business man and citizen of the place. He was suc- 

18 



274 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ceeded by J. cS: D. Crouse, who carried on business in the Hawley store 
about three years, removing to another location where they continued 
until 1834. At that time they went back into the Hawley store where 
they remained until they built the brick Crouse block. The firm was 
dissolved in 185.3, John Crouse removing to Syracuse to become a mill- 
ionaire wholesale grocer, and Daniel, after continuing at Canastota un- 
til 1863, removing to Utica, where he was a wholesale grocer. 

Other early buildings in the village were a hotel erected by Captain 
Perkins on the northeast corner of Main street and the canal, and a 
brick store built by him on the site of the later malt house. The brick 
were made in a yard a little south of the site of the building. Samuel 
Halliday built a tavern near the corner of Peterboro and Center streets, 
and about 1821 Capt. Daniel Lewis built a dwelling on the west side of 
South Main street. Thomas Menzie's house, on the corner of Center 
and Main streets, stood until comparatively recent years. 

A saw mill was built at an early day on the site of the later Reeder's 
grist mill ; another saw mill of a later date was erected, but both long 
ago ceased operations. In 1831 the village had a population of 406 and 
contained a number of fine buildings, prominent among them being the 
residence of Dr. Thomas Spencer on Peterboro street. In the year 
just named Samuel Hitchcock built a brick structure on Main street for 
use as an academy, in the upper story of which the Methodists held 
meetings. A large part of the village site was difficult of improvement 
for building, on account of its swampy character. Center street was 
a number of feet lower than at present, and deep with mud in spring 
and fall. Some of the early buildings were elevated on posts, before 
the land was filled in. In 1831 there were three public houses, the 
Graham House, by J. C. Spencer, the Canastota House, kept by John 
B. Youngs, and the one kept by Eliab Joslin at the west end of the 
canal basin. Besides the stores of the Crouse brothers, and Mr. Haw- 
ley, there was one kept by Samuel Hitchcock, and groceries were sold 
by Nahum Fay, Elias Palmer, Capt. Robert Bishop, and a Mrs. Tuttle. 
J. C. Spencer had previously been in trade, but had closed his store. 
A. D. Van Hooser had a hat shop. Reuben Hawley was a merchant 
whose reputation for integrity and enterprise extended throughout 
central New York. He ultimately removed to Chittenango and entered 
into business, but died soon afterward. He was father of Gen. J. Dean 
Hawley, now employed in the Syracuse post-office. 

It was early known in the century that salt water existed in the 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 275 

neighborhood of Canastota, and much time and money has been spent 
in past years in efforts to develop a profitable salt making industry. 
Between 1820 and 1830 salt was made in small quantities from the 
water of a deep spring excavated in the marsh on land owned by Capt. 
Oliver Clark, about three-quarters of a mile west of the village. A 
company was ultimately formed and a well sunk in this marsh to a 
depth of about 400 feet, but the drilling apparatus was broken and the 
work was abandoned. The strength of the brine increased consider- 
ably with increased depth of boring. In 1863 another company was 
formed, in which Daniel Grouse, D. H. Rasbach, and James H. Wood- 
ford were prominent, and work was again begun. The company was 
reorganized in May, 1867, with a capital stock of $100,000, and a con- 
tract was made with Daniel Lewis for fifty acres of land along the canal 
west of the village. Operations were begun on a quite extensive scale, 
but without the hoped for success, and after the expenditure of a large 
sum of money, the work was abandoned. 

The post-ofifice at Canastota was established in 1839, with Ichabod S. 
.Spencer, postmaster. The successors in the office have been as follows : 
Israel S. Spencer, who succeeded the first incumbent six years after 
the office was opened and held the place until 1840. There were sev- 
eral incumbents before his administration and 1860, whose names can- 
not be defininitely given. Noyes P. Chapman was appointed in 1860 
and held the office until the administration of Andrew Johnson began, 
when Albert R. Barlow was appointed; but he failed of confirmation 
and Mr. Chapman was reappointed. He was succeeded in 1882 by Jud- 
son Field for four years. Eugene M. Barlow was then appointed, to 
be succeeded by Mr. Field in 1890. In 1894 Mr. Barlow was again ap- 
pointed, and was succeeded by Mr. Field in January, 1899. 

While mercantile business at Canastota increased in ratio with the 
population and to meet the demands of the multiplying settlements 
along the canal, there was little manufacturing of importance until 
comparatively recent years. If there were legal matters that needed 
attention, there was Ichabod S. Spencer, the postmaster, and George 
Ager, both of whom were in the town very early. Curtis C. Baldwin, 
Thomas Barlow, whose death took place in September, 1896, Israel S. 
Spencer, Hiram Bennett, William H. Kinney, and I. Newton Messin- 
ger, were other early and prominent attorneys, who with many others, 
are elsewhere noticed in these pages. 

Dr. Thomas Spencer the youngest of four Spencer brothers, was the 



276 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

first physician in the village and was a very prominent and successful 
practitioner. A little later came Drs. Joel Corson, Jarvis, George 
Loomis, Alraon Lull, V. W. Mason, and others. 

With the growth and encouraging prospects of the village, the in- 
habitants took steps in early years to obtain an act of incorporation, 
which was accomplished as a special charter under date of April 28, 1835. 
There was a subsequeat reincorporation under the general act of April 
12, 1870. 

The first village election was held at the house of Joseph C. Spencer 
on the first Tuesday in May, 1835. The utter destruction of the old 
village records, the files of newspapers and other important papers in 
the great fire of 1873 renders it impossible to give any details of early 
proceedings of the village government, and the names of those who held 
the local offices. 

The officers for 1899 are: Norman Stafford, president; John W. W. 
Souter, E. J. Clark, W. W. Barott, J. T. Sherwood, trustees; Frank G. 
Bennett, clerk; F. F. Hubbard, president board of water commission- 
ers, E. M. Harrison, jr., and Herman Casler, members; William H. 
Patterson, (president), D. C. Twogood, S. K. Bemiss, Cleon Tondeur, 
police and fire commissioners; William R. Groat (president), George 
Turnbull, C. N. Rose, E. A. Cooper, board of health; Dr. H. G.Ger- 
mer, health officer. 

Not long after the village incorporation a new and powerful impetus 
was given to its growth by the coming of the railroad, that herculean 
agent in the upbuilding of many communities. Utica had been con- 
nected with eastern markets by rail since 1835; Syracuse with Auburn 
since 1836. These lines were connected by the Syracuse and Utica road 
which was opened in 1839, ushering in a new era of prosperity and lead- 
ing to the development of important industries. The population of the 
village in 1840, the year after the opening of the railroad, was 800. It 
contained four taverns, eight stores, three churches, a machine shop, 
and about 130 dwellings. Some of the merchants who succeeded 
those already mentioned were James M. Parker, Hiram Brown, Charles 
O. Chesley, Irving B. Roberts, dry goods and groceries ; W. T. North- 
rup, groceries and stationery; John and Charles Cronk, Groat & Av- 
ery, John W. Wilson, Wallace Suits, and others yet to be mentioned. 
Charles Spencer had been manufacturing optical instruments in a small 
way, his skillful work eliciting high praise from scientific men. In 1846 
he built a shop and formed a partnership with Hamilton Spencer. Sub- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 277 

sequently the firm became Spencer & Eaton and in 1876 the business 
was moved to Geneva, N. Y. 

The present large manufacturing element in Canastota is mainly the 
growth of years since 1873, when a large part of the village, was swept 
away by fire from an incendiary's torch. Not a building was left stand- 
ing on the west side of the principal business street, causing a money loss 
of about $500,000, and paralyzing the energy of the people. But with 
renewed courage the village was rebuilt in more substantial manner and 
better style than before and many new industries were established. 
Among these was the Canastota Knife Company, which was incorporated 
October 13, 1874, with an authorized capital of $11,000, which was held 
by fifty- two stockholders. The first directors were Fred C. Fiske, 
William Hurlbut, T. N. Jarvis, E. R. White, J. H. Allen, Garret A. 
Forbes, J. B. Miller. Mr. Hurlbut was elected president; G. A. Forbes, 
vice president; E. R. White, secretary; F. C. Fiske, treasurer. A 
building was erected and work was begun in June, 1875, under the 
superintendence of Silas Moore, a practical knife maker. The small 
number of hands employed at first was soon increased to seventy and 
the reputation of the goods rapidly extended. The capital stock was 
subsequently increased and a large and remunerative business was car- 
ried on, which continued until 1895, when the factory was closed, ow- 
ing to the unfavorable tariff. 

The Canastota Glass Company was organized in 1881, with capital 
stock of $40,000, which was twice increased, first to $70,000 and later to 
$120,000. A large factory was built west of the village and a heavy 
output of window glass continued several years, the sand being brought 
mainly from Oneida Lake. The business finally became part of the 
United Glass Company and the factory was closed, remaining idle until 
1898. It was purchased in 1896 by six persons, who sold it in 1898 to 
the present organization, which is a co-operative company, the stock be- 
ing all held by workmen in the business. The six purchasers turned 
the property over to the company, with the sum of $3,000 donated by 
the citizens, with the understanding that after operating the works five 
years, the company should have a deed. The stock is $10,000 and about 
fifty hands are employed. The officers of the company are H. C. Hoff- 
man, president; Robert L. Bruen, vice-president; Paul Greiner, treas- 
urer; William Rechtenwald, secretary. 

One of the largest and most prosperous industries in this town is the 
wheel rake manufactory of Patten & Stafford. This business was be- 



278 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

gun in Clockville in 1866, by William H. Patten. In 1873 Norman 
vStafford was admitted to the business and in 1883 it was removed to 
Canastota, where a large plant was built. About the same time the 
firm was changed to Patten, Stafford & Myer; the latter went out in 
1893. The wheel rake made by this firm is called the Champion and 
finds a large sale throughout the country. 

The Smith & Ellis Company are large manufacturers of hall racks, 
china closets, book cases, ladies' desks, etc., and employ about eighty 
hands. They occupy the large brick building erected by the Canastota 
Casket Company, a stock organization, the books of which were opened 
in September, 1888. This undertaking was destined to early failure 
and the building became the property of Patten & Stafford, who sold 
it to the Smith & Ellis company in January, 1894. Al^out eighty hands 
are employed by the company, and it has its own electric plant. The 
proprietors are Samuel C. Smith and Arthur N. Ellis. 

A. M. Barrett has a large lumber yard and in connection with that 
business operates a steam saw mill and a planing mill. His business 
was established in 1876. 

C. N. Cady, son of one of the pioneers of Clockville, began operating 
a machine shop in 1886, and now employs five hands, making a spe- 
cialty of the manufacture of tool grinders and sensitive drills. Another 
machine shop is conducted by James Mahan, who began about ten years 
ago; he manufactures steam engines and does general work. 

The Watson Wagon Company was organized June 1, 1899, with Charles 
E. Crouse, president; D. S. Watson, vice-president and manager; A. A. 
Keesler, secretary; J. C. Rasbach, treasurer. Previous to the organiza- 
tion Mr. Watson manufactured the Watson patent dumping wagon, be- 
ginning about ten years ago. This wagon has a wide sale at the pres- 
ent time. About twenty-five hands are employed. 

A furniture manufacturing business was started some five years ago 
by Felix Tondeur. The business was removed to Oneida where it 
failed and was bought by C. H. Tondeur. It was returned to Canastota 
and Mr. Tondeur manufactures roller top desks. He occupies a build- 
ing formerly used for a time by William Hurlbut in furniture manufac- 
ture. 

A prosperous industry of the village is the cider and vinegar works 
of Harrison & Co., located a short distance west of the corporation. 
This business was started in 1857 by E. M. & D. V. Harrison, four miles 
west of Canastota, on the canal. In 1886 it was removed to its present 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX, 279 

location, where about 200,000 bushels of apples are used annually. In 
1878 the firm name changed to its present form, the members being D. 
V. and E. M. Harrison, jr. 

A feed mill was built and started about 1880 by Judson Field; this 
burned and the present mill was built in 1886, which passed to posses- 
sion of the State Bank in 1896. 

The former large cheese factory interest of this part of the county 
has mainly passed away and the milk product is mainly shipped to New 
York or made into butter in a domestic way. There is a milk station 
in Canastota, which was opened in March, 1899, by Samuel Levy, which 
now takes about 1,900 quarts daily. There is a station also at Chitten- 
ango, which is elsewhere noticed. 

The canning business, which is now such an important factor in the 
industrial life of the county, is represented by an establishment here, 
which dates from 1880, when J. W. Mix began canning corn and built 
the present factory. Two years later he was succeeded by Jarvis & 
Hubbard (Thomas M. Jarvis and Fred F. Hubbard), under whose man- 
agement the business and plant was greatly increased and corn, succo- 
tash and tomatoes were marketed. Since the death of Mr. Jarvis in 
1888 Mr. Hubbard was associated three years with Alonzo W. Wheeler, 
since which time he has continued alone. About 1,000,000 cans of 
vegetables are put up annually. 

The Lee Chair Company began business in Herkimer in the manu- 
facture of a patent chair; the business was brought to Canastota in 
1893 and in 1895 C. A. Lee became the sole owner. About 100 hands 
are employed in making the chair mentioned and a Morris chair. 

Besides these various prosperous industries the village has the usual 
blacksmith, wagon, tin and other shops, with a large number of enter- 
prising merchants. Among the latter is the furniture, carpet and wall 
paper store of John H. McMahon, who began business in his present 
location in 1886. The store was built for the purpose by him and Jud- 
son Field. 

Farr Brothers (Edwin and Levi) have a large hardware business 
which was started by Edwin Farr in 1879; his brother joining him in 
1892. The old building is a landmark and was erected by the late John 
H. Wilson. Another large hardware business is conducted by Bemiss 
& Co. (S. K. Bemiss and R. R. Bemiss). The business was begun 
across the street in 1882, where it was burned out and removed to its 
present location in 188-1. Plumbing and steam heating is a part of the 
business. 



280 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

J . E . Warrick is one of the old-time business men of the place. He 
began wagon making in 1845, and in 1879 opened a furniture and car- 
pet store in his present location. L. F. Phillips was with him until 
1892. 

One of the older and prominent firms in general merchandise was 
Brown & Parker, who carried on a successful trade many years. The 
successors of that firm are H. C. Brown's Sons, who carry a stock of 
groceries, boots and shoes and furnishing goods. Their present store 
was occupied in 1884. The firm of J. J. Ingraham & Co. was consti- 
tuted of Mr. Ingraham and J. M. Parker, the latter having employed 
Mr. Ingraham as clerk ; he had also served as clerk for Brown, Green & 
Co. at an earlier date. Mr. Ingraham has been alone since 1890 and 
carries a general stock. The firm of Groat & Avery (William R. Groat, 
Stephen Avery) carried on grocery business and sold boots and shoes 
and coal from previous to 1880. They were succeeded in 1898 by E. J. 
Clark, whose stock consists of dry goods and ladies' and gentlemen's 
furnishing goods. 

P. T. Weaver has carried a stock of crockery and glass since 1890. 
The firm of Boon & Vreeland began business as merchant tailors and 
clothing in 1895. In the spring of 1899 the firm became Boon & Son. 
John and Charles Cronk were former merchants of prominence. Mrs. 
Etta Cronk now conducts the dry goods business founded by C. W. 
Cronk, who died six years ago. J. H. Fancher has sold boots and shoes 
at his present site since 1870. He was burned out in 1876, in the 
Beecher block, which was built by the late Hamilton Beecher. A boot 
and shoe business was started before 1890 by H. O. Pratt, who sold to 
G. D. Wallace. In 1892 A. H. Anderson bought the store and still 
continues. 

The oldest drug store in the village is that of J. W. Wilson, who be- 
gan business in 1877 and moved into his present store in 1881. 

C. F. McConnell began selling drugs in 1891 and moved to his pres- 
ent location in 1897. C. A. Jones came from McGrawville, where he 
had long been in trade and started in the drug business. 

The increasing business interests that followed the opening of the 
railroad demanded local banking facilities, and on January 12, 1856, 
the Canastota Bank was organized with forty-six stockholders and cap- 
ital stock of $110,000. The board of directors were George Crouse, 
William E. Fiske, John Montross, Jacob Crouse, Franklin M. Whitman, 
Robert G. Stewart, Daniel Crouse, De Witt C. Roberts, Daniel Lewis, 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 281 

Charles Stroud, Daniel Van Vleck, John Grouse, and Daniel B. Moot. 
The election of officers, March 5, 1856, resulted in the choice of Daniel 
Grouse, president; William E. Fiske, vice-president; George Grouse, 
cashier. Daniel Grouse was succeeded as president in 1858 by William 
E. Fiske, and at the annual election a few months later George Grouse 
was chosen president; Gharles Stroud, vice-president; William E. Fiske, 
cashier. D. H. Rasbach succeeded as cashier in 1859, and H. K. W. 
Bruce to the presidency soon after the death of Mr. Grouse. At a 
meeting held May 9, 1865, it was resolved to change the name of the 
institution to the Ganastota National Bank, it becoming a part of the 
national system. In the great fire of 1873 the bank building was 
burned and the stockholders immediately erected the building used by 
the bank until it went into voluntary liquidation in September, 1890. 
In closing its affairs the stockholders were paid $1.35J^ per cent., 
besides having paid large dividends throughout its whole life. 

On the 19th of September, 1890, the present First National Bank of 
Ganastota was organized, with a capital of $50,000, which remains the 
same. Le Grand Golton was chosen president; Edom N. Bruce, vice- 
president; J. Glarence Rasbach, cashier; F. W. Dew, teller. These offi- 
cers still hold their positions. 

The existing State Bank of Ganastota is successor of the private 
banking house of Milton De Lano, which was opened Angus: 7, 1876. 
It was made a State bank in 1887, with capital stock of $40,00), which 
remains the same. William H. Patten was at that time chosen presi- 
dent and still holds the office. The vice-president was E. N. Bruce, 
who was succeeded by Norman Stafford. Milton De Lano has remained 
cashier from the first. 

The Ganastota vSavings and Loan Association was incorporated Feb- 
ruary 9, 1889, and has ever since had a prosperous career, giving effi- 
cient and permanent aid to many worthy persons. Its affairs have been 
prudently managed, so that it has never foreclosed a mortgage nor 
come into possession of a piece of real estate. The assets are now 
about $32,000. The officers of the association are S. K. Bemiss, presi- 
dent; William H. Patten, vice-president;}. E. Roantree, secretary; E. 
L. Mason, treasurer; M. E. Barlow, attorney. 

Ganastota has had the experience with newspapers that fall to almost 
all villages. The stirring young community wanted a paper long be- 
fore it was incorporated as a village, or thought it did, and accordingly 
Silas Judd started the Bulletin in 1829. He soon sold out, of course, 



383 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Thomas G. Sutherland continued the publication about a year, 
calling- the paper The Vidette. This brief and modest effort closed 
Canastota journalism until 1856 when George H. Merriam established 
the Canastota Times; this continued two years under his direction and 
a few months under Frederick A. Williams, when it was discontinued 
in June, 1858. In the fall of that year James E. N. Backus started the 
Canastota Eagle, which soared until the winter of 1859-60. The 
Weekly Gazette was established in the summer of 1860 by Smith Van 
Allen, and soon passed to Francis A. Darling, who continued it until 
he enlisted in 1861, when it was suspended. The next paper was the 
Canastota Herald, which was started in 1864, or 1865, by Arthur 
White. John Greenhow soon became a partner and a year later was 
sole owner. Still later he took his son in with him and in 1870 sold to 
a Mr. Schaffer, who kept the paper only a few months and sold to Wal- 
ter C. Stone. He published the Herald until February, 1873, when he 
sold out to Albert R. Barlow. In October, 1875, he sold to M. B. Rob- 
bins and he sold in 1889 to Samuel C. Salisbury. In June, 1889, the 
Bee was started by Charles Skelton and on March 1, 1890, was consoli- 
dated with the Herald. The Bee Publishing Company, which suc- 
ceeded Mr. Skelton, still publishes the paper. 

The Canastota Journal was started as the Canastota News in 1881, 
by Clarence A. White. The name was subsequently changed and 
about 1884 the establishment was sold to H. L. & F. M. Spooner. It 
soon went back into White's hands. He left about two years later and 
the Spooners took the plant on a mortgage. In April, 1887, they sold 
to the present proprietor, P. F. Milmoe. Mr. Milmoe is an experi 
enced newspaper man and gives the people of the community a well 
edited paper. 

The best known hotels that succeeded the old taverns before men- 
tioned are the Twogood House and the Lewis House. The former is 
a successor of a hotel of former years that stood on the same site and 
burned in 1873. It was built and kept by D. C. Twogood, as also was 
the present commodious house, which he erected in 1877 and kept nine 
years. It afterwards had several proprietors and finally came into the 
hands of the present popular landlord, J. B. Weaver, who took it in 
May, 1898. 

What was formerly the Pratt House stood on the site of the Lewis 
House and was burned. Another building was erected on the site 
which was bought by J. G. Lewis and enlarged and opened as a hotel 
in 1877. It is now kept by his widow. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 283 

The Delaney House was built by Michael Hitchman about 1875 and 
he kept it two years. It passed through numerous proprietors' hands 
until 1890, when James E. Delaney took it. The Doolittle House 
stands on an old hotel site and has borne its present name many years 
and has been kept by various landlords. In October, 1898, the present 
proprietor, F. H. Gullerat, succeeded C. W. Lower. The Cornell 
House was built by the late J. D. Cornell. It is kept by E. C. Lower 
who has owned it since 1895, succeeding George Cross. 

Canastota has suffered in the past from destructive fires beyond the 
fate of most places. The primitive fire department was very inefficient 
and when the incendiary applied his torch in 1873, the flames were soon 
beyond control and a large part of the village was swept away. The 
lesson was a costly as well as a salutary one. The fire extinguishing 
apparatus then in the village was a hand engine and hose cart. Within 
a few years a steamer was purchased, two hose companies were formed 
and other apparatus purchased, which gave the inhabitants a sense of 
better security. Through the installation of a splendid system of water 
works Canastota is at the present time not only as thoroughly protected 
from fire as any village in the State, but also has an unequaled supply 
of pure water for all other purposes. Steps were taken in 1883 for the 
purpose of supplying the village with water, and the system was fin 
ished in 1886. Pure spring water was found near Clockville at a high 
elevation. This is stored in a large reservoir from which it reaches the 
village by gravity and with a pressure of 101 pounds to the square inch 
under 250 feet head. Pipes have been laid in most of the streets, fifty - 
eight hydrants are set in the village, and the corporation is supplied 
with water free. The works are owned by the corporation and cost in 
all about $70,010. The water commissioners are F. F. Hubbard, presi- 
dent; E. M. Harrison, and Herman Casler. With the introduction of 
this system, fire apparatus became almost useless, aside from hose and 
hook and ladder carts and fixtures. There are now excellent hose com- 
panies, bearing the names of Forbes Hose Company and De Lano Hose 
Company. A modern hook and ladder truck and apparatus is owned 
by members of the Todman Hook and Ladder Company, and was pur- 
chased since the water works were installed. Perley Buck is chief en- 
gineer and has two assistants. The firemen are all volunteers, but the 
companies are voted about $300 each by the corporation. 

Under chapter 479, laws of 1895, the existing Board of Police and 
Fire Commissioners, consisting of four members, was created, whose 



284 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

duties will be understood from their title. The term of service is four 
years. The members of the board are William H. Patten, president ; 
S. K. Bemiss, D. C. Twogood, and C. H. Tondeur. The police force 
consists of three members. 

Canastota is well lighted by electricity, for which condition William 
H. Patten is chiefly responsible. The Canastota Electric Light and 
Power Company was organized in 1887, with a capital stock of $20,000, 
a large share of which has always been owned by Mr. Patten. An excel- 
lent system was installed, forty-two arc lights are now maintained in 
the streets, and private consumers are supplied at fair prices. The offi- 
cers of the companyare Milton De Lano, president; William H. Patten, 
secretary and treasurer; G. Tibbits, superintendent. 

The schools of Canastota, especially in late years, have been kept 
abreast of modern methods. A meeting was held at the house of James 
Graham on November 27, 1820, at which district No. 9 was organized 
and the following trustees chosen: Samuel Halliday, Earnhardt Nellis, 
and Eleazer Lewis. A school house was built and accepted by the 
trustees in February, 1821. It was occupied until 1831, when it was 
burned, and in the following summer a new building was erected. 
This was occupied until 1846, when a new, larger and more modern 
school house was built. The building now occupied for the high school 
was erected in 1877. In 1883 the old district No. 9 was consolidated 
with No. 20, forming a Union district. In the recent division of the 
town of Lenox, this district took the old number 9 again. The school 
building on the south side was erected in 1893 largely to avoid the neces- 
sity of having small children cross the railroad tracks. The building 
on Spencer street was erected in 1886. The high school building, on 
Chapel street, was built in 1877. Most of the property on the south 
side of the railroad was in old No. 20, now a part of No. 9, as before 
stated. 

The schools are in charge of a Board of Education consisting of Mil- 
ton De Lano, president, who has served on the board seventeen con- 
secutive years; S. K. Bemiss, secretary, and Dr. William Taylor, S. Mead 
Wing and Norman Stafiford. Clarence L. Hobart is clerk of the board. 
The principal of the high school is George Henry Ottaway, A. M. ; Es- 
tella M. Vedder, preceptress, and Francis Davenport, assistant in aca- 
demic department. Teachers in the grammar department — Nellie Van 
Ingen, Jessa Burkhardt; intermediate department — Laura B. Wager, 
Kate Dew (who has taught in the village twenty-six consecutive years), 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 385 

Emily Van Alsyne, Marie Cooper; primary department — Nina L. Per- 
kins, Florence Phoenix, May Chapman and Catherine Phoenix. In the 
south side school the teachers are Florence J. Williams (who has taught 
in the village about ten years). Miss Brister and Florence Avery. 

Mention has been made a few pages back of the old Congregational 
church at Quality Hill. This society was organized probably in 1809, 
with Nathaniel Hall and John Hall the first deacons. Zebulon Doug- 
lass, Sylvester Beecher, Asa Cady, and a Mr. Sessions were the first 
trustees. The church edifice, a large wooden structure, was begun in 
1814 and completed in 1819. The building is still standing. 

The first religious society at Canastota was the Baptist, which was 
organized about 1819 with only a very few members. Without a regu- 
lar pastor and with no resources outside of their own little circle, the 
organization soon passed out of existence. A little later the Methodists 
in the vicinity began holding meetings in the school house, and in 1830 
the first class was organized. A meeting house was projected in 1833, 
but was not completed until several years later; it was, however, used 
for meetings in 1835. The building was enlarged and improved in 
1859, and in 1866 was practically rebuilt into its present form. The 
society is a prosperous one and the long succession of pastors closed 
with the appointment of Rev. J. E. Rhodes. An addition was built in 
1884 and the church remodeled. 

An Episcopal society was organized here in 1820, but services were 
not held regularly for many years. Rev. Joseph B. Young held services 
a few years, and other pastors ministered occasionally to the congrega- 
tion until 1883, when the present Trinity church was formed. In 1885 
the present house of worship was erected. Rev. Frederick P. Winnie 
was succeeded by lay readers and among later pastors were Rev. Abram 
W. Ebersole, Rev. F. P. Tompkins, Rev. George H. Ottaway, who was 
assigned here as a lay reader and ordained while here ; he served until 
1897 and was followed by Rev. Charles H. Tindell. The present pas- 
tor, Rev. Joseph P. Foster, came in 1897. This is a mission of the 
church in Chittenango where the pastors reside. 

The Reformed Protestant Church was organized in 1833, with Charles 
Spencer and Samuel Halliday deacons. The church edifice was erected 
in the same year, at the corner of Peterboro street and the railroad. 
Rev. Thomas Gregory was the first pastor. The church building was 
abandoned in 1878 on account of the disturbing noise of railroad trains. 

What became known as the Independent Church was organized as. 



286 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the Free Church in 1845, the congregation being mainly strong anti- 
slavery advocates. Their creed was very liberal and was made still 
more so in 1864. A former feeble Universalist congregation united 
with the Free Church in the building of a meeting house in 1841, which 
was burned in 1871. In 1873 another edifice was erected, which, after 
the Free society gave up its organization and the old house of the Re- 
formed society was abandoned, passed to the latter and is still occupied 
by that society, but was organized under the name of the Presbyterian 
Church in 1886. The first pastor was John Calvin Mead; he was suc- 
ceeded after about six years by Rev. P. D. Cowan, present incumbent. 
J. C. Rasbach has served as Sunday school superintendent since the 
organization. Soon after the organization the edifice was extensively 
remodeled and additions made according to modern ideas. 

A second Baptist society was organized in 1868 and in 1873-74 erect- 
ed the brick church which is still in use. The pulpit was supplied for 
a time by Madison University. Rev. C. E. Babcock is the present 
pastor. 

St. Agatha's Catholic church was erected of brick in 1883. It is a 
mission of St. Patrick's parish of Chittenango and has a membership 
of about eighty families. It is now under ministration of Rev. James 
Collins of Chittenango. 

Of Canastota and the surrounding territory as set off to form the 
new town of Lenox by the division of 1896, there is little further to 
record, the subject being treated further on. The map accompanying 
this chapter shows the approximate boundary of Lenox. H. O. Travis 
was chosen clerk of the new town and has since held the office. F. W. 
Doolittle, who was supervisor of the old town, held over until 1897, 
when George S. Sadler was elected; he died in 1899, and Francis Staf- 
ford was appointed to fill the vacancy. T. L. Murphy and S. H. Stroud 
are justices; Charles A. Allen, assessor; Charles S. Taber, highway 
commissioners; C. V. Parkhurst, collector. 

By far the most important event in the history of the old town of 
Lenox and one that excited interest throughout Madison county, was 
its division in 1896 into the three existing towns of Lenox, Lincoln, and 
Oneida. This division was a subject of earnest discussion long before 
it was accomplished, for which there existed ample cause in the great 
territorial size of the old town, the existence of two large and thriving 
villages within its bounds, and other apparent conditions. Agreement 
, on details of division was difficult to reach. ;.In 1895 agitation of the 



V E t 8 4 




IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 887 

matter was renewed with more determination than ever. The princi- 
pal difficulty arose regarding the railroads running through the terri- 
tory; it seemed impossible to so equalize taxation on railroad property 
as to satisfy the conflicting interests. Mr. Hathaway, and others enter- 
taining his views, proposed a division into four towns, the boundary 
lines of which are clearly shown on the accompanying map and do not 
need further description. This plan gave to the Canastota district 
about two-thirds of the railroad property, and naturally met with oppo- 
sition from other sections. At a meeting held in January, 1895, a 
proposition was made by residents of Oneida village and the east part 
of the town in favor of carrying the proposed west line of the new town 
of Oneida to the west of Wampsville. This was opposed by many in 
Canastota and the northern part of the old town, on account of the ex- 
tent of territory given to the lake district. These two plans became 
known as the Canastota and the Oneida plans, and they were embodied 
in resolutions numbered one and two. The result of the vote upon 
these resolutions was as follows: For resolution No. 1, (Canastota), 
1,400; against, 532; majority for, 868. Resolution No. 2, (Oneida), 
For 463; against, 1,498; majority against, 1,035. Thus the matter was 
defeated. 

The subject was not allowed to rest and in January, 1896, it was pro- 
posed to obtain a special act of the Legislature which would compel the 
division, even against the desires of a numerical majority of the inhab- 
itants. Several meetings were held and an executive committee ap- 
pointed. The committee selected to draw a bill for presentation to the 
Legislature reported at a meeting held February 19, with a bill divid- 
ing the territory into two towns. With this plan Canastota was wholly 
dissatisfied and a meeting was held there the same night, where a three- 
town division was proposed, on a basis that would give the new town 
of Lenox 3,850 population; Lincoln, 1,100, and Oneida, 7,850, with an 
assessed valuation of fair ratio. A bill embodying this proposition was 
drawn and pushed through the Legislature as soon as possible. The 
act provided for the holding of a special town meeting at which each of 
the new towns should be represented, on May 18, 189 J; the meetings 
were held in Oneida in the village hall; in Lenox in the Canastota vil- 
lage hall, and in Lincoln in the old Methodist church in Clockville. 
The bill also provided that the old officers of the town of Lenox should 
serve out their terms. During the summer of 1896 the accounts of the 
three towns with the old town were equitably settled, the total claims 



288 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

against the old town amounting to $15,136, which were allowed at about 
$3,000 less than that sum. The assessed valuation of the new town of 
Oneida was $2,552,500, real estate, and $234,900 personal. The red 
lines on the accompanying map show the approximate boundaries of 
the three new towns. In the settlement of the town accounts a joint 
meeting of the town boards was held on June 1, with Francis W. Doo- 
little in the chair. It was ordered that the three boards be a committee 
to audit claims. This committee reported in favor of apportioning the 
debts of the old town and dividing its property on the basis of the as- 
sessment roll of 1895. A committee of two from each new town was 
appointed to carry out this purpose. This committee consisted of 
Stephen C. Waterman and Menzo Root, for Oneida; F. W. Doolittle 
and Seward H. Stroud for Lenox; and H. H. Hathaway and George 
W. Chapman for Lincoln. 

At a meeting of the Town Board held April 27, 1896, appointed to 
supervise and conduct the first town meeting of the town of Oneida 
there were present Andrew J. French, Allen S. Whitman, Barney Rat- 
nour and Hiram L. Rockwell. A. J. French was chosen chairman and 
A. S. Whitman, secretary. The boundaries of election districts, local 
option, etc., were discussed. A second meeting was held the next day 
at which a description of the proposed eight election districts of the 
town was submitted. A third meeting was held the 29th of April, and 
the election districts before described were adopted. At a meeting 
held May 2 a survey and maps of the dividing lines of the three towns 
were ordered. The three town committees met at Canastota on June 
20, and the survey was reported finished and proper monuments set. 

The first town meeting for Oneida was held, as provided by the act, 
on May 19, when Stephen C. Waterman was elected supervisor; Menzo 
D. Root, James Leggett, Myron H. Mason, justices of the peace; Giles 
Harrington and Cyrus T. McDuffee, assessors; Frank Boyer, constable, 
and two inpectors of election for each of the eight districts. On No- 
vember 28 of that year the Town Board ordered 1,000 yards of crushed 
stone for the Lake road in the north part of the town . On December 
16, of that year, among other minor matters, the clerk was directed to 
obtain from the trustees the boundaries of the school districts of the 
new town. 

At the town meeting of February 9, 1897, Stephen C. Waterman was 
elected supervisor; Giles Harrington, assessor; Lewis J. Stisser, collec- 
tor; Frederick McGraith, overseer of the poor; John C. Myer, Daniel 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 289 

Kilroy, John Wimmet, constables, and the inspectors of election. A 
vote was also taken on the question whether liquor should be sold in the 
town under a certain section of the existing liquor law; the result 
showed 618 in favor and 397 against such action. Also voted on sell- 
ing liquor on physicians' prescriptions, on which the majority in favor 
was still greater. Also voted on selling liquor by hotel keepers, result- 
ing 710 in favor and 344; against. During the year 1897 considerable 
improvement of important roads was made. At a meeting of June 34 
election districts 6 and 8 were consolidated into No. 6, In July a reso- 
lution was adopted to build a stone arch bridge over the Cowasselon on 
the Seneca Turnpike. The contract was let at $1,279. 

The officers elected at the town meeting of 1898 were as follows: 
Supervisor, Stephen C. Waterman; clerk. Homer L. Bonney; justices, 
J. Emery Brown, Edward M. Doran ; commissioner of highways, Ed- 
ward G. Hubbard; assessor, Joseph Veling; collector, Calvin McGuin- 
ness; overseer of the poor, Frederick McGraith; constables, John C. 
Myer, John Kearns, and John Wimmet. In 1899 Stephen C. Waterman 
was appointed supervisor; H. L. Bonney, clerk, to serve until January, 
1900, the date of the 1899 election having been changed to November. 

In tracing the history of the village of Oneida we must interest our- 
selves in more modern conditions than in that of any other municipality 
in Madison county. The village itself is distinctly a result of canal and 
railroad construction, although in recent years it has shown remarkable 
thrift in directions not wholly dependent upon facilities for travel and 
transportation. The canal deviating to the north near Canastota and 
passing out of this town at Durhamville, had little influence upon 
Oneida, the site of which remained an agricultural district, with scat- 
tered farms until the opening of the railroad in 1839. 

The land including the site of the village to the amount of several 
hundred acres formerly and before there was any settlement here be- 
longed to Sands Higinbotham, a sketch of whose life will be found in 
another part of this work. His first purchase was made in 1829 from 
individual owners, and a second in 1830 from the State. He became a 
resident here in 1834 and from that time until his death he was promi- 
nent in public affairs and active and zealous for the welfare of the village 
that found its site upon his property. When Mr. Higinbotham settled 
here that part of the village site south of the railroad was partly cleared, 
as well as the valley lands. The railroad was opened on the 4th of July, 
1839, with a grand celebration. The track ran through the woods which 

19 



290 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

covered its course and in the spring of 1839 a clearing was made for 
the erection of the Railroad House. The station was established and 
from its proximity to Oneida Castle, took the name of Oneida Depot. 
Mr. Higinbotham built the Railroad House and shrewdly bargained 
with the railroad company that they could have free right of way across 
his land, if they would stop every train at the depot ten minutes for 
refreshments. This was readily agreed to by the company. 

Previous to this and preparatory to the settlement of Mr. Higinbotham 
on his property, he sent Henry Dygert in 1833 to make a clearing. He 
erected the second frame house in the place. Peter Dygert and Abram 
Phillips had already built log houses and were here in 1828 when Isaac 
Morris arrived and also built a log house. Although the village site 
and adjacent territory was a flat and unattractive region with much of 
it swampy, settlers came in rapidly through the liberal offers made by 
Mr. Higinbotham. The canal feeder from Oneida Creek, which ex- 
tends through the village, was constructed in 1835 and brought many 
men and families here, most of whom remained and purchased lots or 
houses on the liberal terms made by Mr. Higinbotham. Mr. Higin- 
botham was father of Niles Higinbotham who died March 17, 1890; 
a sketch of whose life is given in another part of this work. 

The settlement grew slowly at first, for Oneida Castle, with its stores 
and shops was near at hand. The first store in the place was built by 
John B. Cole, who was one of the conductors on the railroad; it was 
opened by Amos Story, from Fayetteville, about 1843, and was known 
for some years as the "red store." The next store was kept by George 
Hamilton, of Verona, on the site of the present Kenyon block; the 
building was erected by him and Dr, J. H. Hamilton, of Oneida Castle. 
Newman Scofield subsequently purchased the store and conducted it 
some years . 

In 1847 a small store was opened by the firm of Stoddard & L)'pe. 
At about the same time Lyman Morse opened a small general store. 
The second house was built on the site of what became the Coe house 
by Charles B. Stewart. The first store of real importance was estab- 
lished in 1844 by S. H. Goodwin & Co., in a building erected by them- 
selves, which was burned in 1863 and rebuilt. The elder Goodwin, 
and later his sons, were in trade many years. An early grocery was 
established in 1850 by Ambrose Hill, who came here from Lenox Basin, 
where he had been in trade on the canal bank since 1830. He contin- 
ued in business alone and later with his son, until comparatively recent 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 291 

years. The father of the first Ambrose kept an early tavern at Wamps- 
ville, locating there in 1819. 

The post-office was established in 1841 with Erasmus Stone post- 
master. He was then proprietor of the Railroad House, succeeding 
the first proprietor, Henry Y. Steward. Mr. Stone was a native of 
Homer, Cortland county, and came here from Salinain 1840, and father 
of John E. Stone, of Oneida. The post-office was kept in the bar 
room of the hotel. He held the office until 1845 and died in Oneida 
November 14, 1878. He was succeeded by Asa Smith, an enterprising 
citizen, who was followed by I.N. Messenger, and he by Ephraim 
Beck. John Crawford was appointed in 1864 and held the office a long 
term,- being followed in 1881 by Watson A. Stone, who held the office 
until his death in 1888 . His successors have been Walter E . Northrup, 
to May, 1890; John J. Hodge, to October, 1894; Richard M. Baker to 
March, 1899; John J. Hodge, incumbent. 

The first attorney to settle in Oneida was Isaac Newton Messinger, 
who died here March 11, 1895. He was a son of Gen. John M. Messin- 
ger, a prominent early settler of this county, and located in Oneida in 
1848. A sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this volume. For a 
time Mr. Messinger was a partner with IthamarC. Sloan, and also with 
James B. Jenkins, both of whom were successful and honored members 
of the Madison bar. 

The first physician in Oneida was Dr. Earl Loomis, a graduate of 
Yale, who settled here in 1842 and remained in practice many years and 
until his death. Lewis Joslyn also began practice here in 1842, and in 
the following year Dr. Benjamin Palmer came in. Among other early 
physicians were Drs. George Beardsley, Willard R. Fitch, J. W. Fitch, 
A. G. Purdy, Edward Loomis, Ogden Randall, Stillman Spooner, Ed- 
win Perkins, and a few others. 

The first manufacturing in the village, aside from the few small shops 
found in all similar places, was a foundry and a machine shop, of which 
little is now known. It was established as early as 1846 by Gen. John 
M. Messinger, Heman Phelps, O. T. Burt (the latter of Syracuse) and 
others; the building is now standing north of the Central tracks and 
used as a malt house. It was operated under the firm name of H. H. 
Phelps & Co. This was the only industry of importance in the village 
until the establishment of the tannery of George Berry, which was built 
in 1857 on the site of the gas works ; this was burned in 1871 and rebuilt 
by the same owner. A second foundry was built a little later on the 



292 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

feeder at the junction of Elizabeth and Main streets. I. N. Messinger 
was interested in this enterprise. It finally closed and later the building 
was burned. 

Meanwhile the village was growing, buildings of brick, and of con- 
siderable dimensions, were erected and a number of prosperous mer- 
chants began business. Asa Smith, the tanner and currier of early 
years, built the Empire block which for a number of years was the 
most pretentious structure in the place. James A. Bennett, in connec- 
tion with Charles and Joseph Walrath, built the block next to the Em- 
pire, where Charles I. Walrath carried on a mercantile business. Al- 
bert E. Coe, long a promient citizen, built the block adjoining the one 
just mentioned on the south, and next was the Devereaux block, built 
by Horace Devereaux. The Merchants' Exchange was next on the 
south, which was built by Timothy G. Seeley. Still going south, the 
next building was the Walrath block, built by C. A. & D. H. Walrath; 
then came the Oneida Valley Bank and other buildings. On the east 
side of the street were the buildings erected by C. A. & D. H. Walrath, 
afterwards owned by William Lyle, and adjoining that the building 
erected by Patrick Devereaux. Other blocks were that built by Sam- 
uel Chapin, where Chapin & Sons were in the jewelry business many 
years, and that of E. H. Curtis. Farther north was the block built by 
Ephraim Beck and afterwards owned by Dr. J. W. Fitch ; the building 
erected by HoUis Mannering, in which was Cleveland's drug store; the 
corner block erected by Newcomb and Charles Field ; the Mes- 
singer block on the north corner of Phelps street, built by General 
Messinger, who owned all of the buildings between Phelps and Madison 
streets on the east side of Main, excepting what was the alNation 
Hotel, which was built by Frank Gleason. This brief survey gives the 
situation on Main street in the village center some twenty-five or thirty 
years ago. 

On the north side of Madison street S. H. Goodwin had his store pre- 
vious to 1863; also the drug store of R. I. Stewart, the cabinet ware 
rooms of Jones & Hulburt, and the large building owned by L. N. Van 
Evra, in which were various shops. These were all burned in the fire 
of 1862. Mr. Goodwin rebuilt the same year and since that time the 
street has been built up nearly as at present. On the south side of this 
street Grove Stoddard built a structure which was used for an early 
clothing store. Where the Kenyon block was erected was formerly a 
wooden building in which Theodore C. Thompson and Sidney Riven- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 293 

burg carried on mercantile business. The old Bacon Hotel was for- 
merly the residence of Heman H. Phelps, once superintendent of the 
Utica and Syracuse Railroad. 

In 1870-71 the population of the village had reached about 4,000, in- 
dicating a healthy growth. There were at that time in the place the 
following nine dry goods stores, some of which were, however, of a 
general character: Randall & Barker, C. A. & D. H. Walrath, W. H. 
Dimmick, A. E. Coe & Son, S. & E. Kenyon, John E. Stone, T. C. 
Thompson, P. C. Lawrence, and S. H. Goodwin & Son. In the gro- 
cery trade were Carter Brothers, Douglass & Downing (still in whole- 
sale business), David Walter, Harry Walter & Co., Stone & Schuyler, 
A. Hill & Son, William C. Lawrence, and Matthewson & Rivenburg. 
Farnam & Son were in the hardware business; also A. R. Turner 
There were also a few jewelry, clothing and boot and shoe stores, with 
the usual complement of shops of various kinds. 

With these increasing business interests, the establishment of a news- 
paper, a bank, churches, and manufactures presently to be described, 
and a population that was to reach almost 7,000 in 1890, the need of 
e.Ktensive public improvements began to be felt. 

It may surprise the younger business men of the village to-day to 
learn that from about 1850 to the breaking out of the Civil war, the gross 
volume of business in Oneida was vastly larger than it is at the present 
time, although the population and number of separate stores, etc.. was 
less. As a shipping point the village was then of great importance; 
it was the center of a large territory from which produce of all kinds 
came in for transportation to markets. The New York Central was 
then the only railroad, and it was no uncommon occurrence to see a hun- 
dred freight cars standing on a siding for loading or unloading. A great 
deal of this shipping has been attracted to other points by the various 
railroads since opened. But all of this does not necessarily indicate 
that the village is enjoying a less degree of prosperity now than it did 
forty or fifty years ago, through the development of manufacturing, 
larger retail trade, etc. 

Oneida was without a public water supply until the year 1883, when 
the public spirit of a well known citizen (a sketch of whose life is found 
in these pages), Judson W. Warner, established a system of water 
works. The privilege was obtained of taking water from a brook flow- 
ing from pure springs about two and a half miles south of the village ; 
the stream was dammed and a large reservoir thus created, in which an 



294 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

effective filter was constructed. A sixteen inch main was laid from the 
reservoir to a point where the pressure reaches 100 pounds to the square 
inch, from which point it is twelve inches diameter. Most of the prom- 
inent streets of the village are piped and about seventy- five hydrants 
are set for protection from fire. By efficient management Mr. Warner 
and his associates soon had the water works on a paying basis, and a 
stock company was formed, of which John M. Kennedy was president. 
The subject of the purchase of the water works by the village was pub- 
licly discussed in 1895 and at the charter election of that year the ques- 
tion of purchase at a stipulated price was voted on; the result was 704 
in favor of purchase, and 346 against. The stockholders of the com- 
pany met on the 30th of April, 1895, and fixed a price on the works. 
There was then $146,000 in stock, over $100,000 of which was held in 
Oneida. A contract for the supply of the village was then in existence 
with four years to run. The price demanded by the company was par 
value of the stock and $15,000 in consideration of the existing contract 
with the village. On June 11 the Supreme Court was asked for the 
appointment of commissioners to appraise the value of the works. A 
Board of Water Commissioners was chosen and in July they voted to 
purchase the works at $148,000. Since the corporation acquired the 
ownership the system has been substantially self-sustaining and the 
people have a water supply that is not excelled in the State. The 
water commissioners are identical with the village president and trus- 
tees. Albert E. Loomis is the efficient superintendent of the water 
works. 

Closely connected with the water supply is the fire department. In 
early history of the village the apparatus for extinguishing fire was in- 
significant and poorly managed. In 1849 there was only one ordinary 
hand engine in use, and it was ten years later before another was pur- 
chased. In 1860 the first hook and ladder truck was put in use and in 
1873 the steamer was purchased and one hand engine was dispensed 
with. For a period prior to his death about 1875, E. W. Jones acted as 
engineer, without official appointment, and by his energy and enthusi- 
asm greatly improved the effectiveness of the department. He was 
finally elected chief and was succeeded in 1875 by C. G. W. Stoddard, 
under whose efficient management the department, as it existed until 
the installation of the water works, was organized and maintained. In 
1883, upon the completion of the water works, the department was re- 
organized, with Warner Hose Company No. 1, Chappell Hose Company 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 295 

No. 3, Mechanics Hose Company No. 4, and the German Hose Com- 
pany, with the Maxwell Hook and Ladder Company. In 1889 the de- 
partment was incorporated under the State laws. This condition con- 
tinued until 1895, when the old volunteer system was displaced by a 
paid department. 

With the installation of the water works, the fire engines became 
practically useless. Under the new charter of 1894 the department is 
governed by the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners consisting of 
four members. Under them is the chief; this position was held by 
Laurel E. Meader, succeeded by Wm. H. Plato, who has two assist- 
ants. The apparatus now in use consists of the hook and ladder truck, 
three hose carts, the requisite quantity of hose and other minor equip- 
ment. The pressure on the hydrants is sufficient to more than reach 
the highest buildings in the village. Present officers of the department 
are Wm. H. Plato, chief; Wm. Hamill, first assistant; Wm. H. Purdy, 
.second assistant. 

The new charter provided for a police force consisting of a chief, a 
police justice, and four patrolmen, who are under the government of 
the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners. This board for 1899 is 
as follows: Dr. Martin Cavana, Charles F. Policy (president). Dr. 
George W. Miles, Allen S. Whitman. The office of chief of police has 
been held by Daniel P. Sanford since the charter became operative, 
and Daniel C. Burke was police justice until he was succeeded by James 
E. Brewer. 

A second important improvement for which the village of Oneida is 
indebted to J. W. Warner is the introduction of electric lighting. 
Previous to 1888 the village was lighted by gas supplied by the Oneida 
Gas Light Company, incorporated in 1868, which is still in active exist- 
ence, with Walter E. Northup, president. In 1888, when electric light- 
ing in this section was in its infancy, Mr. Warner established a lighting 
plant in a small building on Vanderbilt avenue, where stands his present 
four-story industrial building. At a large expenditure he put in a fully 
equipped Thomson- Houston system, capable at that time of supplying 
all the wants of the village, both in the streets and for private consum- 
ers. About seventy arc lights were soon in use by the corporation, and 
more than 1,000 incandescent lights by individuals and families. Mr. 
Warner still owns and operates this plant in an efficient and satisfac- 
tory manner, mainly to supply private consumers. 

In addition to the above described lighting facilities is the Oneida 



296 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Electric Light and Power Company's plant. This company was incor- 
porated in 1897 and in that year made a five year contract with the cor- 
poration to light the village streets for $6,000 per annum, for seventy- 
two arc lamps, twenty-five of which were burned all night and the 
remainder until 1 a. m. The officers of the company are: W. Judson 
Smith, president; Henry S. Newton, chief engineer; C. W. Koiner, 
general manager; Howard N. Babcock, secretary and treasurer; C. H. 
Coley, counsel. 

The first brick paving laid in Oneida was that on Madisoii Square, 
which was followed by the paving of Main street in 1887 with brick 
and of Madison and Phelps streets in 1888. Previous to that date some 
of the main streets were roughly paved with cobble stones. But an 
improvement destined to be of far greater benefit to the community 
was the establishment of the sewer system, the construction of which 
is now well advanced. After considerable agitation the question of 
sewers in the village was apparently settled in 1891, when a sewer com- 
mission was appointed consisting of Manford J. Dewey, Lawrence 
Kenna, Hiram L. Rockwell, Jason T. Wallace and Alfred L. Goodrich. 
This commission met on June 1 and elected Mr. Dewey president, and 
E. L. Hunt, clerk. Walter F. Randall was employed as engineer 
and B. A. Ransom as legal counsel. The engineer was sent to several 
other places to inspect systems and gain desired information. Specifi- 
cations were submitted to the board on June 33, after which a Roches- 
ter consulting engineer was called in and the plans perfected. In 
October, 1891, Engineer Randall was directed to proceed with the 
necessary survey. The work progressed through that summer and on 
September 13 at a board meeting it was moved that " we submit a 
proposition to build a general system of sewerage covering the thickly 
settled portion of the village of Oneida, to be paid for by general 
assessment for the necessary amount." When this proposition was 
brought before the people for a vote it was lost by a majority of nearly 
four to one, and for a time nothing further was accomplished. 

The matter was again taken up in 1896 with renewed zeal. William 
W. Baker was then president of the village and was heartily in favor 
of the construction of sewers. The Board of Sewer Commissioners was 
somewhat changed and consisted of M. J. Dewey, president, C. Her- 
man Philipp, Burt Van Horn, Charles House, and Charles H. Parsons. 
Dr. E. R. Boden was elected clerk. Without attempting to follow the 
details of the work thus far accomplished on the system, it may be 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 297 

Stated that trunk sewers have been completed on both sides of the junc- 
tion of Main street and Lenox avenue, while the one on the north side 
extends through Almond street to James across the feeder. These 
trunk sewers, having an approximate length of two miles, were con- 
structed by the village corporation, after proper action had been taken, 
and cost about $16,000, which was paid in annual installments of $5,000 
each, the last being paid in 1898. The remainder of the system con 
sists of lateral sewers, a number of which have been completed. These 
are constructed upon properly presented petitions, and the cost paid by 
the property owners benefited thereby. Between four and five miles 
of these lateral sewers were constructed in 1896 and about the same 
length since The system contemplates from fourteen to sixteen miles 
in all The present Board of Commissioners consists of Jason T. Wal- 
lace, president, Doliver E. House, Albert E. Loomis, Thomas O'Brien, 
and Hiram L. Rockwell. 

The Oneida Railway Company was organized in 1885, for the pur- 
pose of constructing street railways in and through the village. W. J. 
Hickox was the first president of the company, which had a capital of 
$15,000, the same as at the present time. The road from the Central 
railroad station to the station of the West Shore road near Oneida Cas- 
tle,' was built in three months and cars began running in April, 1885. 
In 1888 W. E. Northrup was chosen president of the company and still 
holds the office; H. C. Stone, secretary and treasurer. 

There are no records of the village of Oneida in existence previous to 
1865. The presidents and clerks from that date have been as follows- 

President-s— 1865, Horace Devereaux; 1866, G. P. Soper; 1867-68, 

D. W. C. Stephens; 1869, George Berry; 1870, James A. Bennett;' 
1871, D. W. C. Stephens; 1873, I. N. Messinger; 1873, Francis C. 
Miller; 1874, C. A. Walrath; 1875, Thomas I. Randall; 1876-78, B. E. 
Chase; 1879, P. D. Cheney; 1880, D. W. C Stephens; 1881, Charles 
F. Policy; 1883, H. W. Carpenter; 1883-84, Charles F. Policy; 1885, 
Elisha G. Gay; 1886, Charles F. Polley; 1887, James N. Bates; 1888, 

E. C. Stark: 1889, C. E. Remick; 1800, E. G. Coon; 1891-93, F. B. 
Cheney; 1893, Frank C. Duke; 1894-96, William M. Baker; 1897, 
Charles House; 1898-99, Barney Ratnour. 

Clerks— 1865-69, Ervin Sahsman; 1870-71, A. J. Luce; 1873, S. C. 
Waterman; 1873, John Ackerman ; ' 1874-76, Ben D. French;' 1877- 

> Prior to 1870 presidents were chosen from the Board of Trustees. 
8 Resigned and R. J. Fish appointed. ■ Died in office and F. H. Foote appointed. 



298 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

79, John Kelly; 1880, E J. Girvin; 1881, W. Hector Gale; 1883, Joseph 
McLaughlin; 1883-84, John A. Ferguson; 1885-86,' Edward B. French; 
1887, J, A. Ferguson; 1888, J. C. Ayers; 1889, E. L. Hunt; 1890-93, 
W. F. Leete; 1894, E. L. Hunt; 1895, J. E. Brewer; 1896, E. R. Boden ; 
1897-99, H. L. Bonney. 

Down to the date of its incorporation Oneida was popularly known 
by the title, Oneida Depot. The population in 1840 was only 800 and 
probably was not more than 1,000 in 1848, in which year the incorpora- 
tion was effected. The first village election took place on July 15 of 
that year and resulted as follows: Erasmus Stone, president; I. C. 
Sloan, clerk; James Williams, Joseph Fish, James McFarland, and 
Simon Cobb, trustees. A code of ordinances was prepared in form 
similar to those governing all small villages and adopted in August of 
that year. These were changed in some respects as the growth of the 
place seemed to demand. 

The charter adopted in 1894 provides for the election of a president, 
a board of six trustees, clerk, treasurer, collector, three assessors, a 
street commissioner, a police justice, four police and fire commission- 
ers, a chief of police and chief engineer. The term of office of the 
president was made one year; of the trustees, two years; of the asses- 
sors, three years, and of the police and fire commissioners, four years. 
Besides the Boards of Education and of Health, a Board of Audit was 
provided for, to audit all claims against the corporation, and more 
direct responsibility fixed upon all officials. A special election was 
held in June, 1894, to elect a police justice to serve until the April 
charter election of 1895. A police court room was fitted up on the sec- 
ond floor of the village public building, and apartments for the police 
force on the ground floor. 

The first school house in Oneida village was built in 1841. That was 
only two years after the opening of the railroad when there were very 
few children on what now constitutes the village site. Previous to that 
date the school at Oneida Castle had sufficed for the families in the 
vicinity. The old school house remained until recent years and was 
degraded to the purposes of an ice house in rear of the Allen House. 
The trustees in 1841 were Thomas Barlow, Colon Brooks, and John A. 
Seeber. Peter J. Shalcraft was made clerk, and Henry Marshall, col- 
lector. 

The village was originally comprised in one district. No. 25, but prior 

' Beginning in 1886 the clerks have been appointed bj' the board. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 309 

to 1850 it was divided into two, with numbers 35 and 26, No. 35 being 
south of the railroad and the other district north of the railroad. In 
the district first named a school house was built in 1850 on the site of 
the present old Cherry street building. By frequent enlargements and 
improvements the structure was adapted to the increasing needs of the 
district. 

The school building long in use on Elm street in district No 26 (now 
district No. 5) was erected in its original form in 1851. The old struc- 
ture is almost lost sight of in the many enlargements and improve- 
ments that have since been made. 

A second school building was erected on Cherry street in 1898 with 
modern improvements and adapted to the requirements of the district. 
This was in use only a short time, when on February 9, 1899, it was 
burned and is now in progress of rebuilding. 

The district division before mentioned remained in force, with a few 
minor changes in boundaries, until the division of the town of Lenox in 
1896, when the two districts of the village received the numbers 4 and 
5, and they so remain. 

The question of establishing a Union school district was discussed by 
the inhabitants of district No. 25 on May 31, 1882. W. E. Northrup 
was president of the meeting and Ambrose W. Hill, secretary. A reso 
lution providing for a Union school was offered by Hiram L. Rockwell. 
After considerable discussion the meeting adjourned until June 7, when 
it was determined to vote upon the question on the 9th of that month. 
This purpose was carried out, the result showing 404 votes, of which 
324 were in favor. A Board of Education consisting of nine members 
was chosen as follows : vSidney B. Breese, Samuel A. Maxon, Watson 
A. Stone, for one year; John F. Tuttle, R. B. Downing, Eugene E. 
Coon, for two years; T. F. Hand, jr., Hiram L. Rockwell, and A. J. 
French, for three years. 

In the following year (1883,) after much opposition, a site was pur- 
chased on the corner of Elizabeth and Cemetery streets at a cost of 
$1,700 for a site for a new school building. A building was there 
erected costing about $12,000. 

An academic department, which subsequently became the high 
school, was instituted in 1884, and has since been efficiently maintained, 
under a corps of excellent teachers, at the head of which has been for 
seventeen years past Prof. F. W. Jennings. He resigned in 1899 and 
is succeeded by Prof. Avery W. Skinner. At the present time the 



300 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

principal is assisted by four teachers in the academic department; the 
grammar school has three teachers; the junior department four and the 
primary, seven. The first standing- committee of the academic depart- 
ment consisted of Hiram L. Rockwell, S. A. Maxon, and John F. 
Tuttle. 

The new village charter provides for a Board of Education consisting 
of nine members. The board for 1899 is as follows: Joseph Beal, H. 
D. Fearon, Charles House, William E. Douglass, Julius M. Goldstein, 
George F. Paine, Clark A. Frost, George W. Miles, W. E. Northrup. 
Trustees of district No. 5 — President, James Taber; Joseph Veling, 
Conrad Lochner. Clerk, Robert Calway. The present principal is 
Daniel C. Keating. 

An effort was made many years ago to improve the educational facil- 
ities of Oneida by the establishment of a seminary A few progressive 
persons took the matter in hand and in July, 1857, the Oneida Semin- 
ary was incorporated. A school was opened in September of the same 
year and soon a commodious building was erected. For many years 
the institution enjoyed high repute and accomplished much good in the 
advance of education under such principals as Rev. G. H. Whitney, 
Rev. E. Rollo, Charles E. Swett, and Rev. J. D. Houghton, who re- 
signed in 1872. With the improvement of union and high schools, 
academies and seminaries declined and this one was no exception. 
Financial difficulties arose and the institution was closed. A propo- 
sition was made to sell the building to the village in 1895, but it was 
not entertained. Finally it was purchased by J. Will Chappell, who 
demolished it and devoted the grounds to the uses of a private park. 

The old town of Lenox formerly contained thirty school districts. 
The new town of Oneida contains seven, with school houses, the value 
of buildings and sites being about $34,000. With Lincoln, Lenox, Fen- 
ner, Cazenovia, Smithfield, Stockbridge, and Sullivan it comprises the 
Second School Commissioner district of the county. 

In the Oneida Castle and Sherrill school district Alexander S. Gal- 
braith is president; George Johnston, clerk; Theodore Nye, collector. 

The first banking facilities in Oneida were supplied by the Oneida 
Valley Bank, which was incorporated in 1851, with a capital of $105,- 
000 and the following officers: Niles Higinbotham, president; Samuel 
Breese, vice-president; T. F. Hand, cashier. The institution passed 
into the national system in 1865, the title becoming the Oneida Valle)^ 
National Bank of Oneida. Mr. Higinbotham was succeeded in the 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 301 

presidency by D. G. Dorrance, who was followed by T. F. Hand and 
he by the present official, Herbert H. Douglass. The present directors 
are W. S. Leete (vice-president), T. F. Hand, jr. (cashier), S. H. 
Goodwin, S. B. Breese, C. Carskaddan, John M. Kennedy, Robert 
Stewart, R. M. Baker, R. B. Downing. The capital of the bank has al- 
ways remained the same. The bank building was erected in 1851 and 
in 1864 was added to in its present form. 

The First National Bank of Oneida was organized and incorporated 
October 1, 1865, with a capital of $125,000. The first board of direc- 
tors were Horace Devereaux, James J. Stewart, Samuel J. Fox, Frank- 
lin M. Whitman, James A. Harnett, Arpbrose Hill, Simeon B. Armour, 
Stillman Spooner, Alvin Strong, Zadoc T. Bentley, and C. A. Walrath. 
Horace Devereaux was made president; James J. Stewart, vice-pres- 
ident; Virgil Bull, cashier. The bank was very successful and went 
into voluntary liquidation in January 1, 1874, paying the stockholders 
$1.20 per cent. At the same time it took the name of the State Bank 
of Oneida, which was changed to the National State Bank of Oneida in 
November, 1878. The capital has always been $60,000. The first pres- 
ident of the present institution was the late Samuel H. Fox, who was suc- 
ceeded by the late S. H. Farnam, and he by Andrew J. French, the in- 
cumbent. Austin B. French was the first cashier and still holds the 
office. William W. Warr is vice-president; William G. Hill, teller; G. 
E. Kirkpatrick, bookkeeper, and Fred B. French collection clerk. 

The Farmers and Merchants State Bank was organized June 3, 1892, 
with a capital of $50, 000 and the following officers : Loring Munroe, pres- 
ident; C.W. Dexter, vice-president; E. Emmons Coe, cashier; T. H. Jur- 
den, teller. The directors were E. E. Coon, Francis Stafford, S. C. Water- 
man, Coman Rich (who was succeeded by George L. Menzie), C. W. 
Dexter, A. S. Whitman, H. W. Coley, George Potter, Loring Munroe, 
Ira L. Snell, W. E. Witter, A. B. Munroe, and E. E. Coe. Several of 
these men are residents of other towns in the county. 

The Oneida Savings Bank, a staunch and successful institution, was 
incorporated February 19, 1866, and began business on April 1, of that 
year. The officers were as follows: Daniel G. Dorrance, president; 
George H. Sanford and Goodwin P. Soper, vice-presidents; Edward 
Loomis, secretary and treasurer; I. N. Messinger, attorney. The Board 
of Trustees was composed of the following gentlemen: John Barnett, 
Peterboro; Ralph H. Avery, Canastota; John J. Foote, Hamilton ; Jona- 
than M. Wilson, Stockbridge; T. E. Barnes, Durham ville; Daniel G. 



302 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Dorrance, Oneida Castle; George H. Sanford, Verona; wSamuel Breese, 
I. N Messinger, James A. Bennett, Theodore F. Hand, E. C. Sanders, 
George Berry, Goodwin P. Soper, T. G. Seeley, Ambrose Hill, Milton 
Barnett. Its handsome building was erected in 1889 at a cost of $29,- 
000. The number of depositors is 4,264. The present officers and 
directors are as follows: C. Will Chappell, president; Roswell B. 
Downing, 1st vice president ; Eugene E. Coon, 2d vice-president ; Am- 
brose W. Hill, treasurer; Howard L. Baldwin, secretary; C. Will Chap- 
pell, Roswell B. Downing, Eugene E. Coon, Theodore F. Hand, jr., 
E. Emmons Coe, Henry S. Klock, Charles E. Stevens, Allen S. Whit- 
man, Hazelius Loucks, Francis Stafford, William E. Douglass, Ira L. 
Snell, directors. 

The Central Bank of Oneida is a private financial institution which 
was established in 1870, with a capital of $15,000. William E. North- 
rup has been president since the organization, andR. A. Hill is cashier. 

A powerful factor in the development of Oneida in quite recent years, 
and one which has brought its population up to about 10,000, is the 
number and extent of its manufactures. With favorable shipping 
facilities, low-priced land for sites, enterprising men have found here 
a field for their best endeavors. In this connection a brief description 
of the leading industries of the place will prove of interest. 

The works of the National Casket Company in Oneida are the out- 
growth of a business founded in 1873 in Rochester by John Maxwell. 
In 1881 he effected a consolidation with a similar industry then in opera- 
tion in Oneida by Chappell, Tattle & Co., forming the firm of Chap- 
pell, Chase & Maxwell. The plants in Rochester and Oneida were 
kept in operation until 1890, when they were united with others to 
form the National Casket Company, which includes several of the 
largest concerns in the country in the manufacture of burial caskets. 
Mr. Maxwell has the management of the Oneida factory, and with him 
is associated C. Will Chappell, who is vice-president of the company 
and manager of the New York store. The Oneida factory comprises 
three principal buildings and the industry is one of the most important 
in central New York. (See biography of C. W. Chappell). 

The Oneida Iron Works, another very successful industry, was 
founded in 1875 by W. S. Leete, C. F. Polley, A. E. Loomis, T. E. 
Mayne and D. Carpenter, who were former employees of the engine 
manufacturing firm of Wood, Taber & Morse, of Eaton, this county. 
They began building steam engines and doing general machine work. 







'-c.-^^ 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 303 

meeting with flattering success. Gradually the plant has been extend- 
ed to meet the requirements of their increasing product. Engines, 
boilers, bridge work, etc., are turned out by a large force of skilled 
workmen. The works are now owned by W. S. Leete and A. E. 
Loomis, both of whom are enterprising citizens and active in public 
affairs. 

The Oneida Carriage Works is an incorporated stock company of 
which W. E. Northrup is president; M. J. Dewey, vice-president; John 
Maxwell, secretary and treasurer. This industry was projected in 1883 
with the same title as at present, but the incorporation did not take 
place until 1888. It was one of the most complete carriage manufac- 
turing plants in central New York and turned out fine work. The 
business was wound up in 1898 and a committee appointed to sell the 
property. 

The firm of Upton & Holden is quite extensively engaged in the 
manufacture of carriages. The business was established more than 
thirty years ago by Miles Upson, the present head of the firm, and 
three years later the firm was formed by the admission of Henry T. 
Holden. Both were practical workmen and the business prospered 
from the first. 

The firm of Dapson & Wolf (Thomas Dapson, John W. Wolf), estab- 
lished October, 1898, also manufactures wagons extensively, occupying 
the buildings formerly used for a knitting mill. F. J. Aubeuf has 
built up a large trade in the Monitor hand cart which he manufactures 
under his own patents. 

J. Barrett's Sons (Theodore A. and F. Eugene) are engaged in car- 
riage making, in which business they succeeded their father who started 
here in a small way nearly fifty years ago. They make only high grade 
work and the reputation of their vehicles is high. 

Wilson, Eells & Mott began business as dealers in carriage supplies 
in 1885; Mr. Wilson withdrew in 1888 and the business is still con- 
tinued by Eells & Mott. 

Oneida has become quite widely known in the line of manufactures 
through the extended reputation of the Westcott lathe chuck, made by 
the Westcott Chuck Company. This business was begun in 1872 by 
the Oneida Steam Engine and Foundry Company, which for several 
years were extensive builders of engines in addition to the making of 
chucks. The Westcott chuck is the invention of the late John H. West- 
cott, formerly foreman for the Steam Engine and Foundry Company. 



304 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In 1885 the Westcott Chuck Company was incorporated with a capital 
stock of $50,000, which was subsequently increased to $150,000. James 
H. Westcott, son of John H., is now superintendent of the works. A 
large variety of chucks is made by this company and all have the repu- 
tation among machinists of excellence and efficiency. The present 
officers of the company are S. H. Goodwin, president and manager; T. 
F. Hand, jr., secretary and treasurer; James H. Westcott, superin- 
tendent. 

The Oneida National Chuck Company, organized in 1897, succeeded 
the National Chuck Company of New York, and the chuck business of 
the Oneida Manufacturing Chuck Company. About twenty-five hands 
are employed in the making of a general line of lathe and drill chucks. 
The present officers of the company are: L. J. Myers, president; R. B. 
Ruby, vice-president ; H. M. Reynolds, secretary, treasurer and man- 
ager. 

The before-mentioned Oneida Manufacturing Chuck Company made 
chucks during seven years prior to 1897 in connection with wagon gears. 
The gear business passed to Schubert Brothers Gear Company in 1897, 
and the chuck business to the National Company, as above stated. 

One of the oldest manufactures of Oneida is the business which is 
the legitimate successor of the saw mill built in 1840 by Samuel Breese. 
About 1868 the property passed to Thompson & Bennett, and in 1886 
the firm became Bennett & Klock (Willard H. Bennett and Henry S. 
Klock). The business now includes a saw mill, an immense lumber 
yard and large ice houses; the power is derived from Skenandoah Creek. 
In this connection should be mentioned the sash, door and blind factory 
of the O. W. Sage Manufacturing Company, which was founded by the 
late O. W. Sage in 1887. In 1890 the company was incorporated and a 
very large business was carried on a few years. The buildings and 
site are now used for canning business by Olney Brothers, noticed fur- 
ther on. 

The manufacture of woven wire mattresses by the Hard Brothers 
Manufacturing Company was for a number of years an important in- 
dustry. The business was established in 1876 by Hard Brothers & 
Company and after the change about 1890 a large part of J. W. Warner's 
industrial building was occupied. The firm removed to Buffalo a few 
years since, and the business was purchased by the Comstock Manufac- 
turing Co. and removed to Utica. 

The original Oneida Mill was a grist mill built in 18-10 by Sands Hig- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 305 

inbotham. The property passed through several proprietorships, and 
the mill was operated a number of years by G. C. Parker. The mills 
were burned prior to 1887 and the site was covered with ruins for some 
time when it was purchased by J. W. Warner, who rebuilt the mill and 
equipped it with modern machinery for flouring. He operated it about 
a year, when he sold it to L. V. Rathbun of Rochester, and A. E. Saw- 
yer, who formed the present Rathbun & Saw3'er Company. They re- 
fitted and improved the mill, which now has eighteen pairs of rolls and 
other adequate machinery for the daily production of nearly 100 barrels 
of flour, bearing several well-known brands. Mr. Rathbun is president 
of the company; Mr. Sawyer, vice-president and treasurer, and A. S. 
Rathbun, secretary. This is the only flouring establishment in the 
village. 

In 1886 Farrell & Lewis established a knitting mill in Oneida for the 
manufacture of men's woolen underwear and hosiery. The firm was 
later changed to Farrell & Son, and in 1891 was incorporated as the 
Central Mills Manufacturing Company. A large plant was put in op- 
eration, with Michael Farrell, president; James P. Malloy, treasurer, 
and R. J. Fis-h, secretary. A few years later the business was closed 
and removed to Utica. 

The canning industry, which has in recent years become so impor- 
tant in this country, is represented in Oneida by the large establishment 
of Olney Brothers (James D. and Burt), which was started up in 1898, 
the property having been leased from Bennett & Klock, who had car- 
ried on the same business a few years. Extensive additions have re- 
cently been made to the large brick structure which was formerly the 
O. W. Sage sash and blind factory. There is also a large canning fac- 
tory at Kenwood and another at Lenox. 

One of the most successful industries of Oneida is the Oneida Silver 
Ware Manufacturing Company, organized in 1894 through the efforts 
of Sidney W. Moore. The original capital was $20,000, which has 
since been increased to $50,000. The first officers were Sidney W. 
Moore, president; T. D. Wilkin, vice-president; C. A. Stringer, secre- 
tary and treasurer. The president remains the same, with W. M. 
Swayze, vice-president, and S. A. Campbell, secretary and treasurer. 
A large building was erected for the works and about seventy five 
hands are employed in the production of a complete line of hollow 
ware. 

The Oneida Rubber Tire Works of Theodore Coles are doing a large 

20 



306 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

business in the industry indicated by the name. All kinds of rubber 
tires for vehicles and bicycles are produced. The business was begun 
in 1896. 

The manufacture of cigars in Oneida has long been an important in- 
dustry. The firm of Powell & Goldstein (Julius M. Goldstein, J. E. 
Powell), established about 1879, now employs about 175 hands, and 
their product reaches more than 6,000,000 cigars annually. Since Mr. 
Powell's death Mr. Goldstein has carried on the business alone under 
the old firm name. Other cigar manufacturers are J. M. Bennett, 
Kenny Brothers, and Bennett & Hard. 

Some of the hotels of Oneida have large historical interest to local 
readers. The fact of the building of the Railroad House by Sands 
Higinbotham and his securing the stoppage of every train here for re- 
freshments has been noticed a few pages back; it was a shrewd move 
and brought the first hotel a good patronage, at the same time that it 
gave the railroad company a right of way which is now very valuable. 
The Railroad House was what is now the Allen House, although to a 
small extent enlarged. The actual building of this house was begun 
in 1838 by S. H. and Ira S. Hitchcock. It was finished and in April, 
1839, was opened by Henry Y. Stewart. He kept it only a year when 
Erasmus Stone became proprietor and was landlord until 1845. Robert 
Wear came from Massachusetts and then kept the house about two 
years, when it passed to John W. Allen, who made it a popular public 
house for many years. E. B. Kenfield is present proprietor. 

What is now the Madison House was formerly a dwelling and was 
rebuilt for a hotel by David Blodgett, who kept it a few years. After 
several changes it came under proprietorship of R. H. Northrup and 
was called the Northrup House. J. V. Richardson is the present pro- 
prietor. 

What was formerly a residence begun by O. T. Burt of Syracuse was 
purchased and finished by Heman Phelps, then superintendent of the 
railroad, who occupied it from about 1840. In about the year 1860 it 
was purchased by the Messingers and moved forward and altered into 
a hotel. Chauncey Bacon kept it as the Bacon House a few years and 
finally bought it. It had other names and finally passed to the present 
owner, Barney Ratnour; Charles H. Moshier is proprietor. 

The very numerous merchants of Oneida who have been in business 
during the past twenty-five years cannot, of course, find mention here 
in detail. Many of them will be found in Part III of this work and 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 307 

their business careers noticed in that connection. Among the older 
and more prominent ones, some of whom are still in trade, may prop- 
erly be mentioned the following-: William J. Farnam, successor of his 
father, S. H. Farnam, who began business here in 1862; Kimball & 
Dunbar, whose business was started nearly forty years ago by Turner 
& Farnam; Munroe & Parsons, whose business began in 1887; Water- 
man & Hodges, which is a lineal successor of the clothing business 
started by C. I. Walrath as far back as 1846; M. J. Dewey, who is known 
throughout central New York as a successful piano and music dealer of 
nearly thirty-five years past; Meader & Lype, successors of Cole & 
Header, who began in 1869, the present firm in 1878; Dwight Chapin, 
one of the oldest established news stores in central New York; C. A. & 
D. H. Walrath, T. G. Seeley, S. H. Farnam, S. Chapin and S. Chapin, 
jr. , Henry Rivenburgh, William Lyle, Doliver House, Thomas Angel, 
John M. Kennedy, William C. Lawrence, J. M. Goldstein, S^^gj-Water^ 
man, William E. Hazeltine, William M. Baker, John E. Stone, Simeon 
an3 Elijah Kenyon, Allen S. Clark, Theodore Carter, J. W. Warner, 
Dwight Chapin, L. J. Myers, B. S. Teale, Rhody Toher, James F. Cody, 
Thomas Coniflf, A. H. Niles, James H. Niles, C. W. Mott, William 
Mott, C. W. Chappell, John Maxwell, Sands H. Goodwin, Theodore 
Hand, Walter E. Northrup, A. B. French, M. J. Dewey, H. M. Rey- 
nolds, E. Emmons Coe, Ambrose E. Sawyer, William S. Leete, A. E. 
Loomis, J. V. Richardson, Ezra Clark, Seymour Harvey, C. F. Policy, 
T. E. Main, Loring Munroe, James N. Bates, E. E. Coon, Albert Mar- 
cellus, R. B. Ruby, R. W. Hill, Alonzo Randall, A. W. Barker, Sidney 
W. Moore, George and August Schubert, R. A. Stewart, Thomas 
O'Brien, G. A. Quackenbush, Charles House, William R. Williams, 
Prentice D. Cheney, George F. Avery, N. L. Cramer, Lawrence Kenna, 
Charles E. Remick, John Barrett, E. C. Saunders, W. I. Tillotson, R. 
B. Downing, Herbert Douglass, Norman Lype, W. Jerome Hickox. 

In recent years the wholesale trade of the village has developed into 
importance, considering the size of the place. Such houses as that of 
Douglass & Downing, in wholesale groceries; Clark, Whitman & War- 
ner, dry goods and clothing; Kimball & Dunbar, hardware, paints, etc. ; 
H. Rivenburgh, crockery and glassware; J. H. Cool, drugs, etc. ; Eells 
& Mott, carriages and wagon supplies; and others give the village a 
prominent business position among the thriving communities of the 
State. 

The Oneida Chamber of Commerce was organized in 1889, for the 



308 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

promotion of general business interests in the town through induce- 
ments that might be offered to manufacturers and tradesmen to locate 
here, and the individual welfare of existing interests. Nearly all the 
leading business men of the village became members and the organiza- 
tion has been able to effect much benefit. The officers are R. B. Down- 
ing, president; W. E. Douglass, vice-president; James A. Babcock, 
secretary; G. L. Scheifele, treasurer. There is a board of fifteen di- 
rectors, and committees are appointed on manufacturing, public im- 
provements, finance, transportation, membership, insurance and license 
for sale of merchandise. 

There have been less newspaper changes in Oneida than in most vil- 
lages of its size. This is, however, partly due to the fact that the first 
one was not started until 1851, when the Oneida Telegraph made its 
appearance under the editorship of D. H. Frost. The paper was dis- 
continued in ]854 on account of Mr. Frost's failing health. A few 
months later John Crawford became owner of the property and em- 
ployed Ira D. Brown as editor, giving the paper the name of the 
Sachem. Mr. Brown was an excellent writer and the paper gained un- 
der his control. In 1863 the name of the paper was again changed to 
the Dispatch, and Edward H. Spooner became a partner in the business. 
In 1866 the establishment passed to Purdy & Jackson, and in 1870 Mr. 
Purdy retired and Myron M. Allen took his interest. In July, 1880, Al- 
bert P. Potter, then city editor of the Syracuse Standard, acquired, Mr. 
Allen's interest and the firm became Jackson & Potter. Mr. Potter re- 
tired and the firm became Jackson Brothers (D. A. & L. C. Jackson), 
which continued until the death of the senior member of the firm. The 
paper was then published by the Dispatch Printing Company until 
April, 1899, since which date it has been conducted by the Oneida Dis- 
patch Company, the firm consisting of R. J. Fish and Charles E. Roberts; 
the latter is editor and manager. 

In October, 1850, Levi S. Backus started the Democratic Union in 
the village of Hamilton, this county. He sold it the following year to 
W. H. Baker who in 1863 moved the plant to Oneida. Mr. Baker con- 
tinued in the business with marked success, considering the size of the 
place until his death on June 15, 1873. On the 1st of August, 1873, the 
present firm took possession of the establishment and for more than 
twenty-five years have made the Union one of the best country news- 
papers in the State. Sketches of the lives of Mr. Baker and Mr. Maxon 
will be found in Part II. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 309 

The Oneida Post, now published every Saturday by Hugh Parker, 
was established in 1883 by the Post Publishing Company, the first num- 
ber being issued December 15, 1883. It is now an eight page paper. 
Republican in politics. Mr. Parker succeeded Rathbone & Ryan. R. 
J. Fish, Charles Parks and others have at different times been connected 
with the paper. 

The Oneida Free Press was started as an independent weekly in 1880 
by W. Hector Gale, a practical printer and native of Oneida. It was 
discontinued in March, 1896, on account of the ill health of the proprie- 
tor. 

The oldest religious organization in Oneida is St. John's Episcopal 
Church which was organized May 6, 1843, under charge of Rev. Ste- 
phen H. Batlin of Rome. The first wardens were William V. Wins- 
low and Hulbert G. Wetmore. From that time until 1858 the little 
congregation was ministered to by six or eight different pastors. In 
the year named Niles Higinbotham with characteristic generosity gave 
the society a lot and a chapel was erected thereon. Services were kept 
up by different pastors from other places until March, 1860, when Rev. 
Edward Pidoley became the first rector. Pastors who have succeeded 
him have been Revs. W. H. Van Antwerp, H. V. Gardner, George G. 
Perine, George T. Le Boutellier, George P. Hibbard and John Arthur. 
In 1873 the chapel was enlarged and on July 15, 1895, the corner stone 
was laid for the present beautiful church. 

At a meeting held at the house of Sands Higinbotham early in 1844 
it was resolved by the nine persons present, including Mr. Higinbotham 
and his son Niles, to organize a Presbyterian church. The services of 
Rev. James Nichols were soon afterwards secured and he preached in a 
school room on Madison street. The society was organized at a meet- 
ing held March 1, 1844, and the organization was perfected under the 
title of the Trustees of the Oneida Depot Presbyterian Society, with 
James Stewart, Jeremiah Cooper, and S. H. Goodwin, trustees. A 
building committe was appointed to join with the trustees in collecting 
money with which to build a meeting house. The society was incor- 
porated March 25, 1844, and the formal organization took place on the 
13th day of June, with thirty members, twenty of whom were from the 
Wampsville church. The name then taken was the Presbyterian Church 
of Oneida Valley (subsequently shortened by dropping the last word) 
and David Blackman, Heman Phelps, James Stewart, Jeremiah Cooper 
and Charles L. Gardner were chosen elders. The meeting house was 



310 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

dedicated in January, 1845 This church was superseded by the one 
now in use. Rev. James Nichols was called to the pastorate in Febru- 
ary, 1845, and continued until 1851, when he was followed by Rev. C. 
R. Gregory, who remained until 1864. Later pastors have been Revs. 
Charles E. Robinson, D. D. , George D. Baker, and Rev. Samuel Jes- 
sup, D. D. 

The Baptist Church Society was organized in 1843 at Oneida Castle, 
with thirteen members. Rev. Seymour Adams was the first pastor, 
preaching one-third of the time, and Rev. D. D. Ransom the remainder 
until the church was removed to Oneida in 1848. On April 4, of that 
year the name was changed to the Oneida Baptist Society, and Henry 
Marshall, Ralph K. Ellinwood, and B. B. Stoddard were elected trus- 
tees. In 1848 Elder L. S. Huntley became pastor. A meeting house 
was built in 1849, which was occupied until 1888 when the present 
handsome edifice was erected. In March 1849, the Oneida Castle con- 
gregation was added to the church, which is now in a prosperous condi- 
tion under the ministrations of Rev. Charles C. Maxfield. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Oneida was organized November 
25, 1850. Services in this faith had been held here some years previ- 
ously, but not with regularity. Rev. W. E. York was the first pastor; 
he was settled in 1850 and served one year, preaching in the morning 
here and afternoons at Oneida Castle. A subscription was solicited and 
under the charge of David A. Parkhill, George Parkhurst, and Reuben 
Pomeroy, as building committee, a meeting house was erected. The 
first trustees were Sidney Rivenburgh, Ford Pilcher, George Parkhurst, 
Reuben Pomeroy, A. W. Stevens, James Bonner, and Aaron Yale. 
Rev. Isaac Foster succeeded Mr. York after one year and during his 
pastorate the present brick edifice was built; it has since undergone ex- 
tensive changes and improvements. The usual long succession of pas- 
tors have served this congregation, ending with Rev. J. F. Beebe. 

St. Joseph's Catholic Church was the outgrowth of an organization 
formed with the ultimate purpose of erecting a meeting house for the 
accommodation of those who had been attending at the German Catho- 
lic church in Durhamville. When they were ready to build the bishop 
insisted upon the formation of a society, which was done under the 
above title, and the church edifice was built in 1893. Its cost was about 
$5,000. A school building was erected in 1898. About sixty families 
attend the church, which is under the pastoral care of Rev. B. W 
Goossens. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 311 

The history of St. Patrick's Church in Oneida begins with the pro- 
ceedings of a meeting held in the spring of 1843, at which it was re- 
solved to build a meeting house. Previous to that time there had been 
no regular Catholic services held in the little village, where there were 
only ten or twelve families of this faith. A small wooden structure was 
accordingly built and the congregation began to prosper, paying for the 
church and largely increasing in numbers by 1851. In that year the 
mission at Oneida was separated from the Rome parish, and Rev. 
Patrick Kenna was sent here. In the spring of 1851 was begun the 
erection of the now old vSt. Patrick's church on the corner of Main and 
Walnut streets. The building was of wood and cost about $2,800. 
Father Kenna died in 1856 and was succeeded by Rev. John McDer- 
mott, who died in the following year. He was succeeded by the Rev. 
James A. O'Hara, who continued until 1857, when he went to Syracuse 
to begin his long period of ministration to the congregation of St. 
Mary's church in that city. Rev. James Maurice Sheehan came to St. 
Patrick's church in 1859, remaining until 1863, when he was followed 
by Rev. William F. Sheehan. He remained five years and was fol- 
lowed by Rev. William Fennelly, whose pastorate continued twenty 
years, until 1886, when he died. He was succeeded by Rev. James A. 
Kelley, who is still in charge of the parish. The present beautiful and 
costly edifice was erected in 1888-89. The tenth anniversary is to be 
held in 1899, for which purpose the edifice will be redecorated, three 
marble altars built and a large organ installed. The church owns a fine 
rectory on Main street and a cemetery of thirty-five acres. 

St. Paul's German Evangelical Church was organized during the pas- 
torate of Rev. Jacob Vosseler, who was sent here by the Conference in 
1890. Previous to that year services had been held by Revs. Jacob 
Burkhardt, who divided his time between this place and New London 
from 1878 to 1880; Phillip Spaeth, to 1883; Samuel Bean to 1883, from 
which time the Conference made no appointment until 1887. Rev. H. 
P. Merle was then appointed, and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Horn, 
who was followed by Rev. Vosseler, as stated. Services had thus far 
been held in the session room of the old Presbyterian church and in 
the G. A. R. hall. The church edifice was dedicated in 1891. The 
present pastor is Rev. A. Luescher. 

The Free Methodist Church was organized about 1875, by Rev. B. 
T. Roberts. The membership increased and about ten years later a 
'small meeting house was built. The pulpit is now supplied by two 



313 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

women evangelists. A Methodist society of colored people has been 
in existence here many years and is now in charge of Rev. M. H. 
B. Ross. 

The remaining village of most importance in the old town of Lenox 
(now Lincoln), is Clock ville, which is now only a small hamlet about 
two miles south of Canastota. In early years there was an active busi- 
ness interest here, before trade was drawn northward by the construc- 
tion of the railroads. As stated on a previous page, the place took its 
name from the Klock family, of whom Conrad was the father and settled 
here with his sons, Joseph, John and Conrad, in 1792. Descendants 
of this family have been prominent in this vicinity many years. The 
little settlement that gathered about the mill and stores at this point 
was known for a period as Shippeville, from an old tavern-keeper 
named Shippe The place took its present name when the post office 
was established. Peleg Card was the first postmaster, and was suc- 
ceeded by Col. Stephen Chapman, progenitor of a very prominent 
family in the history of the town and father of B. Frank Chapman, 
who succeeded in the office. Among later postmasters, the list of 
whom cannot be made wholly complete, were Frank Blye, Lyman 
Hicks, Harry Simons, Robert B. Beal, Charles Miller, J. Otis Tuttle, 
S. K. Pettitt, Robert B. Beal again, and George Way, the present official. 

Thomas Lawrence was a settler here in 1806 and built the stone 
house near the village, which is still standing; he was a progressive 
citizen and did much for the improvement of roads, built an early 
plaster mill, etc. He died May 9, 1866. Harry Simon was an early 
blacksmith, settled here in 1837 and died at an advanced age. Marvin 
Keeney was a settler here of 1834 and held the office of justice of the 
peace. In 1836 there was a grist mill in operation, two stores, two 
taverns, a saw mill, two churches and about seventy dwellings in the 
place. In 1840 the population was 250 and the business interests had 
not much advanced. 

The trip hammer shop was established at Clockville prior to 1820 and 
excellent scythes and other implements were made many years. It 
was long ago closed up. There was another similar shop, called the 
upper shop to distinguish it from the first one, but did not long remain 
in operation. A third trip-hammer shop was put in operation in 1827 
by Peter Parsalian. This was afterwards occupied for a wagon shop 
and was finally converted into a cheese factory by Nathaniel Kaiser. 
All of these buildings have disappeared. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 313 

The Clockville grist mill was built in 1827 by Brooks & Nye, who 
sold it to Gerrit S. Sayles. It was burned in 1856 and rebuilt by Giles 
Cranson. Austin A. Watson owned it later and in 1875 sold it to Will- 
iam Clow. It was burned down in 1896. The iron work for this mill 
was made by Harry Simons, before mentioned. 

It is not nowknown just when the saw mill was built nor who by, 
but it was probably in operation as soon as the grist mill. The old mill 
is still in existence, with a cider mill and cheese box factory in connec- 
tion. 

There was an early grist mill built in 1830 by J. D. Nellis, on the 
road to Lenox Furnace. Other later owners of it were S. Bennett, H. 
H. Hathaway, Wright & Baker, and S. Pettitt. The building is still 
in existence. In 1866 Joseph L. Mansfield founded a factory here for 
the manufacture of horse hay forks, which developed into a very suc- 
cessful business. It was carried on in a building that was formerly 
a woolen factory which was established by Colon Brooks about 1840. 
Other implements were made at this factory, which ultimately passed 
to Patten & Stafford, who manufactured wheel rakes, as noticed a few 
pages back. 

In olden times the taverns at these turnpike villages did a thriving 
business and several were in prosperous existence in this vicinity. The 
tavern of old Shippe has been mentioned, and in early years another 
was kept about a half a mile from the village, at the Corners, by a man 
named Fort. In 1837 Charles Lints opened a public house which was 
subsequently conducted by Peleg Card and by his widow after his death. 
Solomon Wilcox was the owner of the house at his death in 1866, and 
his widow sold it to William Skinner. He improved it and sold to 
Daniel Betsinger, who sold it to Charles Suits. It then took the name 
of the Suits House, or the upper house, to distinguish it from the lower 
house. It has ever since been kept as a hotel. 

The lower house was opened in 1837 by a Mr. Bowman. Daniel H. 
King was later a proprietor until 1866 when it was sold to Frederick 
Hubbard. After that time the house had numerous proprietors. It 
was burned about five years ago. 

Clockville had its early lawyer in the person of Stephen Chapman who 
settled there in 1820 and was for many years a prominent and respect- 
ed citizen. He was followed by his son, B. F. Chapman, who was in 
practice until 1880, when he moved his office to Oneida. George W. 
Chapman practiced here some years; but the place is now without a 
resident practicing lawyer. 



314 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Physicians of past years were Drs. Avery, Mitchell, Charles McCon- 
nell, who settled here in 1876, and Messinger. There is no physician 
there now. 

Of the earliest mercantile operations at this place little is now known. 
As before stated there were two stores in 1836, and ever since there has 
been one or two containing stocks sufficient for the local needs. Ben- 
jamin Bort opened a shoe shop in 1850 and was soon succeeded by J. 
D. Walrath, who about 1852 put in a general stock. In 1853 the store 
was closed but reopened by H. H. Hathaway, with a stock of drugs. 
He sold a year later to Giles S. Cranson, who subsequently sold his 
stock at auction and closed the store. J. D. Walrath reopened it and 
was succeeded by J. Otis Tuttle, and later S. K. Pettitt, J. L. Law- 
rence, Dudley Johnson, and Frank Clow, the present proprietor. 

The so-called upper store also has had numerous proprietors alter- 
nated with periods of idleness, among them being S. K. Pettitt, H. H. 
Hathaway, Levi Miller, Charles Miller, and others. It is now conduct- 
ep by John Ritter. 

Rufus Fancher established a boot and shoe shop in 1857, in which 
business he was succeeded by his son, F. M. Fancher, who subsequently 
closed it out. 

This place was formerly in school district No. 4 of the town of Lenox. 
The first school meeting here was held at the house of Stephen Chap- 
man in June, 1814. The trustees were then Stephen Chapman, John 
I. D. Nellis, and David Fowler. Measures were taken to build a school 
house resulting in the erection of a building twenty-four feet square 
which cost $100. The first teacher was Peleg Card. In 1830 the num- 
ber of the district was changed to 6, and in the next year Samuel Glid- 
den taught; he was succeeded the next winter by Julius A. Spencer. 
A new school house was finished in the fall of 1824, 24 by 30 feet dimen- 
sions and costing $350. This was occupied until 1853 when the present 
building was erected. 

A church site on Oak Hill was deeded in 1832 to the trustees of The 
First Methodist Protestant Episcopal Society of Lenox, consisting of 
Sylvester Beecher, Silas Sayles, Isaac I. Forbes, Christian Kilts, and 
John Seeber; the deed was from Christian and Catherine Kilts. A 
meeting house was at once erected on the lot and the church continued 
in existence some years. It was subsequently disbanded and the land 
passed to the possession of Stephen Chapman. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Clockville was organized June 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LENOX. 315 

28, 1848. Rev. Calvin Flint and Adam Klock presided at the meeting, 
and Mr. Flint, Adam Klock, John T. Parkell, Thomas Lawrence, 
George Best, and B. F. Chapman were elected trustees. This society 
purchased from Mr. Capman the old Methodist church and moved it to 
its later site. It is in use for a town hall. The usual long succession 
of pastors has ministered to the congregation. The present church 
edifice was built in 1894. 

The Baptist Church of Lenox was organized in 1847 and the meeting 
house was built in the next year. Most of the original members were 
residents of the Mile Strip, where it was at first determined to build a 
church. It passed out of existence many years ago. 

Clockville is the largest business center in the new town of Lincoln 
created by the division of old Lenox, as before described. The bound- 
aries of the new town are shown approximately on the map herein. 
The town contains 14,889 acres and has an assessed valuation of $453,- 
875. In 1897, the year after the division, H. H. Hathaway was elected 
supervisor. In 1898, Levi J. Carver was elected to the office. 

There is still a small business interest and post-office at Wampsville, 
the settlement of which has been described. Irene Cobb is postmis- 
tress. The post-office was opened about 1834 with William Spencer, post- 
master ; he kept a public house on the turnpike, and an early store, where 
Thomas T. Loomis was the first merchant. Franklin Johnson, Ward & 
Case, and Ward & Smith were later merchants. A. A. Loucks began 
trade in 1879, succeeding Rush Parkhurst and still continues. The 
Wampsville Presbyterian Society was organized in April, 1828, at the 
school house and James Stewart, Jared N. Avery, and Elisha Cranson 
were the first trustees. A meeting house was built in 1833, and was ex- 
tensively repaired in 1872. 

Oneida Valley is a hamlet in the extreme northeastern part of the 
new town of Lenox, where there is a post-office, with Fred C. Parker, 
postmaster. A hotel has been kept here many years, the building hav- 
ing been burned in 1876 and rebuilt, after which it was kept by J. O. 
Goff, and others. August and Andrew Anderson formerly kept a store, 
as also did Daniel Farnham. A hotel and a store are now in existence 
here. 

The Oneida Valley Presbyterian Church was organized May 24, 1847, 
with James Williamson, Ezra McEwen, G. T. Kirkland, Charles Smith, 
William Williamson members. Rev. James Nichols had preached 
there some time previous to the organization and was succeeded in 1848 



316 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

by Rev. Jehiel Talmage. The church records are fragmentary. The 
frame of the meeting house was built in 1848, with the intention of 
making it a union edifice; but funds ran out and it was not until 1854 
that sufficient money could be collected to finish it. 

Oneida Lake is another post hamlet near the lake shore in the north- 
west corner of the new town of Lenox. The place has also been called 
" Messenger's," from O. C. Messenger, who long kept the hotel there. 
Homer W. Sherwood has kept a store and been postmaster more than 
twenty years. 

Very little of the hamlet of Durhamville in the northeast part of the 
new town of Oneida is on the Madison county side of the line. The 
place took its name from Eber Durham, who settled there 1826. At 
that date there were only four log houses on the site of the village. 
Through Mr. Durham's enterprise and the opening of the canal, the 
place assumed considerable business importance At one period there 
there were a tannery, a glass factory (still in existence), two or three 
stores, nine groceries, a steam grist mill (still running), an iron 
foundry, and three or four hotels. These and the present business in- 
terests of the village have little bearing upon the history of Madison 
councy. The dry dock of Michael Doran, at which considerable busi- 
ness is done, and the hotel of John Wimmett, are on the Madison 
county side. 

A part of the large business interests of Kenwood are situated in the 
east part of the new town of Oneida, under management of the Oneida 
Community Limited. The railroad station is named Kenwood, and the 
canning factory, the silk spooling establishment and dye house are in 
this county. The thread, trap works, etc. , are in Oneida county. The 
Community was organized in 1848, prospered greatly in business and 
wealth, but gained unenviable notoriety through its peculiar views on 
the marriage relation as expounded by John H. Noyes, who was the 
founder. It is not felt that any extended account of this Community is 
needed in these pages. When its underlying doctrine as to marriage 
was abolished in response to pressure of public opinion, it became a 
purely business institution and as such continues with a high degree of 
success. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 



CHAPTER XVII. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— SULLIVAN. 

The recent division of the old town of Lenox into three towns leaves 
the town of Sullivan the largest in the county, though it is not, of 
course, the most numerously populated. The population has steadily 
declined in numbers during the past thirty or forty years, from causes 
that have already been noticed, the census of 1892 giving it as 3,944, 
while in 1860 it was 5,233. 

When John H. Walrath came to the site of Chittenango in 1808, with 
his son, Henry I., he settled on the well-known Walrath farm of 100 
acres, which was largely forest covered. He and his son had contracted 
for the construction of a section of the Seneca Turnpike. In the spring 
of 1809 work was begun in clearing on the farm. At that time there 
were only three or four houses on the site of Chittenango, a part of 
which was low and swampy. The site of the park itself was a sort of 
mud hole; but the beauty of the surroundings and the splendid water 
power gave the site natural advantages that the earlier village of Can- 
aseraga could not compete with. 

The beginning of the village may be said to date from the time in 
1812 when Judge Sanger and Judge Youngs of Whitestown built the 
first mills. Joseph Sanger also opened the first store, conducted an 
ashery, bought cattle and drove them to market, etc. He continued 
in mercantile business until near his death, about 1850, at an advanced 
age. Moses Parmalee came here from Cazenovia and was a merchant 
contemporary with Mr. Sanger. He died in March, 1860, at the age 
of seventy years. 

In the spring of 1816 John B. Yates, a man of great business ability 
and unbounded energy, appeared in Chittenango and under the stim- 
ulous of his activity the place grew rapidly. He opened a large store 
for that time and continued the leading business man of the village 
many years. In 1818 he built a plaster mill adjoining the grist mill in 
the village and soon after the discovery of water lime engaged exten- 
sively in its manufacture. He was largely instrumental in constructing 



318 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the lateral canal from Chittenango to the Erie, and conducted a packet 
line to Utica, with other operations yet to be noticed. Mr. Yates was 
a lawyer by profession and a more detailed sketch of his life is given 
in another chapter of this work. 

The opening of the canal was a source of rapid settlement and' im- 
provement of this town and village. About the time that Mr. Yates 
came in Dr. Samuel Kennedy, James Kennedy, Dr. Samuel Fuller, 
Thomas Livingston, Robert and David Riddell, and other progressive 
men became residents. David Riddell was son of Robert the elder, 
and in 1811 went to Peterboro where he learned the tanner and currier 
trade with Benjamin Wilber. In 1815 he and his brother Robert estab- 
lished the same business in connection with boot and shoe making, in 
Chittenango, in the tannery built about 1808 by a man named McBride, 
who left it in a year or two. The business was revived by Vincent 
Wilber, who was superseded b}' the Riddells, who purchased the prop- 
erty from Jonathan Smith, the former proprietors not having acquired 
title. This old tannery was situated on the site of the Baptist church 
and the store building adjoining. Another tannery was built about 
1817 by John Bouck, near the site ot the village grist mill which was 
operated a few years by other persons. 

With the growth of settlement, the improvement of land and the in- 
crease of produce for shipment, other merchants set up business in the 
village and the place became an active trade center. Henry H. Cobb, 
a clerk for Mr. Yates, became his partner and continued in trade and 
the manufacture of lime until about 1836. He became owner of seven 
canal boats, which he loaded with grain bought by himself and shipped 
to Albany. His brother, Nathan Cobb, was for a period associated 
with him ; both subsequently removed to Syracuse where they died. 

The firm of George K. Fuller and Joseph Clary (Fuller & Clary) 
were in business about a year in the Yates & Cobb store and also man- 
ufactured water lime. They failed and sold their goods to Reuben 
Hawley, the pioneer Canastota merchant. Mr. Hawley was succeeded 
in the same store by James Crouse, who came from Durhamville, and 
later was associated with his brother George. About ten years subse- 
quently John A. Lamphere, from Pompey, and F. H. Hutchinson, from 
Fayetteville, became his partners. The firm of Crouse, Lamphere & 
Co. continued about four years when they removed into the brick build- 
ing erected by the Cobbs and now occupied as a dwelling and town 
clerk's office by George W. De Witt. Shortly afterwards they sold out 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 319 

at auction, the Grouses to go to Syracuse and the other partners re- 
maining in business here. Lamphere formed a partnersnip with James 
S. Atwell, from New York. About a year later Lamphere retired and 
went to New York, and Atwell continued. In 1866 he associated with 
himself Ambrose E. Gorton, a native of Brookfield, who had then been 
in business since 1856; the firm was J. S. Atwell & Co., and continued 
until 1873, when Atwell went to Syracuse, Mr. Gorton continuing the 
business until the present time. He is now one of the oldest merchants 
in the county. 

Robert and Daniel Stewart and A. J. and R. B. French formed a mer- 
cantile partnership and about a year later the Stewarts sold to their 
partners. A little later Thomas A. Clark bought an interest. French, 
Clark & Co. continued about two years when R. B. French sold to his 
cousin, J. H. H. French. About five years later Clark sold his interest 
to his partners who engaged in forwarding at Chittenango landing and 
carried on a grocery some years in the building in which the Chitten- 
ango Pottery Company began business. 

John Williams was a merchant of about 1822 and two or three years 
later took in William Bates. In 1829 they sold to David Mitchell and 
Edward Sims. Mitchell & Sims continued nearly three years, when 
John Bates, of Cazenovia, who had been a clerk for Williams & Bates, 
bought Mitchell's interest and the firm continued until 1855, when 
Sims sold his interest to Benjamin French. The firm of John Bates & 
Co. thus formed continued until 1861, when the business was closed 
out. Mr. Bates was afterwards engaged in forwarding and died in 
Chittenango. This store was the one occupied by Harley Gay as a 
hardware store. 

Moses Parmalee and Albert Dunham, the former having kept a gro- 
cery a few years, traded a short time from about 1831. William Briggs 
came here about 1828 and was in business a few years. He went to 
Chicago, built the Briggs House and became wealthy. Hezekiah 
Beecher was an early merchant and continued many years. His store 
stood on the site of Dr. Eaton's house and he had as partners a man 
named Norton and his son-in-law, William Lawrence. Hugh White 
was another early merchant who removed to Cohoes. Peter Groesbeck 
traded a few years from about 1844. 

The Atwater Brothers settled about 1840, began trade, but about two 
years later returned to New York, whence they came. Curtis & Steele 
came from Penn Yan about 1840, and bought out Sims & Bates, and 



320 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

were burned out a year and a half later, when they left the place. Kit- 
tridge & Allen were in business about two years from 1832. Jacob 
Colyercame from Canajoharie in 1818, was a farmer until 1827, when 
he began the trade of tanner with David Riddell. In 1833 he began 
boot and shoe making and continued until 1853. Alfred Bellamy 
opened a store about 1835, in company with his brother, whose interest 
he purchased a little later. He was afterwards associated with James 
Walrath and the firm of Bellamy & Walrath continued until about five 
years later, when Bellamy removed to Watkins, N. Y. Walrath con- 
tinued business many years, when he failed; his brother Richard had 
been associated with him several years. Henry and George Perry were 
in business eight or ten years from about 1835 and failed. There were 
a few other early merchants whose periods of business were mainly 
brief. 

Benjamin Jenkins came from Barre, Mass., where he was born, and 
settled in Chittenango in 1834, serving as clerk for James Crouse & Co. 
until 1840, when he opened a store where A. N. Chariton is now located ; 
Jenkins was in trade more than forty years. At different periods he 
had as partners Abner Hatch, P. D. Harrington, and his son, Ben- 
jamin R. 

Richard R. Walrath and C. V. Harbottle formed the firm of Har- 
bottle & Walrath in 1860 and in 1867 took in Joseph Harbottle, father 
of C. V. They continued until 1870, when C. V. Harbottle retired 
and the firm name was changed to Walrath & Harbottle. The firm 
subsequently dissolved. A. V. Boardman and Robert Harrison were 
in business a number of years as clothiers and tailors. Mr. Boardman is 
deceased and Harrison is in an asylum for insane. L. E. Shepard 
was in business twenty or more years from 1861, at first with R. J. 
Tappen, and later with B. W. Soper. Soper ultimately removed 
to Syracuse. The late Robert Kennedy was a grocer about twenty 
years from 1863. Lyman Gay came here in 1865 in company with 
Lucius M. Conine, and began a hardware business. Conine sold to 
Mr. Gay about two years later. The son is still in the same business. 
A tin and hardware store is also carried on by Richard Jones. Nicholas 
Greminger, a native of Germany, came here in 1866 and began furni- 
ture business; he built the Greminger block, but is now an Onondaga 
county farmer. Jerry Taylor began the boot and shoe business in 1866, 
associated afterwards with his son, William J., and later with E. Root; 
this business is now conducted by W. S. Siver, who is also postmaster. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 321 

Joseph H. Walrath and his son Alfred were grocers a number of years 
after 1869; Alfred is now in business in Syracuse. H. M. Barrett, 
dealer in stoves and hardware for about ten years, removed to Cali- 
fornia. Fred W. Lamphere, a native of New Woodstock, began a drug 
business in May, 1875. John Colyer began as a boot and shoe dealer 
in 1879 and is now on a farm in this town. W. P. Maine, a native of 
this town, was a general merchant from 1880, having previously had a 
store a few years at Bridgeport; he is now in Indianapolis. Edgar 
Drew was a grocer a short time from 1880, and both G. W. and G. M. 
Dewitt were formerly in trade. F. W. Stillman, a jeweler, of that 
period, went west. 

Merchants of the present, not all of whom have been mentioned, are 
Abner Hatch, general store; A. N. Chariton, general store; W. I. 
Tyler, furniture; George C. Clark, druggist; Costello & Root, general 
store and drugs, firm formed by consolidating the business of A. E. 
Root and J. R. Costello in 1897; A. E. Gorton, Harlan L. Gay, and a 
few places of business of minor importance. 

The manufacturing interests of Chittenango in past years have had 
considerable importance and in some respects are still prominent fac- 
tors in the business of the town. At the time of the building of the 
first mills in 1812, before mentioned, a saw mill and clothing works 
were erected. The saw mill was demolished many years ago, and the 
other factory, which stood on the site of the later cotton factory, was 
burned. In 1816 John B. Yates, William K. Fuller and David P. 
Hoyt purchased the mill property, in company with William Britton, 
and their enterprise soon gave an impetus to the growth of the village. 
Hoyt soon returned to Utica, whence he came, and Yates acquired 
Fuller's interest which he retained until his death, when it passed into 
his estate. About 1854 it was sold to Rathbone & Son, who enlarged 
the grist mill. They sold to James Broadhead, who transferred to 
James and Ransford Button. E. A. Judd became the owner, and it 
subsequently passed to Ransford Button, who, about 1875, made it a 
roller mill and after being operated by two or three different men it 
finally passed to Frank Suiter, the present proprietor. 

On the site of the paper mill John B. Yates had an oil mill which 
was burned about the close of the war, and a saw mill. This was con- 
verted into a paper mill for the manufacture of mill-board by Simon 
D Paddock and during the war period did a prosperous business. John 
G. Yates afterwards operated a saw mill there and later sold to H. L. 



322 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Jones, who fitted it for making wrapping paper. About 1878 Beard, 
Grouse & Co. of Fayetteville came into possession and owned it until 
it burned down. 

In 1824 John B. Yates built a woolen factory of stone, the building 
still standing on the site of the later cotton mill, which passed to James 
Broadhead. Burned in 1866, it was rebuilt, and in December, 1867, 
was purchased by T. H. Hintermister, of Ithaca, and his brother. Otto, 
to be used for a cotton factory. Machinery was brought from England 
consisting of 1,500 spindles and forty looms, and in the fall of 1868 the 
manufacturing of sheeting was begun. In the next year a Leffel tur- 
bine wheel was installed, a steam boiler, with two additional mules and 
twenty-eight looms. Before starting with the new improvements, a 
stock company was formed with capital subscribed of $200,000, mostly 
by persons in this vicinity. The Chittenango Cotton Company pur- 
chased the factory, and also the distillery property a mile and a half 
south of the village, with the intention of there building another cotton 
factory, where spinning only was to be carried on. The first officers 
were Daniel Stewart, president; Ebenezer Pennock, vice-president; 
Robert Stewart, treasurer; Otto Hintermister, secretary and manager. 
In 1870 twenty more looms were added and in 1873 the factory was en- 
larged by adding a one-story and basement stone building. The hard 
times of that immediate period prevented the completion of this struc- 
ture. In the spring of 1879 the company's affairs were placed in a 
receiver's hands and in July the property was sold to Ebenezer Pen- 
nock. He associated himself with Otto Hintermister and began over- 
hauling and repairing machinery, improving the old building and 
finishing the new structure, into which a part of the machinery was 
placed from the old factory. In February, 1880, the factory was started, 
but for various reasons it could not be made profitable, and was closed 
in about three years. The building is now in use for storing onions 
and shipping to market by Charles F. Pennock. The old distillery 
building was used for a paper mill a number of years by A. Crichton. 

Richard R. and D. D. Walrath were associated with Dr. P. S. Arndt 
in 1852 in starting another paper mill, but it was operated only two 
years. The building was removed to Canaseraga and converted into a 
creamery. 

The old Walrath foundry and machine shops, on the creek in the 
north part of the village, were established more than sixty years ago 
by Daniel Walrath, who operated them until his death, which was 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 323 

caused by an accident on August 4, 1861. He was succeeded by his 
son, Peter Walrath, the present proprietor, who was associated about 
two years with his brothers, Jesse and Abel. The works have been 
enlarged and improved by both father and son, and are adapted for the 
building of steam engines and other high grade machinery. Daniel F. 
Kellogg had a former foundry on the site of the residence of the late 
Ebenezer Pennock, which was subsequently taken down. 

In connection with the industries of this town should be notided the 
works of the Chenango Pottery Company at the Landing. This com- 
pany was organized in 1897, with a capital of $35,000, which has been 
increased to $70,000. The officers were Frank Gates, president, suc- 
ceeded by T. D. Wilkin, now in the office; vice-president, Dr. John R. 
Eaton, still in office; secretary, W. J. Logan, succeeded by Frank A. 
Peck. The old distillery, before mentioned, was purchased, but before 
the business was under way it burned. It was at once rebuilt and 
again burned in December, 1898. Since then a substantial brick struc- 
ture has been erected and the business started up anew. Fine table 
ware is manufactured. 

At the Landing are also the tile works which have been in operation 
nearly twenty years by outside capital. This was in former years a 
brick yard owned by Philander Millington. From 1872 until his death 
in 1893, Jacob Walker kept a store at the Landing, which was managed 
for him after 1887 by I. J. Northrup. The latter bought the business 
in 1893 and still conducts it. Also the large canning and preserving 
factory of Merrell & Soule (of Syracuse) situated at the Landing, where 
immense quantities of vegetables are canned or otherwise preserved 
for domestic use. 

In the village Peter P. Carl & Son have a wagon and blacksmith 
shop, in a building which was first occupied by Obadiah Tibbitts. Mr. 
Carl, the elder, began business in 1852. Mr. Carl is also owner of the 
modest opera house, which was erected in 1870 by Daniel Stewart. 
Henry Rogers carries on shoemaking, succeeding Charles Holtz. The 
oldest manufacturer in the village is A. L. Porter who makes harness 
and boots and shoes, in which he has been engaged more than fifty 
years. 

There are two good hotels in the village. The Yates House was orig- 
inally built sometime previous to 1805 and was first kept by a Mr. 
Wilson. The original building is lost sight of in the present structure. 
It has had many proprietors and is now conducted by Clark Wheeler. 



324 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Dixon House, conducted by O. A. Russell since 1877, when he suc- 
ceeded William Sternberg, was built in 1827 by Timothy Pratt, who 
conducted it a short time. Like most country hotels it has had half a 
score proprietors. 

When the business of Chittenango was at its height and a bank was 
needed, the Chittenango Bank was organized and began business April 
1, 1853, with capital of $110,000, which was increased the next year to 
$150,000. The first directors were George Grouse, George Grant, John 
A. Lamphere, James Grouse, John Knowles, John Grouse, Jairus 
French, William E. Lansing, Daniel Gates, George E. Downer, Daniel 
Stewart, John A. Gampbell, Hiram Brown. George Grouse was the 
first president; George Grant, vice-president; David H. Rasbach, cash- 
ier. Damon Wells was the second president, and Daniel Gates the 
third, taking the position in 1858. The bank building was erected in 
1853. This bank, the first in the town, closed its business in 1864. 
Daniel Gates, the third president, is still a resident of the town and one 
of the most respected and beloved citizens. Frank H. Gates, who has 
been prominent in public affairs of the county and held many oflfices, is 
a son of Daniel Gates. 

The First National Bank of Chittenango was organized December 28, 
1863, with a capital of $50,000, which was several times increased until 
it reached $150,000. The first directors were James Broadhead, Daniel 
F. Kellogg, George Kellogg, Daniel D. Walrath, Henry C. Howe, Ed- 
ward Sims, Ebenezer Pennock, John H. Walrath, Peter Walrath. 
James Broadhead, president; Peter Walrath, vice-president; George 
Kellogg, cashier. Robert Stewart was the second president (1864), and 
Peter Walrath from 1873. The bank occupied the building erected by 
the first bank. It went into liquidation in 1883. The bank building is 
now occupied by Walter H. Stewart, who has conducted private bank- 
ing business since 1886, which is a great convenience to the residents. 

Chittenango has seen less change in its newspapers than most simi- 
lar villages. The first paper here was the Chittenango Herald, estab- 
lished in 1833 by Isaac Lyon. It afterwards bore successively the name 
of Chittenango Republican, the Phoenix, and the Democratic Gazette, 
until it was discontinued in 1856. The Madison County Times was 
founded August 14, 1810, by Arthur White, who sold it seven years 
later to H. E. Barrett. He published it until 1883, when Luke Mc- 
Henry purchased the establishment and has ever since given the people 
a bright and ably edited journal. Mr. McHenry is now serving his 
second term as president of the village. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 325 

Chittenango has been the place of residence and labor of many pro- 
fessional men of high standing. The first physician was Dr. Weed, 
who moved to Manlius where he died. Dr. John P. Kennedy, and Drs. 
Tilden and Amos Amsden, practiced hereabouts while located at Can- 
aseraga. Dr. Kennedy was here as early as 1815, and finally removed 
to Dryden, N. Y. About 1825 his brothers, .Samuel, Isaac, and James, 
all physicians, came here and engaged in practice, Samuel continued 
until his death in 1849. The late Judge Charles L. Kennedy, of Mor- 
risville, and Robert Kennedy, of Chittenango, were sons of Samuel. 

Drs. Samuel and Edward Fuller came from Schenectady in 1832 and 
1827 respectively. Both were graduates of Union College. Samuel 
continued practice here until 1868, removing to New York; Edward re- 
sided here until his death in 1877, but did not practice in his later 
years. Both were very successful and enjoyed the respect of the com- 
munity. 

Dr. Isaac Thompson Teller settled in Chittenango in 1842, having 
previously practiced in Whitesboro. He continued until his death in 
June, 1874. Dr. William Oaks began practice here about 1851. Five 
years later he removed to De Ruyter and thence to Hamilton, where 
he died in 1863. Dr. P. S. Arndt came here about 1853 and about 
three years later removed to Chicago. Dr. R. S. Bishop, Dr. Reynolds 
and Dr. W. H. Griffith were in practice here before 1880, each a short 
period. 

Sylvanus D. Hanchett, a native of Oneida county, settled in Chitten- 
ango in 1852, and is one of the oldest practicing physicians in this 
county and a much respected citizen. Dr. Merchant Billington, now 
in practice in the village, is a son of Charles Billington, was born in 
1836, and began practice here in 1860. He was in the Assembly in 
1877 and is prominent in public affairs. 

Dr. John R. Eaton, now in practice, is a native of Vermont, and a 
graduate of the Medical College of Syracuse University, 1875, in which 
year he began practice here. Dr. W. Estus Deuel, now in practice, is 
a native of Wayne county, N. Y. , graduated at the New York Homoeo- 
pathic Medical College in 1876, settling in Chittenango in 1877. 

The pioneer lawyer of Chittenango was William K. Fuller, born in 
Schenectady in 1792, and a graduate of Union College. He read law 
with Henry and John B. Yates and in 1814 became a partner with the 
latter, coming with him to this place. He was not only an able lawyer 
but a surveyor of ability. He was prominent in public affairs and 



326 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

held many offices of honor. He was appointed di.strict attorney of the 
county in 1821, and was adjutant-general on the staff of Governor Yates 
in 1823, having previously been conspicuous in the local militia. He 
was member of assembly from this county in 1829-30 and representa- 
tive in Congress from 1833 to 1837. Late in life he returned to his 
paternal home in Schenectady, where he died. 

Daniel B. Cady came here from Johnstown and was in practice from 
about 1828 to 1834, when he removed to Columbia county and was there 
appointed county judge. R. John Everett settled here soon after Cady 
left for a year or two only. Horatio Gates Warner and Hiram Cum- 
mings were contemporary practitioners at the bar several years. War- 
ner removed to Rochester. Duane Brown was in successful practice 
about ten years, removed to Morrisville and there died. Lorenzo D. 
Dana practiced here a short time before he was elected county clerk in 
1849, when he removed to Morrisville. Later he became cashier of the 
Morrisville Bank. 

William E. Lansing was a prominent member of the Madison county 
bar. He was born in Sullivan in 1822, read law in Utica with Joshua 
Spencer and began practice in 1845 ; he was long in practice with the 
late Charles L. Kennedy, the firm having a large clientage. Mr. Lan- 
sing was elected district attorney in 1850, county clerk in 1855, and was 
in Congress from 1861 to 1863 and again from 1871 to 1875. Mr. Ken- 
nedy succeeded Lansing as county clerk in 1858 and in 1867 was elected 
county judge, an office which he honored until his recent death. 

Daniel D. Walrath was long in practice in the village; he was a na- 
tive of Sullivan and studied law with John G. Stower, who came at an 
advanced age and died here. Joseph J. L. Baker is a native of Nelson, 
received his education in Cazenovia Sminary and graduated from the 
Albany Law School in 1860. In that year he began practice here which 
he has ever since continued. 

Charles Kellogg, a native of Madison county and son of Daniel F., 
was educated in the Yates Institution in Chittenango, read law with 
William F. Lansing, and began practice in the year of his admission to 
the bar, 1861. 

C. A. Hitchcock was born in Seneca Falls and is a son of Dr. Thomas 
E. Hitchcock of Syracuse. He was educated in private schools and 
the Yates Institution in Chittenango and studied law in Syracuse. He 
was admitted in 1883 and has practiced in the village since that time. 

The village of Chittenango was first incorporated when its prosperity 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 327 

promised to make it a large business center. The incorporation was 
under date of March 15, 1843. The first corporation meeting was held 
on April 19, 1842, when the following officers were chosen: 

Robert Riddell, Alfred Bellamy, Daniel Walrath, George K. Fuller 
and James Grouse, trustees; Abner P. Downer, Edward Sims and Hi- 
ram Curtis, assessors ; George Grant, treasurer; Henry H. Cobb, clerk; 
Oren A. Thompson, collector; Daniel F. Kellogg, Joseph B. Plank and 
Alonzo Bishop, fire wardens. At a meeting of the trustees April 37, 
1843, Robert Riddell was elected president. 

Following is a list of the presidents and clerks of the village from 
its incorporation to the present time, excepting 1858 to 1870, of which 
years there are no records : 

Presidents— 1843, Robert Riddell; 1843, Abner P. Downer; 1844, 
Job Wells; 1845, Jarvis French; 1846, George Grant; 1847-48, John 
G. Stower; 1849, Job Wells; 1850, George K. Fuller; 1851, John 
Knowles; 1853, P^^5^Harrington ; 1853, William E. Lansing; 1854, 
George K. Fuller; 1855-58, Sanford Cobb; 1871, J. S. Atwell ; 1873-77, 
A. H. Downer; 1878-79, M. Billington; 1880-81, John H. Walrath; 
1883-83, George Walrath; 1884, M. Billington; 1885, Robert Kennedy; 
1886-87, E. A. Judd; 1888, C. F. Pennock; 1889-90, M. Billington; 
1891-93, C. A. Hitchcock; 1893, Luke McHenry; 1894-95, George 
Walrath; 1896-99, Luke McHenry. 

Clerks— 1843, Henry H. Cobb; 1843, James Walrath; 1844, Chauncey 
Shaffer; 1845, Jarvis French; 1846-48, Isaac T. Teller; 1849, Daniel 
D. Walrath; 1850-51, John C. Clark; 1853, J. P. Olmstead; 1853-54, 
George E. Downer; 1855, Charles C. West; 1856-57, Peter P. Carl; 
1858, D. D. Walrath; 1871, J. J. L. Baker; 1873-75, T. E. Hitchcock; 
1876-83. B. R. Jenkins; 1883, C. L. Smith; 1884-86, J. J. L. Baker; 
1887-90, C. A. Hitchcock; 1891, M. C. Walrath; 1891-93, Thomas C. 
Bassett; 1894-95, John R. Costello; 1896, Theodore B. French ; 1897-98, 
J. M. Hubbard; 1899, John V. Flaherty. 

On December 5, 1870, the village was reincorporated under the then 
new general law, making the office of president an elective one and 
that of clerk appointive; also reducing the number of trustees from 
five to three. In 1897 the number of trustees was reduced to two. 

The post-office in Chittenango is believed to have been established in 
1816 through the influence of John B. Yates and William K. Fuller, 
with Mr. Fuller as postmaster. He was succeeded by Henry H. Cobb, 
who held the office until about 1835. His successors have been George 



328 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ehle, Dr. Samuel Kennedy, Benjamin Jenkins, Benjamin D. French, 
Benjamin Jenkins again, P. D. Harrington, Ambrose E. Gorton, 
Charles Kellogg, Hobart French, J. J. L. Baker, Hobart French again, 
and Winfield S. Siver, the incumbent. 

Not much, if anything, was done in the village to provide protection 
from fire, until immediately after the incorporation in 1842. At a 
meeting held May 30 of that year, the following persons were appointed 
firemen : Thomas Dickinson, Isaac R. Colyer, Isaac Colyer, E. M. 
Tobey, D. P. Kellogg, James A. Monroe, Charles A. Warner, B. D. 
French, M. E. Walrath, James S. Brown, Benjamin Jennings, A. I. 
Wells, Jonathan Burt, Edward Sims, P. Herrington, James Crouse, 
William Plank, P. S. Fairchild, Marcus Plank, A. V. Boardman, N. Hem- 
sted, James Walrath, C. R. Norton, Damon Wells; and the following as 
a hook and ladder company, Wallace Riddell, E. Henry Cobb, James 

Jones, A. Beckwith, James Cole, Luke Brissau, Henry Eygenbroat, 

Schoonmaker, W. H. Gale. 

In November of that year it was resolved to raise $250 by tax for the 
purpose of purchasing a fire engine and hook and ladder apparatus. 
The first engine, obtained in that winter, proved inefficient and another 
was bought from Lewis Selye, of Rochester, for $325. An engine 
house was erected in 1843. The company just mentioned was disbanded 
in July, 1848, and a new one appointed. The membership of the com- 
pany and other organizations that followed was frequently changing, 
but usually included many of the best citizens. In later years and after 
the village was several years without any organized department, two 
companies were formed — the Hope Engine Company, organized in 
July, 1880, with thirty members, and Yates Hose Company No. 1, or- 
ganized at the same time with ten members. The department now 
consists of an engine company, who have charge of a good hand en- 
gine; Yates Hose Company and Fuller Hose Company, with a Hook 
aud Ladder Company. A steam fire engine is owned by Peter Walrath 
and is kept at his foundry. A part of the village is now supplied with 
hydrants, from which water is taken by the engine. 

This village has always had excellent educational facilities, for a 
place of its size. The long celebrated Yates Polytechnic Institute, 
founded by John B. Yates in 1824, is properly described in chapter de- 
voted to education. The village and considerable adjoining territory 
now constitute Union School District No. 2, of the town of Sullivan, 
formed under the law in 1871. This district includes what were for- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 329 

merly districts 3 and 17, with parts of the so-called Hall district, the 
Springs district and the Anguish district. In September, 1871, the 
Polytechnic building was taken for the Union school and the Board of 
Education was authorized to sell the school property in the two districts 
first consolidated. The sum of $6,000 was appropriated to repair the 
Polytechnic building, and Prof. Milton J. Griffin was chosen principal 
of the school. Before the close of 1871 $3,000 more was appropriated 
to complete repairs on the building. The present principal is Prof. W. 
M. Fort, who has had charge of the school about three years, succeed- 
ing Prof. N. P. Avery. Professor Fort has eight assistants. 

Following the formation of the religious body that finally became 
the Presbyterian Church in Chittenango, described in Chapter IV., the 
next church organized in the village was the First Methodist Church of 
Chittenango, in the year 1833, when John I. Walrath, Daniel Walrath, 
J. R. Knowlin, William Metcalf and A. Comstock were elected trustees. 
Meetings of Methodists had been held long before this date and when 
the organization took place Rev. Benjamin G. Paddock was in charge. 
The meeting house was built in 1833-34, which was burned in 1862 and 
at once rebuilt in its present form. The society is now in a thriving 
condition. Rev. A. J. Saxe is present pastor. 

The Baptist Church of Chittenango was organized in 1841 and re- 
ceived at once into the Madison Association. In 1842 the membership 
was thirty-nine and Elder T. Houston was pastor. A house of worship 
was purchased of the Presbyterian society and in 1844 the society re- 
ported that it had been repaired and paid for. Some of the early pas- 
tors were Revs. John Smitzer, L. E. Swan, B. C. Crandall, J. J. Teeple, 
I. K. Brownson, William C. Hubbard, and H. H. Rouse. In 1859 
report was made that preaching could not longer be sustained and that 
the church had "ripened for division." No report appears after that 
date. The old church was sold to the Catholics and finally burned. 

The First Baptist Church of Chittenango was organized February 5, 
1868, with twenty members. The congregation had previously wor- 
shiped in several places in the village and at this time Rev. William 
Stigar was supplying the preaching. During 1868 about thirty addi- 
tions were made to the membership, and before the close of Mr. Stigar's 
three years' pastorate a lot was purchased and a house of worship 
erected at a cost of about $7,000. The society has since that time 
remained substantially free from debt. Rev. J. H. McGahan is pastor. 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was organized in 1855, by Rev. Dr. 



330 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Smith of Cazenovia, who had been holding services here a few years. 
Sanford Cobb and Joseph Sanger were the first wardens. The small 
church was built in 1866 at a cost of about $5,000. Rev. James D. S. 
Pardee succeeded Dr. Smith as rector. The membership eventually 
became much reduced in numbers by deaths and removals, and in 1879 
William S Hayward was established as a missionary to the various 
churches in this region. There has been no regular pastor of the 
church since. 

St. Patrick's Church (Catholic) was the outgrowth of services held 
here from about 1851 by Rev. Father Hayes, from Syracuse, in the 
house of James Stewart and later in Union Hall to about 1859, when 
the church purchased the edifice of the Baptists for $900. This build- 
ing was burned and the present one erected. The society owns a 
cemetery which was donated in 1875 by Mrs. Mary E. Brinkerhoff. 

The oldest, although not the most important, village in the town of 
Sullivan is Canaseraga, situated a little more than a mile northeast of 
Chittenango, where the Canaseraga Creek crosses the Seneca Turnpike. 
At the time of the formation of the county in 1806 there were only a 
few families there. The village is the site of one of the old Tuscarora 
villages. In 1805 Capt. Timothy Brown settled there, and according 
to Mrs. Hammond, Isaac Holiburt (?) had been a merchant a little 
earlier, but had failed. John Dennie and a Mr. Drake were keeping 
road taverns, and Mr. Dennie built the first frame house. Solomon 
Beebe built the second as an addition to his log house. David Burton 
settled there in 1806 and built a frame house, in which Samuel Chap- 
man kept the second store. John Klock built a tavern which stood 
many years. In 1810 the little village was a trade center for a large part 
of the region to the west of Quality Hill, and public meetings, train- 
ings, and so on were held here. 

A post-office was opened here at an early date, with the name of 
Sullivan, and on April 19, 1833, the village was incorporated with the 
same name. Previous to this time the post-office had been removed to 
Chittenango, and the chief purpose of incorporation was to retain the 
name of the former post-office. When the office was first removed to 
Chittenango it carried with it the original name, but it was changed to 
Chittenango in 1823. The post-office here was abandoned some forty 
years ago and the place gradually took its original Indian name. The 
office was established in recent years. 

The history of the first mills built here on the creek is lost in the past, 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 331 

but they were in operation without doubt before 1805, and continued 
many years. The present mills were built in 1855 by Simon D. Pad- 
dock, and passed to Daniel Hull in 1879. Allen S. Scoville was a later 
owner and upon his death they became the property of his widow, the 
present owner. There has always been a small mercantile business 
done here and a store is at present conducted by Frank Cole, who is 
also postmaster. At Canaseraga station on the Central Railroad is a 
post office with the old name of Canaseraga. 

The Erie Canal passes through this town a little to the north of Chit- 
tenango village at what has always been known as Chittenango Land- 
ing. Here there has always been more less business carried on. A 
dry dock was built which had different owners and groceries have been 
kept for many years, mainly for the accommodation of boatmen. The 
dry dock was built at the time of the canal enlargement by John H. 
Walrath and Hiram Graves, who owned it about five years. It is now 
the property of R. J. Scott. The place is now important only as the 
site of the new pottery before mentioned, and the vinegar factory of 
George Walrath. 

East Boston is a hamlet and post-office about three miles northeast 
of Chittenango, which was originally settled mainly by families from 
Massachusetts. A small mercantile business and a few shops have con- 
stituted the business in past years. A saw mill near the settlement 
was built about 1825 and has had various owners during its existence. 
The Harrison Brothers established here an extensive vinegar and cider 
factory, which they removed to near Canastota, as described in the his- 
tory of that village. The present postmaster is Z. E. Coe. 

Chittenango Station is on the Central railroad, centrally situated in 
the town, and at the present ti-ne has three stores kept respectively by 
George W. Carpenter, A. W. Green and William Hurlburt. The first 
merchant was J. T. Burton, who opened a grocery in 1856 and in 1866 
built a store that was afterwards occupied by his brother, N. J. Burton, 
with whom he associated in 1875 and to whom he sold out in 1878. The 
store formerly occupied by Porter & Green, and later by A. W. Green, 
was opened by the firm about 1858, where they were succeeded by 
William Cain, George Crispe, Washington Conine, John Cronk, and A. 
W. Green. 

The first postmaster here was William Macomber, appointed in 1863. 
The present incumbent is George W. Carpenter. There are two hotels, 
the Webb House, kept by F. L. Webb, and another by Charles P. 
Eaton. Samuel Levy conducts the milk station. 



332 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In the extreme northwestern part of the town is the village of Bridge- 
port, on the Chittenango Creek and about two miles from Oneida Lake. 
In the very early years of the century the point was known as the Chit- 
tenango Rifts (or Rapids). Isaac and John Delamater settled here in 
1802, and John Knowles and John Adams not long after. The im- 
mense water power found here where the creek has a fall of about ten 
feet made it a desirable point for settlement. It has always been noted 
for its fisheries and formerly many boats were built here for lake pur- 
poses. It is said that Capt. Rosel Barnes was the first settler here and 
built the first frame house, having previously kept a tavern in a log 
building. The father of the late Capt. John Rector, was also a very 
early settler. The hamlet was the site of large cooperage industries 
in past years, many barrels being made and taken down the creek, 
through Oneida Lake and thence to Salina where they were used for 
packing salt. Families who came in at a later date were the Briggs, 
White, Eastford, Owen, Crownhart, Dunham, Hosley, and other fami- 
lies. 

The business interests of more recent times include a hotel built in 
1873 on a site of a former one that was burned in 1867; and another in 
which John Nichols, Udell Mayo and others were past landlords. The 
present hotels are the Nichols House, kept by Gilbert Slingerland and 
the Servis House, by Holden Bushnell. 

It is not known how early the Bridgeport Mills were built, and they 
have had many owners. For many years past they have done only cus- 
tom work and are now operated by Snyder Bros. (Clinton D. and W. J.) 

Lewis V. Conklin, John Nichols, Wallace Billington, and David H. 
Brown have general stores. Among former merchants were Dunham 
& Sharpe, John O. Terpenny, Charles Billinglon & Brother and Horace 
V. Draper. The latter is still in business in tin and hardware. Eph- 
raim Andrews and William Moore carry on blacksmithing. The post- 
master is Richard R. Brown. 

About two miles east of Bridgeport is the cheese factory of L. W. 
Sayles, who bought the property in 1875 of James Vrooman, who 
moved the building from another site and first operated the factory 
about 1868. There is another factory a little south of the village oper- 
ated by John Durst. 

There was a Methodist Society here as early as 1835, which belonged 
to the old North Manlius Circuit, with Rev. Anson Tuller, pastor. The 
congregation was small and for many years they had only occasional 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 333 

preaching. In 1866 the people became anxious for a regular pastor of 
the Methodist faith and soon afterward Rev. Silas Ball was appointed 
and remained a year. He was followed by Rev. Gideon P. Jones and 
in 1868 Rev. Moses Lyon was appointed. In that year was organized 
the First Methodist Episcoal Society of Bridgeport with Jefferson Hall, 
O. Sayles, Asa Ames, Daniel Marvin, James S. Prosser, Ozias Osborn, 
B. D. Auchmoody, J. S. Barnard, and Richard Brown, trustees. In 
1869 the meeting house was finished. The society continued to pros- 
per under the ministration of the various pastors appointed to the charge 
and is still in active existence. 

The Bridgeport Baptist Church was organized in 1845 with twelve 
members, under the pastoral direction of Henry Shute. The meeting 
house was built before 1847, and in 1848 Rev. David Pease began a 
brief pastorate. His successors have been numerous. The society, is 
still in existence, but is small in numbers. 

Lakeport is a small post village about five miles east of Bridgeport 
on the lake shore. Reuben Spencer was about the first settler in this 
immediate vicinity, coming from Connecticut. He purchased an ex- 
tensive tract of land through which ran Spencer Brook, on which stream 
he built a saw mill. That mill disappeared long ago and he built 
another later one, which was demolished about 1870. In that he oper- 
ated a turning lathe. Mr. Spencer passed his long life here. He was 
father of William R. Spencer. Reuben Bushnell was another early set 
tier, coming in 1811 to locate on the place occupied in later years by 
his son, Franklin Bushnell. Another of his sons was William Bushnell. 
William Williams and Richard Chapman were early settlers. Zina 
Bushnell also came here early and as early as 1818 built the first brick 
house in northern Sullivan, making the brick on his own farm. A later 
saw mill was built about 1850 by W. H. Snedeker, which was purchased 
by P. W. Tupper in 1858. It is now owned and operated by Charles 
F. Pennock. The Larkin House was built about 1850 and was then 
called the Lakeport House. It was remodeled and enlarged and passed 
to the proprietorship of David Larkin, taking his name. It is still 
owned by a member of the Larkin family and kept by Edward Jacobs. 
The Avon House was built in 1877 by John Dempsey, who conducted 
it a short time and was succeeded by Reuben Coss ; the house is now 
unoccupied. 

A store building was erected about 1855 by Perry Edwards, who oc- 
cupied it about four years and was followed by N. Warner. Edwin C. 



334 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Green took the store about 1865 and conducted the business many 
years. It is now occupied by J. W. Phillips, who is also postmaster. 
Mr. Green was postmaster a number of years and succeeded David 
Larkin. 

A half mile west of Lakeport was built the Spencer Brook Cheese 
Factory by John K. Gifford about 1868. Edward F. Sternberg was a 
later proprietor. The building is now the Spencer Brook House, of 
which Mr. Sternberg is landlord. Another cheese factory in this vicin- 
ity is conducted by Charles F. Pennock. 

The First Congregational Church of Oneida Lake, including in its 
charge the territory of the northeast part of Sullivan and the north- 
west part of the old town of Lenox, was organized in August, 1846, 
with nineteen members, eleven of whom were women. From that year 
until 1851 Rev. Josiah J. Ward was pastor. A meeting house was built 
in 182i, but was partly unfinished until 1846. It was much improved 
in 1876. The society is still in existence. 

The Union Congregational Society in the north part of Lenox and 
Sullivan, as the record gives it, was organized in 1824 and retained its 
existence until about 1842, when it discontinued, and the property 
passed to the society just described. There is a Free Methodist society 
which built a church about three-fourths of a mile east of Lakeport. 

The somewhat celebrated white sulphur springs, about four miles 
south of Chittenango Station, from which they are reached by an ex- 
cellent road, have already been briefly mentioned. The first effort to 
bring these springs into public notice was made about 1825 by Peter 
Colyer, who purchased the land on which they are situated and opened 
a road to them. Milton Leach then established a grocery and a shower 
bathing establishment. Mr. Colyer soon afterwards erected a building 
for the accommodation of visitors. The reputation of the waters spread 
gradually and they became noted for their curative properties. A large 
hotel was ultimately built which was for a period under the efficient 
management of Josiah Tasker, now living in Syracuse. But for some 
unexplained causes the springs and the locality could not be made suf- 
ficiently popular to render the business profitable and the house is now 
falling into ruin. 

Aside from the great railroads, the Central and the West Shore, 
which cross the town of Sullivan, there was an earlier piece of railroad 
experience here that has considerable historical importance. When 
the agitation of the Chenango Canal project was in progress, the sub- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 335 

ject arose of building a railroad from the north line of Madison county 
to the Chenango, following down the Chenango valley, its northern 
terminus to be Chittenango. It was thought that freighting from the 
county of lime, plaster, and other products, with salt traffic from Syra- 
cuse, with other considerations would make the road a paying invest- 
ment. But the canal went through and the railroad project died. Very 
soon afterward, prominent men of Chittenango, Cazenovia and De 
Ruyter, who felt that a road was needed from the canal to the south- 
ward, took up the matter with renewed zeal ; prominent among these 
men was John B. Yates; others were Perry G. Childs, Robert Riddell, 
J. D. Ledyard, John Knowles, George K. Fuller, Benjamin Enos, and 
others. Meetings were held along the proposed route, which it was 
desired should extend from Chittenango to De Ruyter, at least, and 
possibly on southward. A company was formed and $70,000 in stock 
subscribed, Mr. Yates agreeing to build the first mile at his own ex- 
pense. Surveys were made and grading begun at Chittenango, when 
Judge Yates died and the work was abandoned. 

Agriculture in this town has undergone the same changes experi- 
enced in other local regions. The hop industry, once of great impor- 
tance, has to a considerable extent declined and given place to dairying, 
the shipment of milk and the operation of creameries, with the grow- 
ing of such crops as are needed for home consumption. In this con- 
nection must not be forgotten the extensive operations before described 
for reclaiming the great area of swamp lands and their preparation for 
tillage, with the promise thus offered for new crops for this region that 
are likely to bring in a large revenue. Among prominent farmers of 
this town, past and present, may be mentioned Ebenezer Pennock, 
whose son, Charles F. , is still extensively engaged in various agricul- 
tural operations, Franklin Gates, John Hopkins, Myron D. Olmsted, 
Henry King, Henry Lasher, John Lilly, members of the Walrath fam- 
ily on the old Walrath farm, Albert Brown, Philip Wager, William 
Ladd, John H. Anguish, John Burke, and others. 

The town of Sullivan has a variety in its soil not found in many of 
the towns in the county, as already noticed. Mixed farming has, there- 
fore, been followed with profit in early.years, excellent crops of wheat, 
among other cereals, having been produced here as well as in the ad- 
joining town of old Lenox. Hops have also been largely produced, 
but not to anything like the extent of other towns. In more recent 
years, and especially after the beginning of cheese and butter making 
in factories, the dairy interest has been a very important one. 



336 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The so-called Cowasselon swamp extends across the whole northern 
part of the towns of both Sullivan and Lenox. It is four or five miles 
wide and bordered in the town of Sullivan by the Vlaie (popularly 
called the Fly) or natural meadow. Into this great swamp flows the 
Cowasselon Creek with a sluggish current, and in its midst is joined 
by Canastota Creek, the enlarged stream coursing along to the lake. 
The waters of the stream formerly spread over a large area of the 
swamp, giving it the name of Canaseraga Lake, as it appears on old 
maps. This swampy land lies higher than Oneida Lake, but drainage 
to that body of water was prevented by a ridge of land about a mile 
in width, rendering an immense tract worthless as it then existed. But 
enterprising men saw a future for the great swamp and purchased large 
tracts. Col. Zebulon Douglass was one of the first to attempt improve- 
ment of the swamp lands in the early years of the century, and after 
an appropriation was obtained from the State proceeded to cut a new 
channel for the stream, straightening its course and opening it to the 
lake. While not as effective as had been hoped for, this improvement 
reclaimed many acres of the morass and improved the health of set- 
tlers. Across this great tract runs what was once called the Cazenovia 
and Oneida Lake Stone Road, which was opened and made passable by 
an immense amount of labor many years ago. In 1848 the road was 
laid with plank and became a part of the De Ruyter, Cazenovia and 
Oneida Lake plank road. It was subsequently macadamized. The 
quantity of these swamp lands in this town and Lenox has been esti- 
mated at as much as 15,000 acres. Large tracts of these lands have in 
quite recent years come into the possession of enterprising men who 
are now engaged in their reclamation on an extensive scale. Charles 
F Pennock of Chittenango, D. C. Twogood, Milton De Lano, L. G. 
Colton and others of Canastota are among the foremost in this great 
work, the results of which are likely to revolutionize agriculture 
throughout the whole region. 

In 1889 the so-called Commission Ditch was built to drain a portion 
of the muck lands. It was twenty feet wide at the top and twelve at 
the bottom. The commission under whom this was done were Lewis 
Lighthall, Hiram L. Rockwell and John M. Coe. In 1895 an appropri- 
ation of $30,000 was made by the State, with which to clean out and 
deepen the old ditch. Another commission has recently been appointed 
consisting of J. Wesley Goodell of Canastota, Edmund B. Adams of 
Chittenango, and Albert G. Stephens of Lenox, the appointment com- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 337 

ing through Judge John E, Smith. A survey is now in progress for a 
ditch about two miles in length, extending from a point a third of a 
mile east of what is known as the Oniontown road westward to the 
State ditch . It is believed this improvement will reclaim nearly a 
thousand acres more of this valuable soil. Mr. Pennock has already 
about 300 acres of his land in tillage, has erected twenty-three dwell- 
ings for workmen and made other valuable improvements. It is es- 
timated that there are now planted in the town of Sullivan more than 
200 acres of celery, with large acreage of onions and other similar 
crops. The Madison County Celery Company, recently organized, has 
a building at Chittenango Station for the prosecution of their work. 

In the old town of Lenox, with headquarters at Canastota, similar 
operations are in progress on a still larger scale, which are described 
here for the better convenience of the reader. The Canastota Celery 
Company was incorporated in 1893, with capital of $1,000 and a reg- 
istered trade mark. Since that date other enterprising men have taken 
up the work until at the present time there are eleven different com- 
panies in the business at Canastota. The officers of the Canastota 
Celery Company are D. C. Twogood, president; F. W. Twogood, vice- 
president; John Duignan, treasurer; Cedric Greiner, secretary; and 
Milton De Lano. The other companies here are: The Jenks Celery 
Company, the Warner Celery Company, the Jennings Brothers Celery 
Company, the Celery Growers' Union, the Standard Celery Company, 
the Star Celery Company, the Lenox Celery Company (incorporated), 
the Chittenango Celery Company, the Tondeur Celery Company, and the 
Lansing Celery Company. In the town of Lenox there are about 400 
acres planted to celery, and other crops of this nature are receiving 
attention. 

22 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— DE RUYTER 
AND GEORGETOWN. 

The once large town of De Ruyter, which included the territory of 
the present towns of German, Lincklaen, Otselic and Pitcher in Che- 
nango county, and Georgetown in Madison county, was reduced to its 
present area in 1815, when the last-named town was set off. There was 
no important change in the town other than the gradual increase in 
population during the first quarter of the century, the development of 
agricultural operations, and the growth of the village that gathered in 
early years about the mills on theTioughnioga, and the store of Samuel 
Bowen. In early years this village gained considerable business im- 
portance and had so increased in population by 1833 that it was incor- 
porated on the 15th of April; it was reincorporated December 7, 1847, 
and again on February 18, 1878, under the law of April 30, 1870. We 
are able to give a nearly complete list of the presidents and clerks from 
the first incorporation to the present time, as follows: 

Presidents— 1833, Jeremiah Gage; 1834, Elmer D. Jenks; 1835, 
Ephraim Arnold; 1836, Stephen G. Sears; 1837, Samuel Gage; 1838, 
Abijah N. Annas; 1839, R. D. Dellay (Dillaye); 1840, Abram Hart; 
1841, Zadock T. Bentley; 1842, James Nye; 1843, Charles Benjamin; 
1844, Israel Smith; 1845, Silas G. Walker; 1846, Ira Gage Barnes; 1847, 
Barton G. Stillman ; 1848, Elmer D. Jenks; 1849, J . S. Bentley; 1850, 
WillardD. Wilcox; 1851, Thomas Russell;' 1852;' 1853, Allen Sutton; 
1854, C. H. Maxson ; 1855, Allen Sutton; 1856, Allen Shepherd; 1857, 
William J. Ayer; 1858, Allen Sutton; 1859, J. W. Merchaot; I860;' 
1861-63, Barton G. Stillman; 1864, J. R. Rider; 1865-66, B. G Still- 
man; 1867-68, H.C, Miner; 1869, B. G. Stillman; 1870, Allen Sutton; 
1871, B. G. Stillman; 1872, H. C.Miner; 1873-74, B. G. Stillman; 1875, 
Horace Benjamin; 1876, James P. Russell; 1877-84, Byron S. Bryant; 

'September 15, 1851, E. Hubbard was chosen president vice Thomas Russell, removed. 
' The records do not show who were president and clerk in 1853. 
" The records do not show who was president in 1860. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 339 

1885, Henry K. Nash; 1886, Ransom F. Clark; 1887, Edwin N. Coon; 
1888-89, Charles H. Maxson; 1890-93, William J. Annas; 1893-94, 
Wallace E. Burdick ; 1895-96, Harlan D. Preston; 1897, Wallace E. 
Burdick; 1898, Harlan D. Preston. 

Clerks— 1833, Le Baron Goodwin; 1834, George vSears ; 1835-36, Z.T. 
Bentley; 1837, Martin Spear; 1838, Charles H. Maxson; 1839-42, 
George Sears; 1843-46, Artemas V. Bentley; 1847, William B. Wooley; 
1848-51, Charles H. Maxson; 1853-54, J.B.Wells; 1855, Arza Coon; 
1856, A. V. Bentley; 1857-58, Jacob Merritt; 1859-61, Robert P. York; 
1862, Henry Russell; 1863, Thomas Fisher; 1864-65, George W. Blod- 
gett; 18G6, Jason B.Wells; 1867, L. B. Kern; 1868-72, W. E. Burdick; 
1873, Jason B. Wells; 1874-78, W. Judson Annas;' 1879-82, W. E. Bur- 
dick; 1883-87, William J. Annas; 1888-92, Ory G. Hayes; 1893-95, 
Frank D. Simons; 1896-97, H.Julian Fellows; 1898, William H. Hill. 

While De Ruyter village was developing into a business center of 
some importance a number of families not yet mentioned came in and 
settled in various parts of the town. Among these may be mentioned 
Pliny Sabins, who built the first frame house at Shed's Corners in early 
years. David Maine, who was well known as a very successful school 
teacher and lived at the head of the reservoir; he reared a large family, 
his son David becoming a surveyor and member of assembly in 1849. 
James Nye, father of the prominent lawyer, James W. Nye. Eleazer 
H. Sears, father of Stephen G., George S., and Francis Sears, who 
were all well known citizens. Aaron, Belden, Isaac, and Nathan Pad- 
dock, who came with their mother from Dutchess county. Jonathan, 
Luke, and Pardon Coon, who were successful farmers in the north part 
of the town. Col. Elmer D. Jencks, a prominent business man. Dr. 
Hubbard Smith, who was the first postmaster at the village. Abraham 
Payne, the first regular attorney, and others who will be noticed as we 
proceed. 

There was a saw mill on the site of the later one which was probably 
built as early as the beginning of the century. The second one on the 
site was built by Joseph H. Crumb, who sold it to George Angel 
about 1877. The foundry, established also by Mr. Crumb, passed 
to Angel with the mill. The mill subsequently fell into decay and 
the foundry became the property of the Cazenovia Coal and Lumber 
Company and was used for storage. It was recently burned. 

About a mile above the site of the village mills was formerly a saw 

' July 3, 1878, W. E. Burdick was appointed clerk in place o£ Annas. 



340 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and a grist mill which was operated many years by Jonathan Neil, and 
a part of the time by Frank Antes; both are now idle and going to de- 
cay. The village grist mill was built about sixty years ago by Stephen 
Hubbard and afterwards passed through the hands of Hiram Webster, 
Horace Hill, Lewis Sears, William and Julius Hill, and H. E. Hill, 
sons of Horace, and to the present proprietors, Thompson & Church. 

A soap and candle factory was started about 1850 by Alexander 
Campbell who took his son, George A., as partner soon afterward. 
The latter was the next year associated with his brother-in-law, Edward 
Spicer, who purchased the elder Campbell's interest. After several 
changes in proprietorship the business passed to Barton G. Stillman, 
who was also a harness maker. The industry was never an important 
one and is now discontinued. 

The tannery established at an early day by Ephraim Arnold, was 
long the important industry of the village ; but even that has succumbed 
to the inevitable business changes of recent years. Abraham Sutton 
and his son Lindley acquired a half interest in the tannery and later 
Lewis Sears and James Sutton purchased Arnold's interest, the firm 
becoming Sutton, Sears & Co. When subsequently Abraham and 
James Sutton sold to the others partners and Simeon Rider was ad- 
mitted, the firm name was made Sutton, Sears & Rider. The next 
change was the purchase of Rider's interest by Allen Sutton. After 
the death of Lindley Sutton, about 1845, Lewis Sears and Allen Sutton 
took the business, which soon afterward was all acquired by Sutton; he 
continued it until 1875, when it was abandoned. When Simeon Rider 
sold his interest in this tannery he purchased an old carding factory 
which had stood for many years on the north side of the stream, and 
converted it into a tannery, which he operated until his death. It 
passed to Carlos Bennett and J. Harvey Delaraater. The latter was 
connected with the industry until it ceased operation about 1874. 

Another manufacturing industry of De Ruyter was the chair factory 
of E. M. Pope, who came from Cincinnatus in 1878 and established it; 
but it was removed to Crane's Mills the next year. 

There is almost no manufacturing in this town at the present time 
aside from that connected with the dairying interest. With the changes 
that recent years have wrought in agricultural methods in this vicinity, 
grain and stock raising and mixed farming that once predominated 
have been superseded by the manufacture of butter and cheese and the 
sale of milk. In 1880 there were five creameries and cheese factories 



I 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 341 

in the town, which were taking the milk from 1,900 cows; these were 
the Case factory, named for its former owner, Milton L. Case, who pur- 
chased it from De Grand Benjamin, by whom it was converted in 1870 
from a grist mill, the mill becoming useless through the construction 
of the reservoir which destroyed the water power; this factory was 
burned in 1894 and rebuilt. The reservoir factory was built in 1865 by 
a stock company about four miles north of the village; it is now owned 
by De Lloyd Burdick. The Shed's Corners factory was built about 
the close of the Civil war by A. B. White and passed to his children ; 
it is now owned by Buckingham & McCoy. The Quaker Basin factory 
was converted from a Quaker meeting house by a Mr. Mack in 1869 
and was subsequently burned. A new creamer}' is now operated here 
by Frank Harris, and owned by a stock company. The Crumb Hill 
factory was built about 1875 by L. D. Nichols, who operated it a num- 
ber of years; it is now idle. 

Within quite recent years the raising of potatoes for distant markets 
has become an important industry with the famers, and large quantities 
have been shipped. Hay, also, is produced in large quantities and has 
been shipped largely to Pennsylvania. Paul Billings & Co. , have large 
hay storage facilities near the village. Hard wood lumber is still sold 
to a limited extent to the Byrant Furniture Company, who operate a 
steam saw mill near the station and have a factory in Truxton. 

The first merchant at De Ruyter was Samuel Bowen, who came soon 
after 1800 and opened a store in a small building which stood a little 
north of the site of the Taber House. A man named Gray was in trade 
in 1805 and built the first frame store. Nathan B. Wilbur, a native of 
Brookfield, opened a store about 1818 and was in business several years. 
James Benjamin was another early merchant, and Eli Spear kept a 
store on the southwest corner in 1809 and afterwards kept a public 
house in the same building. 

Col. Elmer D. Jencks cameinto Smyrna with his parents in 1791, and 
in 1S09 settled in De Ruyter where he established an early distillery a 
mile north of the village. In 1814 he located in the villige and opened 
a store where he was in trade until about 1860. Sylvester Tylesworth 
was an early merchant who removed to Utica about 1834. Israel Smith 
was clerk for Mr. Jencks and from about 1831 for nearly fifteen years 
was in business for himself. Stephen G. and George Sears, merchants 
from about 1830 to 1837, failed in the latter year. John Elmore, from 
Connecticut was an early merchant, and kept a tavern in the same 



342 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

building on the site of the Taber House; he moved to Oberlin, Ohio. 
Martin Spear was a business contemporary of Elmore and for some 
years kept the tavern of which the latter was proprietor; he removed 
to Cazenovia where he was a merchant and tavern keeper, and died 
there in 1877. Crandall & Alvord built a brick store in 1835 which 
was burned in 1878. After about four years together in trade Alvord 
removed to Cazenovia and Crandall subsequently took his nephew, 
Silas C. Walker, as partner. The latter continued alone after about 
five years until 1857 when he failed. John L. Elmore, son of John, be- 
gan trade about 1837 and soon took as partners Abijah N. Annas and 
William J. Ayer; they in 1839 built the finest brick and stone business 
block in the village; it was burned in 1858. After ten or twelve years 
together, Elmore retired and went to Elmira and Annas & Ayer con- 
tinued a few years when Annas retired and his partner continued alone 
until the building was burned. 

H. A. & F. C. Dillaye began trade about 1838 and continued to 1844 
when Henry A. removed to Syracuse where he became a prominent 
business man. His brother continued a few years and sold to Benja- 
min Birdsall and Bradley Merchant. Their partnership was dissolved 
in 1849, Birdsall going to Michigan, and Mr. Merchant took his son, J. 
Warren, as partner. The senior withdrew in 1860 and the son con- 
tinued to the close of the war when he sold to his brother, M. R. Mer- 
chant. He continued in successful trade more than fifteen years and 
finally failed. 

In 1833 John R. Rider bought the former harness business of Joshua 
Curtis and was connected with the business nearly half a century, 
About 1853 he took the stock of his brother, Nathan G., who had 
traded in Hamilton about two years, and brought it to De Ruyter. In 
1865 he took as partner his son-in-law, George D. Blye, and the firm 
continued many years longer but ultimately failed. 

Noah T. Coleman opened a general store in 1835 with Israel Smith. 
They separated at the end of year dividing the stock, Smith continuing 
in trade a few years, and selling to Norman Otis. Mr. Coleman about 
1840 took his brother Horatio as partner, but the firm dissolved a few 
years later and Noah T. continued about forty years and retired from 
business. He built the store he long occupied, which is now a dwel- 
ling. Joseph H. Crumb settled in the village about 1847, began manu- 
facturing furniture and was for many years and to near his death 
engaged in various undertakings. Henry S. Walker began as a hard- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 343 

ware dealer about 18G8 and still continues. Haight & Burdick began 
dealing in drugs and groceries, purchasing a former stock, and con- 
tinued together for a period, when Burdick removed from the place ; 
Haight continued until his tragic death, which is elsewhere noticed. 
The firm of Burdick & Stillman also dealt in drugs and groceries, Mr. 
Stillman finally retired and Burdick continued until his death. Erastus 
H. Lee, now a general merchant, began business in 1874. Henry 
Howes carried on a book and stationery store some years, beginning in 
1876, and is now a live stock dealer. Robert P. York began as a dry 
goods and clothing dealer in 1876; he is deceased. Rouse & Howes, 
boot and shoe dealers, began as successors to a business established in 
1877 but subsequently went out of trade. H. C. Blanchard, clothing, 
began in 1895 with W. P. Campbell, who retired in 1897. C. E. Max- 
son, in jewelry trade, began in 1893. M. R. Smith opened a clothing 
business in 1881 which he recently sold and removed to Pennsylvania. 
Stanton & Nichols, milliners, began in 1898. J. D. Allen conducts a 
plumbing business and O. M. Blanchard is a wagon maker and black- 
smith, beginning in 1883. 

Other present business interests of the village, with data regarding 
establishment, are as follows: F. S. Mitchell, drugs and medicines, 
established in 1882; F. M. Russell, groceries and hai-dware, began in 
1887; A. W. Francis, flour and feed, 1885, recently sold to E. M. Stan- 
ton; Ira E. Smith, furniture and undertaking, succeeding J. H. 
Crumb, 1886; H. P. Mitchell, insurance, 1881; E. D. Benjamin, pho- 
tographer, 1883; W. G. Weed, baker, 1870; H. B. Griffiths, 1883; 
Hardie & Orvis, dry goods, 1894, succeeded by W. H. Hardie in 1899; 
E. M. Stanton, general store, 1895; S. W. Fiske, grocer, succeeded by 
B. E.Craw; M. E. Tallett, coal, produce, etc.; W. W. Rainey, harness, 
1893; E. S. Newitt, hardware and groceries; C. A. Rainbow, meats, 
1898; R. F. Clark, groceries, 1898. 

After the failure of the old bank, noticed later on, the De Ruyter 
Banking Company was organized in 1889, with a capital of $10,000, 
and a successful banking business has been carried on since. The 
first and present officers are as follows: B. S. Bryant, president; M. E. 
Tallett, vice-president; F. S. Mitchell, treasurer and cashier. 

During the past twenty years De Ruyter has had a good newspaper 
which has been liberally supported by the inhabitants. The first paper 
published in the village was the De Ruyter Herald, which was pub- 
lished in 1835 by C. W, Ma.son; in the next year the Protestant Senti- 



344 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

nel was issued and continued under other titles for several years. In 
October, 1847, the National Banner was started by A. C. Hill and lived 
two years. From 1848 to 1851 the Central New Yorker was published 
by E. F. & C. B. Gould. The Banner of the Times was published a 
few years closing with 1855 by Walker & Hill. The De Ruyter Weekly 
News was established in 1862 by J. E. N. Backus, and was discontin- 
ued in 1864 The De Ruyter New Era was started September 29, 
1870, by John R. Beden, and had a fairly successful career for many 
years. On September 18, 1878, Warren W. Ames started the Weekly 
Gleaner, which absorbed the New Era in 1884. The Gleaner is still 
published as a progressive Republican newspaper by Mr. Ames, and is 
the only paper in the village. The De Ruyter American was started 
December 24, 1896, by N. E. Bugbee, and was discontinued in Novem- 
ber, 1897. 

Succeeding the tavern of Eli Page, which was in existence previous 
to 1809 and continued with many changes for more than half a century, 
the hotel of Eli Spear was purchased by Thomas C. Nye, was remod- 
eled and enlarged and was kept under the name of the Mansion House. 
Mr. Nye ran stages to neighboring points and his house was popular 
with travelers. In later years the Page hotel, before mentioned, was 
rebuilt by Abijah Annas, and kept as the Annas House about two 
years from 1849. He leased it to Guest & Harris who kept it about 
two years ; they were succeeded by Gilson & Warfield about three years, 
and they by Henry Marsh for a like period, when it was sold in 1859 to 
J. W. Clark, who transferred it in 1864 to Gilbert Taber. He kept it 
until 1879, when he leased it to I. M. Judd. After a few other changes 
it passed to the present proprietor, John Coye. 

The Central Hotel was built soon after the opening of the railroad 
by Charles Jones and his son, C. L. H. Jones, and occupied as a saloon. 
It was converted into a hotel in 1878 by Martin Blanchard, who was 
succeeded by Charles Perry, and he by C. E. Beekman, who improved 
the house and changed its name to the Park Hotel; it is now kept by 
W. W. Owens. The De Ruyter Hotel was built for a residence by M. 
R. Merchant. At his failure it passed to Isaac Sampson, who sold it 
to W. M. Baldwin; it was converted to hotel uses in 1893, and is now 
owned by George C. Satterlee. 

De Ruyter village became a post station about 1810 and Dr. Hubbard 
Smith was the first postmaster. The number of inhabitants was then 
very small and the little collection of dwellings were mainly built of 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 345 

logs. The census of 1810 gave the town a population of 1,503, but it 
then included the territory of Georgetown. The construction of the 
turnpike from Cooperstown through to Homer gave considerable im- 
petus to settlements along its route, a share of which was located in this 
village. The first school house in the village was built in 1813 and 
continued to be the only one for many years. There were a few log 
school houses at that date in different parts of the town. The growth 
of the village was slow during the first quarter of the century. Col. 
Elmer D. Jencks was appointed the second postmaster in 1818, and he 
held the office until about 1833. Between that date and 1861 the post- 
masters were Noah T. Coleman, George Sears, Stephen G. Sears, Will- 
iam P. Guest, Benjamin Birdsall and Stephen G. Sears again. The 
latter was succeeded in 1861 by A. V. Bentley, who held the office more 
than twenty years. His successors have been W. E. Burdick, F. Schel- 
linger, W. G. Weed and H. P. Mitchell. 

The most prosperous period of De Ruyter village was perhaps from 
1830 to 1840, or thereabouts. There were lively expectations that the 
proposed railroad from Chittenango to Cazenovia would be extended to 
the village, to the great advantage of the place. The first railroad 
meeting ever held throughout a wide extent of territory surrounding 
De Ruyter was held in the winter of 1832-3 at T. C. Nye's public 
house, and was attended by many of the prominent men of Madison 
county of that day, as well as many from adjoining counties. There 
were Judge Yates, Col. Elmer D. Jencks, Gen. J. D. Ledyard, Hon 
William K. Fuller, then member of congress, John Fairchild, editor of 
the Cazenovia Monitor; James Nye, Elias P. Benjamin, Benjamin Enos, 
Z. T. Bentley, Bradley Merchant, Stephen G. Sears, and others, all of 
whom took a deep interest in the project. As is well known it was 
abandoned for a time. It was at the beginning of this period of pros- 
perity that the village was incorporated, as before noticed. 

The first physician in De Ruyter was Dr. Hubbard Smith, who came 
from Rensselaer county at an early day; he joined the Madison County 
Medical Society in 1808, soon after its formation, and practiced here 
until about 1836, when he removed to near Jamesville and there died. 
Dr. Ephraim Otis was contemporary with Dr. Smith and practiced 
until his death prior to 1850. Dr. Nathan Collins came from Brook- 
field to New Woodstock in 1826 and studied with his brother. Dr. Ste- 
phen Collins. He began practice in De Ruyter in the early part of 
1829 and continued to about 1832, when he removed to Illinois and 



346 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

soon afterwards died. Dr. Ira Spencer was in practice from 1839 for 
nearly half a century and until his death. Dr. James Whitford was 
his partner about two years. Dr. Russell Ballou began practice about 
1835 and continued until his death. 

Dr. Silas Clark, a native of Brookfield, born June 17, 1834, studied 
his profession with Dr. Spencer and graduated from the medical de- 
partment of the University of New York in 1848 and at once began 
practice here, which he has continued to the present time, a period of 
more than fifty years. 

Dr. E. S. Mumford came from New Woodstock in 1862 and practiced 
in partnership with Dr. Ira Spencer five years, when he removed to 
Schuyler county. A few years later he returned to De Ruyter and 
practiced until 1870, when he removed to Syracuse, where he died. 
Dr. Edwin N. Coon is a native of Brookfield and a graduate of the 
homoeopathic department of the University of Michigan in 1872; he at 
once began practice here and has continued ever since. Dr. Adelbert 
W. Truman, a graduate of the Eclectic Medical College of Philadelphia, 
practiced in De Ruyter from 1876 to 1895, when he removed to Roch- 
ester. Dr. James E. McClellan began practice here in 1885. C. P. 
Monroe also is in practice, and J. H, Schaffer dentist. A number of 
other physicians have practiced in the village for brief periods. 

The legal profession has been ably represented in past years in De 
Ruyter, as the reader will more fully learn in the chapter devoted to the 
Bench and Bar. The first attorney in the village was Abraham Payne, 
son of Elisha Payne, the prominent pioneer of the town of Hamilton. 
Abraham Payne settled in this village about 1824 and practiced about 
ten years, removing then to Seneca Falls where he became prominently 
identified with the milling business; he subsequently died in Ohio. 
Martin P. Sweet practiced from 1832 to 1836 and Lorenzo Sherburne 
studied with him and practiced here from about 1834 to 1839, when he 
removed with James W. Nye, his student, to Hamilton. Sherwood's 
brother Luman was in partnership with him from 1834 to 1839. 
Zadock T. Bentley was not only an able lawyer, but a prominent citi- 
zen in every way. A native of Washington county, he studied law 
with Alonzo G. Hammond, at Berlin N. Y., beginning in 1829. He 
was admitted in Madison county in 1833 and until 1836 was a partner 
with Martin P. Sweet. Mr. Bentley continued in practice until 1844 
when he removed to Morrisville, having been elected county clerk. He 
practiced in Morrisville after his term expired until about 1862, when 
he removed to Oneida and died there July 4, 1870. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 347 

George P. Stone came from Homer about 1836, just after his admis- 
sion, and practiced in partnership with Mr. Bentley until 1839, when he 
removed to Georgia on account of failing health; he died about a year 
later. Artemas V. Bentley was born in De Ruyter and was a brother 
of Zadock T., with whom he studied law. He was admitted in 1841 
and practiced until 1861, when he was appointed postmaster and held 
the ofifice more than twenty years. Andrew Scott Sloan, son of Judge 
Andrew S. Sloan of Morrisville, practiced in De Ruyter from 1844 to 
1854, when he went to Wisconsin. His younger brother, Ithamar C, 
studied with him and was in practice a number of years. David J. 
Mitchell and Henry C. Goodwin both studied with A. V. Bentley, and 
practiced in Hamilton as partners until the death of Mr. Goodwin in 
1860. Mr. Mitchell subsequently became a leader of the Onondaga 
bar at Syracuse and died there. 

Other attorneys who have practiced in De Ruyter are Harris C. 
Miner, a man of fine natural qualifications, who was in partnership 
with his brother, R. L. Miner, from 1859 until the death of the latter 
in 1863, and with L. B. Kern, a prominent citizen, member of assem- 
bly four years and also district attorney one term, from 1864 to 1870, 
all of whom are deceased. Daniel O. Mitchell, a brother of David J., 
practiced more than twenty years and is deceased. Sidney T. Holmes 
began practice here in 1864. Wallace E. Burdick began practice in 
1868 and still continues, and H. D. Messenger, who has been in prac- 
tice about three years, and J. H. Pool and H. D. Preston, who began 
about five years ago. 

At about the close of the Civil war, when business interests of all 
kinds were at high tide, banking facilities were needed in De Ruyter 
and John R. Rider opened a private banking business. This was the 
only institution of the kind until E. B. Parsons & Co. opened their bank 
with the firm name in January, 1870, the partner being E. B. Crandall. 
In the winter of 1875-76 Mr. Parsons purchased his partner's interest 
and at the same time took his father, Cyrus Parsons, as partner. The 
capital was $15,000. After a number of years of successful business the 
bank failed and was closed. 

The fire department in De Ruyter village dates from the incorpora- 
tion of the place in 1833 when, on August* 8, the trustees were author- 
ized to purchase a fire engine and equipment, and to supply a house in 
which to keep them. The engine was bought at a cost of $307. In the 
village by-laws governing the village after the first incorporation, the 



348 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

customary regulations were incorporated regarding the placing of fire 
buckets in taverns, stores and dwellings. In December, 1834, the trus- 
tees were directed to purchase "forty feet of fire engine hose and pro- 
vide a ladder for the use of the fire company." The first engine house 
was built in 1839; it must have been a small affair, as only $100 was 
appropriated, and part of that was to be expended for sidewalks. 

An ordinance was adopted July 1, 1841, for the organization of a fire 
company with twenty-four members, with a captain, foreman, mate and 
one chief engineer and two assistants. The members were required to 
provide themselves with a leather or oil cloth cap and a linen or "tow 
cloth " coat. The first officers of this company, as far as can be ascer- 
tained, were Lindley M. Sutton, captain; William I. Ayer, foreman; 

D. F. Talbot, mate; William B. Blye, chief engineer; H. A. Dillaye 
and Luke Burdick, assistant engineers. 

A second fire company, called Tioughnioga Fire Company No. 2, was 
organized January 19, 1855, with fifty members. In that year an en- 
gine was purchased costing $650, with considerable additional 1 ose. 
On March 36, 1855, arrangements were perfected by the town and vil- 
lage for the erection of a town hall and engine house combined and the 
purchase of a site, the town agreeing to pay $780 and the village $300 
of the cost. The old engine house was sold in April 1855, for $32.35, 
and was burned December 26, 1878, while some of the fire department 
apparatus was stored in it. Another structure was erected on the site 
in 1879. In the burning of the town hall most of the town records 
were destroyed, to the great loss of every one interested in the history 
of the locality. 

The fire department continued in substantially the same condition 
down to recent years, and at the present time consists of a hose com- 
pany and an engine company, although from this time forward the 
latter will probably find little to do, as the new water system is ade- 
quate for the extinguishment of fires. 

The new water works were commenced in the spring of 1897, the 
supply being taken from springs, and a concrete reservoir was con- 
structed about a fourth of a mile south of the village at such an eleva- 
tion as to give a pressure of 134 pounds and with 500,000 gallons 
capacity. There are now twenty-eight hydrants placed in the village, 
and the supply for them is separate from that for drinking purposes. 
The cost of the works was about $15,000. The first board of commis- 
sioners consisted of A. W. Francis, president; E. N. Coon, secretary; 

E. H. Lee, treasurer; H. C. Blanchard, and W. W. Owens. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— GEORGETOWN. 349 

The only church in the village not elsewhere noticed, is the Congre- 
gational, which was organized in 1897 and is now enjoying a healthy 
existence. In the year of its organization a neat church edifice was 
erected. 

The De Ruyter Institute, for many years a somewhat noted educa- 
tional institution, was founded in 1836 by the Seventh Day Baptist relig- 
ious sect, of whom there were many in this section. This institution, 
which was finally merged in the Union School of De Ruyter, is ade- 
quately described in Chapter XXIV., as is also the Union School now 
in existence. 

De Ruyter had one of the early Masonic lodges of the county. It 
was established probably as early as 1816, and continued in active life 
until 1827, when it surrendered its charter with the hundreds of others 
that were overwhelmed in the Morgan anti-Masonic crusade. The 
existing Lodge, No. 693, was organized December 28, 1868, with the 
following as the first officers: I. H. Babcock, W. M. ; George W. Blod 
gett, S. W. ; William J. Mills, J. W. ; Carlos Bennett, treasurer; Charles 
Mudge, secretary; A. M. Kibbie, S. D. ; Bishop Bennett, J. D. ; Frank 
Taylor, S. M. C. ; M. R. Merchant, J. M. C. ; George W. Haight, tiler. 

The settlement in the northeast part of the town that took the name 
of Shed's Corners, from the pioneer family of that name, has always 
been the center of a few small business interest. The post-office name 
has recently been changed to Shed's, and there is a store and a milk 
station there on the railroad, and a blacksmith. Allen Randall for- 
merly kept a hotel, which was burned and not rebuilt. John Daniels 
has a blacksmith shop where he succeeded his father, Stephen. 

The adjoining town of Georgetown was a part of De Ruyter until 
April 7, 1815, when it was set off and organized as described in Chap- 
ter VIII. The territory of this town was quite fully settled long be- 
fore the formation of Madison county by a sturdy class of pioneers, 
who cleared away the heavy forests, cultivated the land, built churches 
and school houses, and made comfortable houses for themselves and 
their posterity, while at the same time they incidentally fought the 
wild animals that roamed in this section to a later date than in almost 
any other part of the county. It is an authenticated fact that a large 
wolf was killed on the MuUer farm as late as 1847 by Mr. Sisson. Some 
of his sheep were killed and when he and his neighbors became con- 
vinced that it was done by a wild beast, they turned out in great num- 
bers and surrounded a large tract of forest in which it was believed the 



350 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

animal was hiding. Slowly and carefully contracting their lines the 
wolf at last made a break for liberty, but as he approached the line of 
men was quickly dispatched. This was the last wolf killed in the 
town, if not in the county. In the early years deer and other species 
of wild game were very abundant, as well as fish in streams and lakes, 
both of which contributed largely to the food supply of the settlers. It 
is told that Isaac Purdy and William Drake, on one occasion went out 
before breakfast and killed four large bucks near their homes south of 
the village. A panther was heard and seen in this town as late as 1843. 
With increasing inhabitants and the warfare that never ceases between 
civilization and savagery, all these accompaniments of the pioneer's life 
have passed away. 

Among settlers in this town not already mentioned and who came in 
after the formation of the county, should be noted Deacon Hanford 
Nichols, who was the first collector of Georgetown; John Pritchard, 
Deacon Pitt Lawrence, who was one of the first assessors; Elijah and 
David Williams, who settled in the south part of the town ; Elijah 
Shepard, William Rhoades, Capt. Samuel White, one of the first school 
commissioners; Elijah Jackson, settled in the northern part and was 
one of the first overseers of highways; John Brown, the second town 
clerk; John Jackson, brother of Elijah; Jesse Jerrold, settled on lot 35 
in 1816; John Gibson, on lot 48; Nathan Benedict, on lot 31, about 
1812, and S. B. Hoffman, who was supervisor in 1837. 

Around the first saw mill built by Eleazer Hunt and Joseph Bishop 
in 1805 and the grist mill erected by the same men in 1807, began to 
gather the nucleus of a hamlet soon after settlement began, which later 
developed into the village of Georgetown. It is situated a little south- 
east of the center of the town in the pleasant valley of the Otselic, 
about two and three-fourths miles from the station of the same name 
on the Chenango Valley branch of the West Shore Railroad. 

The first grist mill stood on the site of the later one burned in 1875, 
and the saw mill near by. A number of other saw mills were built in 
early years in various parts of the town where water power was avail- 
able, most of which have gone to decay. One of these was situated 
about two miles south of the village and was built by Manning Drake, 
who sold it several years later to Gideon Peckham. Five or six years 
later Wheeler Dryer bought it and while in his possession it went to 
ruin. A shingle shop was established in the mill by Charles De Clercq 
while Mr. Peckham owned it. Dryer sold the mill privilege to Jonathan 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— GEORGETOWN. 351 

Robie, who built another mill in 1841 and operated it many years, 
transferring it to his son Harry, who built a grist mill near by about 
18G5 and sold both to Henry Wadsworth in 1872. These mills became 
well known as the Wadsworth mills. In 1879 he sold them to Richard 
Bliss, from whom they passed to the present owners, E. W. Brown & 
Co.; they are conducted by W. F. Cossett, and have been put in good 
repair, and are now in successful operation, manufacturing buckwheat 
flour, feed, etc. ; a saw mill, cider mill and shingle mill are connected. 

It is related that the name of Slab City was bestowed upon George- 
town village at the raising of the first saw mill, by ApoUos Drake, who 
remarked at that time that there were three slab houses in the place, 
which entitled it to the appellation that has clung to it to some extent 
ever since. Bradford Payne built a saw mill half a mile north of the 
village in 1852. It was burned about 1858 and rebuilt in the same 
year by Mr. Payne, who operated it a few years and after his death it 
was sold to Eber Salisbury, who conducted it about fifteen years and 
sold it to Edward Hart, who also operated the grist mill at that point. 
During Eber Salisbury's ownership it burned but he rebuilt it. In very 
early years there was a small wool-carding factory there. 

Cutting lumber from the forest trees in this town has continued to be 
profitable to a later date than in most other towns of the county and has 
given occupation to several mills in recent years. A steam saw mill 
one-half mile south of the village is operated by E. W. Pease ; another 
in the southeast part by Van Ness Baldwin; another near the Otselic 
town line in the southeast part by M. C. Aiken; and still another at 
the railroad station, in connection with a stave mill, was established by 
W. H. Lynn and is now owned by E. E. Collins, of Fayetteville; no 
business has been done at the latter in late years. There are also 
three water mills remaining in the town — one west of the village, oper- 
ated by a Mr. Northrup; one by E. C. Hart, and one by Warren and E. 
V. Brown. 

William Bostwick built a tannery in the village about 1834 which he 
conducted upwards of twenty years. It p.assed from him into the 
possession of J. W. Dryer and was subsequently burned. Mr. Dryer 
rebuilt it in 1859. In 1875 it came into possession of Christian Hartjen 
who occupied it until his death in 1879. His widow then continued 
the business a few years when it was closed. The building is now oc- 
cupied as a blacksmith shop by George Jackson. 

The first store kept in the house of Bethel Hurd, who was a pioneer 



352 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

on lot 68, near where his sons, Benjamin, Daniel, Ezra, David and Ste- 
phen, lived on farms, was conducted by a Mr. Truesdale. The first 
merchants in the village were Messrs. Dudley & Bemis, who began 
trading soon after the first settlement in the lower story of a building 
which stood opposite the site of the Methodist church. In 1817, this 
firm having quit business, John F. Fairchild came from Sherburne and 
opened a store ; he also kept a tavern many years and was the first post- 
master. He subsequently removed to Cazenovia, where he published 
the Republican Monitor. He was father of Sidney Fairchild and 
grandfather of Charles Fairchild. 

Ira B. Howard opened a store about 1825 and carried on a successful 
business about ten years when he sold to Samuel and Charles Wickwire 
and removed to Michigan. The Wickwire brothers came from Hamil- 
ton, whither Charles returned after about a year, selling out to his 
brother; the latter soon took as partner Zinah J. Moseley. The firm of 
Wickwire & Moseley continued about seven years when Samuel Bal- 
lard, from Lebanon, became a partner and the firm of Wickwire, Mose- 
ley & Ballard conducted the business nearly two years, when they sold 
to Elnathan Ellis. He took as partner J. L. Hare and they subse- 
quently closed the business. When they vacated the store it was occu- 
pied by Nelson Parmalee and Enoch L. Savage, who came from Caze- 
novia about a year before and began trade. Soon afterward Parmalee 
sold his interest to John Clough. 

The storehouse now owned by A. C. Stanton was formerly a store 
where John Northrop, Northrop & Wray, Northrop & Priest, Northrop 
& Henry, and Jerome A. Norton carried on business, most of them for 
only short periods. About 1873 Zinah N. Dutton, a native of George- 
town, brought a stock of goods from Canastota and after trading here 
about two years, removed to Oneida. In December, 1877, Jerome A. 
Norton, in company with Mrs. Nancy Norton, his brother's wife, occu- 
pied this store, which business was continued for a time by Mr. Norton 
after Mrs. Norton's death. 

W. A. Hare, dealer in boots, shoes, drugs and groceries, was suc- 
ceeded April 1, 1893, by J.J. Parker & Co. Dwight Whitmore began 
dealing in groceries and furnishing goods in 1874. Albert C. Stanton 
came from Otselic in 1842, where his ancestors were pioneers, and for 
some years was engaged in carpenter and joiner work, carriage making 
and the boot and shoe business, began the flour and feed business in 
1876 and is now retired. George M. Griffith established a flour and 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— GEORGETOWN. 353 

feed business in 1886, with which he connected insurance. He was 
formerly engaged with S. M. Faulkner in cooperage business, begin- 
ning in 1861. Faulkner retired in 1872. Floyd Currier started in a 
general store in 1892, which he conducted a number of years. In 1897 
Currier succeeded J. Q. Hawks in the undertaking business, which he 
now conducts. J. F. Stoddard opened a general store in 1884, and in 
the same year H. J. Evans established a hardware and tin business. 
E. D. Halbert has a meat market which was opened in 1894, and in 
which he had as partners for a timeE. C. Hart and Van Ness Peckham. 
S. G. Holmes conducts a flour and feed store; C. H. Rice a livery stable 
and Mrs. C. H. Rice a millinery store. L. Edgerton has carried on 
blacksmithing several years. 

It is not known just when the post-office at Georgetown was estab- 
lished, but John F. Fairchild, who was undoubtedly the first postmas- 
ter, was succeeded by David Parker, and he by Dr. Epaphroditus Whit- 
more, who held the office nineteen years. Since his incumbency the 
office has been administered by Zinah J. Moseley, William W. Hare, 
James Hare, William H. Johnson, Harry Robie, William Way, W. A. 
Hare, A. A. Stoddard, and W. A. Hare again. Charles Wagoner is 
postmaster at the station. 

A hotel was built very early in the century, probably by 1810, on the 
site of what became known as the Blakesley House, and now as the 
Stewart House. The present building was erected as early as 1840 by 
Ebenezer Hall, and has had a great many landlords. It is now kept by 
Oscar M. Stewart & Son. 

The first physician of Georgetown, and a man who was prominent in 
in other ways, was Dr. Epaphroditus Whitmore, who was a native of 
Haddam, Conn., whence he removed to Hamilton about 1804 and there 
studied medicine with Dr. Thomas Greenly. He was licensed in 1810 
and established himself in Georgetown, where he continued in practice 
until his death in 1851. Dr. Whitmore taught the first winter school 
in the town in Seth Smith's kitchen. A summer school had been pre- 
viously kept in John C. Payne's house. Succeeding or contemporary 
with Dr. Whitmore were Drs. Guthrie, Blakeslee, Truman, and Elliott 
Stewart, none of whom remained long; Dr. Truman was located at Ot- 
selic. Dr. George W. Harris practiced many years and until his death; 
with him was associated at one period Dr. Reynolds. Dr. Benjamin 
Franklin practiced many years and until his death; Albright Dunham 
for a few years, and Charles M. White since 1884. The only other 
physician is Dr. E. F. Lamb, who has practiced here several years. 



354 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

On the 19th of December, 1849, the inhabitants of Georgetown and 
Otselic met and made the necessary arrangements for forming an or- 
ganization to build a plank road from Georgetown village to Otselic. A 
committee was appointed to receive subscriptions to the capital stock, 
which was $4,400. The first board of directors was composed of Owen 
Thorpe, Elijah W. Brown, William H. Amsbry, and Elijah Moore. 
This was one of the early plank roads of Madison county. 

A convenient town hall, which is used for entertainments, was erected 
in 1894, by Minor & Thorpe, at a cost of about $3,000. What was 
known as Brown's Free Hall, now occupied as a residence by John Cur- 
rier, is a curious example of architecture which was built by Timothy 
Brown between 1870 and 1875. He claimed to have built the structure 
under the influence of spirits and for the benefit of spiritualism and free 
speech. Although not a carpenter and unused to their tools and trade, 
it is said he erected an excellent frame and executed all the work of the 
building with his own hands excepting the doors and sashes. On the 
upper floor was a hall thirty-five feet square and he and his wife occu- 
pied the lower part. In 1874 he purchased the old Presbyterian church 
building, placed it in the rear of his building, built a piazza, laid a floor 
to divide it into two stories, and by throwing the upper floor of the 
whole structure together obtained a hall 35 by 70 feet in area. 

Only two churches have been organized in Georgetown since the early 
formation of the Presbyterian, which has been noticed ; this society 
erected its church in 1824. In 1874 it was sold to Timothy Brown and 
went into his Free Hall. 

The Methodist Church was the outcome of work performed by Rev. 
J. M. Snyder about 1830, when he was invited to come from Earlville 
and hold services in the Atwood school house, about two miles north of 
the village. A class was soon formed and the work went on, resulting 
in the formation of another in the village. In 1841 they were united. 
Their church building was erected by the Free Church which was 
formed in 1845 by a division in the old Presbyterian society and was 
purchased by the Methodists for $650. Several years ago the building 
was greatly improved with new seats and other modern conveniences, 
and the society is prospering under the ministration of Rev. E. E. 
Benson. 

The Georgetown Baptist Church was formed as a branch of one es- 
tablished in Ostelic in 1813, and mainly through the conversion and in- 
fluence of Pitt Lawrence. R. H. Benedict, who was then pastor in De 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFI ELD. 355 

Ruyter, did missionary work here, and Elders Cooly and Mealthy also 
preached and baptized. Other preachers who are mentioned were Jona- 
than Wade, Jacob Knapp, J. L. Moore, Allen B. Freeman. The church 
was formally organized on November 12, 1831, with twenty-one mem- 
bers. An edifice was built in 1834 and used many years, when it was 
sold to Clark Sanford and removed to another situation, where it was 
used fur a time as a shop and subsequently burned. The present frame 
church was built in 1885. The present pastor is Rev. George Bowler. 
A newspaper called the Georgetown Mutual was established in 1877 
by L. D. Blanchard, who sold to Edward Van Valen. While under his 
management the paper was discontinued. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— BROOKFIELD 
AND LEBANON. 

The reader has been given in Chapter IV a very full account of the 
settlement of the town of Brookfield — the building of the first mills at 
Leonardsville, at Button's Falls, and other points, the early distilleries, 
the opening of several early taverns, the organization of churches and 
opening of schools, all of which proclaimed the energy and progres- 
siveness of the pioneers of that large town. Early in the century 
Brookfield became of more than ordinary importance in a manufactur- 
ing sense, as well as in its agricultural operations. There was ample 
water power on the Unadilla, Beaver and Mill Creeks, which was im- 
proved at Leonardsville and other points and many industries were 
founded which during a considerable period were largely instrumental 
in increasing the wealth and population of the community. As the 
years passed the competition of larger establishments in more populous 
business centers could not be met here; mechanics and their families 
moved away and the local manufacturing conditions were revolution- 
ized. The large lumber industry of early years declined with the dis- 
appearance of the forests until now it is insignificant and confined to 
the cutting of comparatively small quantities of hemlock in the few re 
maining mills. From the great cedar swamp near Clarkville, which 



356 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

covers several square miles, large quantities of cedar were formerly cut 
and in later years the second growth has been heavily drawn upon for 
hop poles. The mixed farming of early years was gradually superseded 
by the extensive raising of hops in the western part of the town, while 
in the east part dairying has for many years chiefly monopolized the 
attention of the farmers. The manufacture of cheese in factories re- 
ceived most attention for a number of years ; but that feature of the 
business was greatly reduced by the opening of the Unadilla railroad on 
which milk stations were established at several points, for the shipment 
of milk to the New York market. The organization and incorporation 
of the Brookfield Agricultural Society in 1849, which is still in active 
and prosperous existence, was the beginning of the career of an organ- 
ization which has been of incalculable benefit to the town at large and 
incidentally to the village of Clarkville, where are located its grounds. 
The first fairs of the society were held on land now owned by F. M. 
Spooner, and later on a tract a little north of the village. In 1884 the 
society purchased the grounds in present use, which include about 
seventeen acres, erected substantial and commodious buildings and 
constructed a trotting track. The society holds its semi-centennial 
fair in 1899. H. L. Spooner has served as president of the society for 
nineteen years past and its success is due to a large extent to his energy 
and good judgment. 

The Utica, Chenango Valley and Susquehanna Railroad (now a 
branch of the D. L. and W. system) touches the northwest corner of 
this town, with a station at North Brookfield. The Unadilla Valley 
Railroad skirts the eastern border, connecting on the north by Bridge- 
water with the road above mentioned, and on the south at New Berlin 
with the Ontario and Western road. Brookfield was not bonded in aid 
of any railroad and at the present time has no bonded indebtedness. 
The construction of the Chenango Canal through neighboring towns 
and the building of the railroads had the customary influence, as seen 
in all towns without very large business centers to which may be drawn 
the trade and other interests of smaller places. While they gave to the 
inhabitants far better facilities for travel and transportation, they at 
the same time made it easier for the people to reach the larger pur- 
chasing markets at Utica and elsewhere, thus diverting expenditures 
elsewhere, instead of to local tradesmen. 

The later detailed history of Brookfield, following that given in 
Chapter IV relates chiefiy to the decline of certain industries, the 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 357 

establishment of others, the changes in mercantile establishments, and 
the general development at and near the several villages of the town. 

Clarkville (or Brookfield) is the largest village in this town, and is the 
only one incorporated. It is pleasantly situated on the Beaver Creek, 
which flows southeasterly across the central part of the town, a little 
northeast of the center of the town, and for many years after its incep- 
tion was called Bailey's Corners, from Eli S. Bailey, who settled here 
in about 1812, having then resided in the creek valley three or four 
years. At the time of his settlement on the site of the village there 
was nothing to distinguish it from the surrounding farming country, 
but the first store was built just previous to the opening of the war of 
1813, by Reuben Leonard, founder of Leonardsville, a building that 
stood for three quarters of a century. The first saw mill, built by the 
pioneer Oliver Babcock, father of Ethan and Oliver, in 1795, was run- 
ning, and in 1815 the first public house was built by Ethan Babcock, 
and kept by him until 1822. A frame school house was built about 
1805, but school had doubtless been taught a few years earlier. The 
post-office at this point was not opened until about 1820, with the name 
Beaver Cr.eek, and Joseph Clark, from whom the name Clarkville is 
derived, was the first postmaster. He settled here in 1810, held the 
offices of town clerk, supervisor, and justice of the peace, each of them 
for a long term. He served in the war of 1812 and rose to the rank of 
colonel before the close of the war. He was elected judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas, in which office he served ten years, and in 1824 was 
elected to the Assembly and re-elected in 1828, and for the third time 
in 1835. In 1839 he was elected to the State Senate. Throughout his 
life Mr. Clark was a prominent and highly respected citizen of Madison 
county. In the office of postmaster Mr. Clark was succeeded by An- 
drew Babcock, whose successors have been Varnum Crumb, Maxson 
Clark, jr., Lucius P. Clark, John T. G. Bailey, Benjamin Gorton, Rich- 
ard Stillman, who held the office more than twenty years and died in 
the service. He was followed by A. J. Stillman, whose successors have 
been Charles J. Elliott, H. L. Spooner, F. D. Rogers and H. L. Spooner 
again. The name of the village was changed from Bailey's Corners to 
Clarkville at the time of its incorporation in April, 1834, after a spirited 
contest, at which time there was a population of about 400. 

In the old store built by Reuben Leonard, before mentioned, Shef- 
field Collins traded many years and until his death. He also kept the 
first tavern succeeding Ethan Babcock, which stood on the site of the 



358 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Clarkville hotel. Mr. Collins also manufactured potash, as was cus- 
tomary with enterprising merchants of the early years. Among other 
early merchants were Henry Holmes, who was associated with his 
brother; Chester Palmiter, who was in business several years and until 
his death in August, 1837. Varnum Crumb was in business for a time, 
Andrew Babcock many years, succeeding which he was associated with 
John T. G. Bailey, who was the eldest son of Dr. Eli S. Bailey, the 
pioneer. They occupied the store in which A. J. Stillman now carries 
on business. Nathan Brownell traded a number of years and to near 
the time of his death, when he was succeeded by his sons, Nathan and 
Putnam C. Mattison Clarke, who had been engaged in hat trade, and 
as proprietor of a hotel, became a merchant about 1840 and continued 
fifteen years. Leroy Babcock succeeded Andrew Babcock about 1857, 
and sold to Frederick Foot. A. W. Mowry, who came from West Win- 
field, was a general merchant from 1859 more than twenty years. 
Laurens Babcock began as a general merchant in 1864, with Henry 
Keith as partner, whose interest he purchased at the end of four years. 
John T. Stillman, a native of this town, who began dealing in hard- 
ware in 1867, purchasing the stock of his brother, William, is still in 
business. A. J. Stillman, present general merahant, has been in busi- 
ness since 1868. The drug business, now represented by A. C. Miller, 
was formerly conducted for more than ten years by M. A. Saunders, 
who had as partner about six years L. A. Saunders. F. D. Gould, H. 
H. Elliot, A. C. Tuttle and M. H. Brown are in the grocery trade, the 
latter also having a bakery. D. F. Main has a hardware store, and the 
furniture and undertakmg is carried on by L. W. Babcock and J. Slater. 
C. A. Wright is a harness maker, and R. Dennison shoemaker. Will- 
iam Crane, W. M. Clarke and C. Morgan carry on blacksmithing. In 
connection with operating the saw mill, W. M. Crane has a flour and 
feed store. Adelbert Crandall operates a wood repair shop, and H. A. 
Fitch has a photograph gallery. ■ E. A. Pope is jeweler and G. L. Whit- 
ford is a merchant tailor. 

In December, 1871, Calvin Whitford established the banking house 
which is still in existence under his management associated with his 
son, Edward C. Whitford. 

Succeeding the early mills here, a carding mill and a foundry estab- 
lished by Joseph Clark, a tanning business was begun by Jonathan Bab- 
cock which was very successful during many years, while bark was 
easily obtainable. The old tannery building is now a repair shop used 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 359 

by Samuel Jordan. The grist mill now owned by William Crane was 
built by Mr. Jordan in 1865 on the site of a building erected in 1854 by 
a stock company for the manufacture of agricultural implements, for 
which purpose it was used about ten years. Mr. Jordan acquired the 
property and about 1860 put in a run of stones and carried on milling in 
connection with the implement manufacture until 1863, when the latter 
business was discontinued. He also continued tanning until after 
1880. 

The hotel before mentioned as having been built in 1815 by Ethan 
Babcock, subsequently passed to possession of Joseph Clark, who sold 
it in 1843 to his son-in-law, Henry Keith, who kept the house many 
years as the Central Hotel. He was succeeded by the present proprie- 
tor, Lyman Brown, who changed the name of the house to Brown's 
Hotel. 

Succeeding Dr. Eli S. Bailey, the first physician in Clarkville, was 
his son Silas who studied with him and practiced many years, a part 
of the time with his father. A. E. Wallace practiced a few years and 
was succeeded by Dr. Catlin, who came from Winfield and about two 
years later removed to Ohio. Dr. Griswold was in practice from about 
1845 to 1879, when he removed to Poolville. Augustus L. Sanders was 
in practice a number of years and until his death, and the same is true 
of Dr. Nelson B. Parr. Albert C. Rogers practiced several years and 
removed to California. The present physicians of the village are Dr. 
O. W. Bushyte, and Dr. H. C. Brown. 

Thomas J. Yaw practiced law in Clarkville from about 1830 until his 
death in 1863. Pardon Davis practiced a short time at about that 
period. George W. Gray was in practice a few years about 1845. 
Henry M. Aylesworth, now of Leonardsville, began practice here in 
April, 1867, and left the place in December of the same year. Samuel 
D. White practiced from 1857 to 1866 and removed to Hamilton; con- 
temporary with him was William H. Davis. George M. Havens prac- 
ticed here about a year in 1844-5 and in later years was in New York. 
Sherman DaboU came from Rensselaer county when young, studied 
law in New Berlin, practiced here several years and removed to Michi- 
gan. Barna J. Stimson was in practice from 1867 to 1874 and removed 
to Hamilton. Frederick Clarke, a native of this town, studied with 
Mr. Daboll, began practice about 1876 but soon afterward removed to 
Cazenovia. Israel Wilkinson was in practice a short time about 1858. 
D. B. Stillman practiced a number of years and is now State excise 



360 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

commissioner. N. A. Crumb, a native of this town, came from Cana- 
stota in 1891 and is the only practicing lawyer in the village. 

A new creamery was established in 1898 by Dart & Wallace. 

The Brookfield Courier was founded in 1876 by Frank M. Spooner, 
who was for several years associated with his father, H. L. Spooner. 
In 1883 they sold the paper to W. E. Phillips and B. G. Stillman, jr., 
who conducted it until the following year when the Messrs. Spooner 
purchased Phillips's interest and the firm name of Stillman & Spooner 
was adopted. In 1898 F. M. Spooner assumed the management of the 
Afton Enterprise and H. L. Spooner continued with Mr. Stillman as at 
the present time. The paper is a four-page weekly and ably represents 
its district. 

Clarkville has always been foremost in the establishment and promo- 
tion of educational facilities. The Brookfield Academy, which is more 
fully described in the Educational Chapter was originally a free school, 
the house being built by subscription, and the academy incorporated in 
April, 1847. In 1875 Union Free School District No. 32 was estab- 
lished and in November of that year the following were elected trustees: 
A. J. Stillman and Thomas A. Crandall for one year; Samuel Jordan 
and Enos Russell for two years; John T. Stillman for three years 
The old academy was adopted as the academical department of the 
Union Free School. On December 21, 1875, the board was instructed 
to sell the district school house and apply the proceeds to repairing the 
academy. At the first meeting of the Board of Education, Enos Rus- 
sell was chosen president; Arthur J. Stillman, clerk; Charles Lamb, 
treasurer. Calvin Whitford succeeded Mr. Lamb in the following 
month, Mr. Lamb declining to serve James H. Messenger was the 
first principal of the school. In 1876-7 the academy building was sold 
to the Catholics and a new school building was erected on the site of 
the former school house. The churches of the village are described in 
Chapter IV. 

The first incorporation of the village of Clarkville took place in 1834. 
A reincorporation was effected under the general law and H. L. 
Spooner was elected the first president ; he has served several terms in 
that capacity. Other presidents have been P. Fitch, A. J. Stillman, 
and Herbert E. Kingsley, the present incumbent. 

The question of establishing a water supply for the place is under 
agitation at the present time. The village hall and the opera house 
were burned in 1898, and the fire would doubtless have spread to large 
]3roportions had it not been for a great fall of snow. 



I 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 361 

Leonardsville, where Reuben Leonard settled before the century 
opened, and built mills and in every way was conspicuous in aiding the 
development of the locality, is beautifully situated in the valley of the 
Unadilla, near the center of the eastern border of the town, and is a 
station on the Unadilla Valley Railroad. The building of the early 
mills and the excellent water power at that point soon attracted settlers 
and a hamlet gathered about where manufacturing industries of various 
kinds and stores and taverns were established. Hazzard P. Clarke, an 
early settler, began making hoes and scythes, in connection with his 
general blacksmithing business about 1810, and continued the work in 
a small way until 1830, when he sold out to Samuel Brand, whose sons 
became prominent as merchants in later years; Brand came from Hop- 
kinton, R. I., about 1815, settling near Edmeston, and in 1820 removed 
to Leonardsville. He was a capable and enterprising man and greatly 
increased the business, which he continued to about 1848, when he 
sold to his son, Nathan V. Brand. The latter was succeeded by the 
firm of Nathan Brand & Co., who, in 1853, sold to the Leonardsville 
Manufacturing Company. This organization acquired also the grist 
and saw mills then owned by Luke and Thomas Hoxie; a horse rake 
factory and wagon shop, then operated by John Babcock & Co. ; a foun- 
dry and machine shop, then operated by M. W. & H. C. St. John. All 
of these proprietors and operators joined their interests to form the 
company. To these industries was added a manufactory of agricultural 
implements and the whole was placed under management of Washing- 
ton S. Greene. The company continued until 1858 when a dissolution 
took place and the several branches of business were thereafter carried 
on separately for certain periods, excepting the manufacture of agri- 
cultural implements, which was discontinued. The tw ) mills and the 
building in which the agricultural implements were made were burned 
in 1856; but the latter and the saw mill were at once rebuilt and a new 
grist mill was completed in about two years. This mill had already 
been once rebuilt by Samuel Brand in 1829. The second rebuilding, 
just mentioned, was by Thomas W. Stearns, who succeeded to its own- 
ership after the dissolution of the Leonardsville Manufacturing Com- 
pany. Mr. Stearns sold it to Williamson, Adams & Co., who in 1871 
ti'ansferred it to Edwin Whitford. It is now operated by B. C. Steers. 
The saw mill was built on the site of the one burned by Thomas W. 
Stearns, who sold it in 1869 to Hamilton J. Whitford, Myron Anthony, 
and Charles H. Williamson, the last named selling his interest to his 



362 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

partners in J877. They continued its operation several years. It is 
now operated by Albert Whitford. The horse rake factory and wagon 
shop passed to possession of Erastus A. Greene, and the building was 
burned and rebuilt by him. He continued the manufacture of rakes 
in a small way a number of years. In recent years the manufacture of 
agricultural implements has been carried on, principally for filling con- 
tracts, by H. D. Babcock. The old fork factory, before mentioned, 
passed to Milton W. St. John, H. D. Babcock, Van Rensselaer Hawk- 
ins, and John Babcock, who built the present structure after the other 
was burned, for a hoe factory ; this business continued only one year, 
about 1874, by H. C. Rogers, as agent for Charles W. Rogers and 
Charles H. Williamson, who rented the building. The property was 
then acquired by Milton W. St. John, and a general foundry and ma- 
chine shop business was conducted by him until his death and after- 
wards by his widow. 

In 1891 a company was formed with the title of the Otsego Furnace 
Company, for the manufacture of a heating furnace with that name. 
Among those prominently interested in this company were H. D. Bab- 
cock, J. O. Wheeler, I. A. Crandall, A. W. Daggett and G. C. Rogers. 
The financial stringency of 1893 contributed to cause the failure of the 
enterprise, which it had been hoped would prove of great and lasting 
benefit to the village. A reorganization of the company is contem- 
plated. 

The Leonardsville Canning Company was formed in 1894 and built a 
large structure near the railroad station and equipped it with modern 
appliances for extensive canning of corn. From fifty to sixty hands 
are employed in the season and the large product finds a ready market. 
H. D. Babcock is president of the company. 

A cold storage plant is operated by G. H. St. John, who is a large 
buyer of produce. C. K. Burdick, E. Quinn, and A. Meaker are black- 
smiths, and C. H. Williamson, C. K. Burdick, W. H. Burdick, I. Parks, 
and A. Marshall carry on wagon making. 

The first store in this town, which was opened by Reuben Leonard, 
has been noticed. It was in the building occupied three-quarters of a 
century later for the same purpose by Nathan V. Brand, but had been 
removed from its original site. Mr. Leonard was also a tanner, a distil- 
ler, and made crude potash, carrying on a large business many years, 
until his failure about 1820. Ethan Burdick was a merchant contem- 
porary with Leonard, beginning a little later and failing earlier. His 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 363 

store building was burned about 1868. David and Charles O. Munson 
were successors of Burdick in the same store and continued there and 
in another building until the death of the latter in Jul}', 1831. David 
afterwards sold to Otis Eddy, and he after trading a few years sold to 
James Van Valen. About 1846 he sold to William H. Brand, who took 
his brother, Nathan V., as partner in 1848. Six years later William H. 
sold his interest to his brothei, but from 1864 to 1868 they were again 
associated. After a second separation Nathan V. Brand continued in 
business a number of years. 

Dennis Hardin opened a store about 1830 and continued it many 
years ; he was a native of Connecticut and was during several periods 
associated with his brother Daniel, who came from Winfield in 1837, 
and was during one period connected in business with his nephew, 
Henry B. Hardin. Charles R. Maxson carried on a large mercantile 
business a number of years, and James H. Brand and Edwin Clark 
built a store and engaged in clothing trade about 1853; the building 
was subsequently occupied by F. P. King and was burned in 1863. 
Samuel Collins erected another store building which was occupied suc- 
cessively by him, William H. Brown, A. M._Griffin, and H. W. North. 
Irving A. Crandall, a native of Brookfield, bought out Daniel Hardin 
in 1867, in company with H. B. Kinney, whose interest he purchased 
at the end of the first year. Mr. Crandall is still in business as a 
general merchant. O. D. Bassett began business as a druggist in 1874, 
and continued a number of years. Arthur W. Crandall and Owen 
TuUy began as boot and shoe dealers in 1875, buying out A. B. Spauld- 
ing. Other present merchants are E Frank Champlain, drugs, grocer- 
ies and bakery; W. W. Coon, groceries; O. O. Saunders, general store; 
W. D. Crandall, hardware; and Miss Arvilla Burdick, millinery. A 
furniture and undertaking business is carried on by E. L. Worden, and 
a meat market by Elmer Ellsworth, who buys poultry and eggs. 

Reuben Leonard built the first public house in the village soon after 
1800. It was enlarged in 1857 and burned about 1870, when Smith M. 
Palmer was proprietor. In 1860 Dennis Hardin built a hotel which 
was first kept about two years by Hiram Buell. It had other land- 
lords and is now kept by W. L. Switzer. 

The first postmaster was Reuben Leonard, who was probably suc- 
ceeded by Dennis Hardin, who held the office many years and was fol- 
lowed about 1845 by George W. Hinckley. In 1849 Nathan V. Brand 
was appointed, and was succeeded in 1857 by Nathan T. Brown. James 



364 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

H. Brand was the next incumbent and was followed in 1861 by Nathan 
V. Brand. Irving A Crandall was appointed in 1872 and held the 
office twelve years, when he was succeeded by J. E. Coon, and he by 
O. TuUy. Mr. Crandall was then again appointed and is now in office. 

The first physician who is known to have practiced in this place was 
a Dr. Farrell, who came near the beginning of the century. He built 
a house in 1806, in which Russell Maxson resided in late years. Dr. 
Welcome Clark was an early physician and practiced until about 1826, 
when he removed to Whitestown and was succeeded by his brother 
Ray, who studied with him and practiced till about 1838. Dr. Pliny 
Robmson came from Otsego county and bought out Dr. Ray Clark, 
practicing until a few years before his death in 1868. Hiram S. Cran- 
dall practiced many years and until his death. .,8. C. Maxson was in 
practice several years and is now an eye and ear specialist in Utica. 
Dr. Oscar Lemuel Southworth, now the only physician in the village, 
has been in successful practice many years. 

Two attorneys find occupation in their profession here in the persons 
of Henry M. Aylesworth, who has been in practice more than twenty 
years, and Adon P. Brown, a later comer. Anson Harder came from 
Little Falls about 1853, as the first attorney, but remained only about 
three years. Arthur R. Pope also practiced for a time. 

The large business interests of Leonardsville, when the prospects for 
the future were brightest, demanded bank facilities, and the Leonards- 
ville Bank was incorporated on February 27, 1858, with a capital of 
$100,000. At about the close of the Civil war it went under the na- 
tional system and was subsequently merged with the Ilion National 
Bank at Ilion. The first officers and directors of the bank were Nathan 
T. Brown, president; Luke Hoxie, vice-president; Dennis Hardin, 
cashier; John C. Wheeler, teller and bookkeeper. These men, except- 
ing the last named, with Ezra K. Hoxie, Washington S. Green, Vinson 
R. Howard, John Rogers, Nathan Brainard, Christopher Langworthy, 
Wait Clark, Samuel L. Brown, and Noyes Stillman, were the directors, 
and were prominent citizens of that period. 

When the Leonardsville Bank was discontinued, Dennis Hardin es- 
tablished a private bank under the same name, which he continued 
until his death, June 3, 1873. 

The old district school in Leonardsville was superseded in 1875 by 
the Union Free School in Joint District No. 12 in the towns of Brook- 
field and Plainfield. The vote in favor of this change, taken at a meet- 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 365 

ing held October 16, was forty-six to twenty. Edwin Whitford, Charles 
H. WiUiamson, Daniel Hardin, Henry M. Aylesworth, and Luke Hoxie 
were elected a Board of Education and $1,000 was voted to build a 
school house, which was accomplished in the following year. W. H. 
Southworth was the first principal of this school. Edwin Whitford was 
the first president of the Board of Education; H. M. Aylesworth, sec- 
retary; John O. Wheeler, treasurer. 

The churches of Leonardsville are both noticed in Chapter IV. The 
oldest one, the Seventh Day Baptist, is prosperous and in 1895 the 
society improved its house of worship at a cost of about f 1,800. The 
present Methodist church building is the one erected in 1876. 

Well up in the northwest part of the town, on a tributary of the 
Chenango and in the midst of a rich hop-growing region is the small 
hamlet of North Brookfield. A mile distant is a station on the branch 
of the D., L. & W. Railroad, where there is a milk station under local 
management of George Eagan, handling 5,000 pounds of milk a day, 
which is mostly bottled and shipped to New York, and a grocery kept 
by John Kenyon in a building that was formerly a cheese factory. In 
this vicinity settled early the Terry, Morgan, Livermore, Faulkner, 
Fitch, Gorton, Miner, and other pioneer families, members of which be- 
came prominent in the town. A negro named Laban Alby long re- 
sided here in early years, kept the only tavern and was widely known. 
From this fact the place became known as " Nigger City," a name that 
still to some extent clings to it. Samuel Marsh opened a store in 1804 
a little more than a mile southeast of the village site, on a road that 
was at that time a prominent thoroughfare, but was abandoned before 
1860. After four or five years of trade Marsh failed, was imprisoned 
for debt and died in the jail at Whitestown. Samuel Livermore opened 
the first store in the village on the site of the Parks (now Snow's) 
Hotel about 1809, was in business several years, and then removed to 
a farm in the town and later to Allegany county. His successor as a 
merchant was a Mr. Mills who was in business about five years. Laban 
Alby, the negro, kept a grocery from about 1815 to 1844, besides his 
hotel, which he built about 1844; he was also a blacksmith, which busi- 
ness he relinquished when he commenced keeping his hotel. He re- 
moved to Norwich in 1864 and died there. Isaac Marsh kept a store 
from about 1836 to 1860, having at different times partners in Solomon 
Gorton, Albert Beebe, David Fisk, and Daniel Bennett, 2d. He built 
the store subsequently occupied by Dr. L. A. Van Wagner. Asahel P. 



366 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Treat began as a merchant about 1855 in the store afterwards occupied 
by S. A. Fitch, and continued to his death in 1866. J. V. R. Livermore 
began trade about 1850 in company with Lucius E. Beebe, and at the 
end of five years retired to a farm. Five years later he bought out Mr. 
Beebe and associated himself with D. S. Bennett, whose interest he 
purchased three years later. He took his son as partner, the connec- 
tion continuing about five years. After an interval of about three 
years another son, Charles O. Livermore, was taken in and the firm 
continued until January, 1879, when the son purchased his father's in- 
terest and continued until about 1893. This is now the Hibbard & 
York store. S. A. Fitch purchased the Treat store of Mrs. A. P. Treat 
in 1868 and continued in trade a number of years. This store is now 
conducted by W. T. Squyers. Dr. Lewis A. Van Wagner began a drug 
business in 1876, buying out E. C. Bennett and doing business in con- 
nection with the practice of his profession. He sold out to L. D. Con- 
ger and removed to Sherburne. This store was afterward burned. 

After about 1850 this small village showed encouraging indications 
of business activity and growth. Wagon making in particular was ex- 
tensively carried on by Fitch & Boon and by King & Cheesbro, and by 
Orson S. Gorton, who for twenty- five years was a large manufacturer. 
There are now three small shops owned by H. N. Avery, S. D. Rams- 
dell and L. O. Hatch. 

The North Brookfield grist mill was built in 1860 by Timothy H. Peck 
and operated by him until 1868 when it passed to possession of Hiram 
Collins; it is now run by Arvillo Kling and Walter C. Payne. The first 
mill in this vicinity was built about 1808 by a Mr. Balcom. It stood a 
few rods west of the later one and ultimately went to decay. The first 
mill on the site of the existing one was built in 1845, some of the tim- 
ber from the old one being used in it; it was burned in the year pre- 
ceeding the erection of the present mill. Two steam saw mills are in 
operation, one by Myron H. Forbes and the other b)' Frank Risley. 

A cheese factory was established here which was for some time owned 
by Henry P. Keith, which is now operated by I. A. Wager. John Gray 
and Albert Morgan are blacksmiths and James Humphrey shoemaker. 
The three general stores of the place are now kept by W. T. Squyers, 
Hibbard & York and John E. Kenyon. The hotel, which was kept a 
number of years by W. S. Parks, is now conducted by M. E. Snow, and 
the "Cedar Valley House by Hiram Loomis. Emery D. Morgan is post- 
master. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— BROOKFIELD 367 

Gilbert Birdsall, a graduate of the medical department of the Uni- 
versity of Buffalo in 1863, at once began practice in this village and 
still continues. 

The district school at North Brookfield was changed to a Union Free 
school in 1881. The first Board of Education consisted of Thomas R. 
Gorton, Allen Risley, A. J. Marsh, O. M. Gorton. The principal of the 
school was W. E. Phillips, the present one being Homer T. Case, who is 
assisted by two teachers. A special building for the school was erected 
in 1882; it is a frame structure with sightly grounds and beautiful 
shade trees. The present board is as follows: Gilbert Birdsall, J. F. 
Garrett, W. T. Squyers, C. E. Mason, Henry Edwards, A. Kling and 
Paul Cheesbro. 

A Baptist church has long been in existence here and is now under 
the pastorate of Rev. James Smith. A Universalist church was estab- 
lished more than forty years ago, but no regular services are held. 
The Catholic church, erected in 1893, is under the pastoral care of Rev. 
S. J. Cannane of Oriskany Falls. 

South Brookfield is a small hamlet about five miles south of Clark- 
ville on Beaver Creek, where a considerable business interest was 
gathered in early years. The place has also borne the name of Bab- 
cock's Mills, from the fact that a grist mill and saw mill were built 
there early in the century by the Babcock family, as stated in earlier 
pages. There is excellent water power here and a number of indus- 
tries were established to make use of it. George W. Bentley formerly 
manufactured furniture quite extensively, obtaining his hard woods 
from neighboring forests and having them sawed in the mill. The 
post office here was established in 1845 with J. Deloss Clarke post- 
master. He held the office more than twenty-five years and was suc- 
ceeded by Eli Maxson. The present postmaster is Frank Huntington, 
who also conducts the only store, succeeding Henry Brown, who was 
postmaster for a term. William and Roswell Randall were very early 
merchants here and later in Cortland, N. Y., where they became very 
wealthy. They were succeeded by Adin Burdick, Herman A. Hull, J. 
Deloss Clarke, and perhaps one or two others. The old grist mill had 
many proprietors, finally passing to Willis De Long after having been 
rebuilt by John Eaton. It is now operated by Corry Maxson. A 
creamery was established here in 1879 by Abel Avery, which is still in 
operation. Perry Warren was a former blacksmith, a business now 
carried on by George Aylesworth. 



368 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In the west part of the town, where there was an early, numerous 
and thrifty settlement of Quakers, the locality taking the name of Mos- 
cow, and where the Collins brothers, Job, Peter, and Joshua, sons of 
Joseph Collins, and Gideon and Thomas Kenyon, Solomon and Heze- 
kiah Collins, James Larkin, and others settled early, there were small 
mercantile establishments and minor manufacturing industries in early 
years, all of which have passed away. A Quaker meeting house was 
built there about 1820 and the Collins families carried on harness 
making, blacksmithing, and wagon making, and Albert Button kept 
a store. When a post-office was established there it was given the 
name, De Lancy, in honor of John De Lancy; the office has been 
abandoned. 

A part of the small village of West Edmeston (Otsego county) 
lies within the limits of this town. It is in the south part and on the 
Unadilla and has about 150 population. A grist mill and saw mill are 
in the town of Brookfield and have long been owned and operated by 
Truman Maxson. Orson Champlain and Albert Felton are merchants 
and with a few shopkeepers are on the Otsego side of the river. 

The dairy interest in Brookfield developed several cheese factories, 
some of which have been mentioned. One was established in 1863 by 
D. M. Brown about two miles east of Clarkville, and was owned by 
him twenty or more years. E. D. Lamb was formerly extensively 
engaged at Unadilla Forks in the manufacture of cheese, with a number 
of factories extending from De Lancy to Edmeston. These were estab- 
lished in 1863 and had a capacity of 5,000 pounds of cheese daily. But, 
as before stated, the opening of the railroad has made a vast change in 
the dairy policy of the town incident upon the shipment of milk to dis- 
tant markets. 

What was known as the Welcome Scott grist mill, saw mill and cider 
mill, were situated in the northeast part of the town and were started in 
1835. The mills were built by Levi and Welcome Scott, the first named 
selling his one-third interest to Nathan Brown in 1843. In the follow- 
ing year Mr. Brown sold out to Welcome Scott, and for about forty 
years thereafter he was sole proprietor. 

Among the prominent and successful farmers of this town may be 
mentioned J. H. and A. D. Chesebro, Leroy Larkin, A. E. Kenyon, J. 
F. York, J. G. Garrett, A. Faulkner, D. L, Fish, W. A. Payne, Am- 
brose Keith and William Stanbro. 

In the town of Lebanon, situated centrally on the southern border of 



I 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LEBANON. 369 

the county, the settlement and growth of which down to about the year 
1810 has been fully described in Chapter VII, development since that 
time has been confined almost wholly to the clearing and improvement 
of farms, the gradual change from the mixed agriculture of early years 
to the raising of hops and dairying, the moderate growth of the small 
villages of Smith's Valley and Lebanon, the establishment of churches, 
schools, etc. Indeed, there has been a considerable decline in popula- 
tion in the town during the last eighty years and at the present time 
the number of inhabitants is little if any greater than in 1810. Although 
there was no very valuable water power in the town, aside from that on 
the Chenango River flowing through the east part, which was made use 
of by the building of the first grist and saw mills at Smith's Valley, 
there were still a number of early mills and a few other industries on 
the small streams tributary to the Chenango. As the forests disap- 
peared under the axes of the settlers, making saw mills of lesser impor- 
tance and also serving to greatly diminish the volume of the streams, 
many of the early mills went to decay. 

The establishment of the first mills in the town, as the reader will 
remember, dates back to 1798, when Elisha Wheeler built a grist mill 
on the west side of the Chenango at Smith's Valley, which was soon 
followed by the erection of a grist mill by his brother Daniel on the 
east side of the river about a mile above Smith's Valley. Another grist 
mill was built about a mile and a quarter east of the site of Lebanon 
village as early as 1810 and a saw mill near by. The grist mill is still 
in existence and is now operated by George W. Phillips. In the north 
part of the town a mile from SSmith's Valley was an early saw mill 
which has gone to decay. About a mile and a half west of the site of 
Lebanon village were two saw mills built many years ago, one of which 
was last operated by Clinton Stowell. He also operates a carding ma- 
chine near by which has been in existence many years. Mr. Stowell is 
also largely engaged in the cold storage business. There was a small 
saw mill a mile above South Lebanon, and another a mile below that 
point, the latter dating from about 1867 and built by Martin Torrey, 
both of which are idle and in decay. About a mile southwest of Smith's 
Valley is a saw and a planing mill, and a cheese box factory, built about 
1860 by Erastus Clark and still operated by him. 

Justus Smith was the first person to sell goods in this town, as stated 
in Chapter VII, and the first one to occupy a regular store was Jona- 
than Thayer, jr., son of Jonathan, the pioneer of 1800. That store 



370 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

was about two miles west of Lebanon village and was opened about 
1808; he soon afterward removed it to the village where he occupied 
the Gilbert store, which was built by Sylvester Thayer, son of Jona- 
than, jr , in 1834. The first store was removed at that time and is the 
historic structure now constituting the rear part of the store of Irving 
Collins. Jonathan Thayer was in business until his death in 1830. 

Orson and William L. Sheldon were in trade a year or two in the 
Gilbert store when the latter withdrew. Orson continued a few years 
longer when he sold to Curtis Hoppin, whose son in-law, Joseph A. Nor 
ton carried on the business from about 1845 to 1853. At that time Edwin 
M. Lamb became associated with Hoppin, whose interest was purchased 
by Joseph D Avery in 1859. Mr. Lamb withdrew in 1864 and Avery 
continued alone another year, when the business was closed and the 
stock sold at auction. 

In the latter part of 1865 Benjamin Baker, who came here a little 
earlier from Washington county, began trade in the Gilbert store and 
continued about two years From 1866 to 1869 Erastus Wellington, 
nephew of David Wellington, who was an early settler in Nelson, was in 
business in this store, and was succeeded by Milton E. Danforth, who 
soon took as partner Isaiah S. Head ; the firm of Head & Danforth 
continued until July, 1870; they built a new store and failed just as it 
was ready for their use. This building was then occupied by Pike & 
Seymour, merchants, and by the late S, W. vSeymour, who succeeded 
the firm. 

The firm of Pike & Seymour, above mentioned, consisted of Leroy 
B. Pike and Silas W. Seymour, the former of whom established the 
business in November, 1871, with Abraham Martin as partner. Martin 
withdrew in the next year and in 1873 Messrs. Seymour & Pike were 
associated and continued until the withdrawal of Mr. Pike. 

Irving Collins established a flour and feed store in 1889 to which he 
later added a general stock of goods and is still in trade. W. S. Niles 
is a dealer in hardware and boots and shoes, succeeding Niles Brothers 
on the death of I. Newton Niles in May, 1898. Their general stock 
of goods was taken by Frank D. Lyon, who is still in trade. J. H. 
Poole has a boot and shoe stock and C. M. Henry a blacksmith shop. 

A hotel is still kept in the old building, before mentioned, and has 
had numerous proprietors down to the incumbency of George M. Cur- 
rier, present proprietor of the Currier House. Horace A. Campbell, 
son of the pioneer Charles Campbell, built the upright part of this hotel 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— LEBANON. 371 

about 1834 for a store in which he did business a few years and then 
converted it into a tavern, of which he was proprietor until about 1853. 
He was succeeded by Henry A Leet, who kept the tavern and also sold 
goods until his death in 1861. 

The old saw mill at Lebanon village is now in use as a store house by 
L. Ballard. The dam is destroyed. This mill was purchased in 1878 
by L. D. Pope and E. M. Washburn of S. K. Hawkins, who operated it 
about three years and rebuilt it during the first year. The first tannery 
in the village was established by Thomas Bright in 1838, who operated 
it until 1841 when it passed to Alanson Bishop, who sold it three years 
later to Sylvester Thomson; he was afterwards associated with Lyman 
D. Swan. They changed the location to the present site in 1854 and 
continued business until about 18G3. Subsequent proprietors for short 
periods were Jarvis A. Head and Lester Hayward, Solomon Baker, 
James Deyo, SuWivaTi E. Sabin, Samuel C. Gates, Roswell Whitman, 
who repaired it and sold it in 1875 to Anton Pfeiffer, who was associa- 
ted with his son Joseph from 1875 until his death in 1878. The build- 
ing burned in 1884 and was rebuilt in the following year. The tanning 
business was abandoned and the building was used for a time as a saw 
and grist mill but is now idle. It is owned by F. B. David and T. A. 
Beach. 

The post-office at Lebanon was established about 1815 with Jonathan 
Thayer postmaster. He held the office until his death in May, 1830, 
when he was succeeded by his son Sylvester, who held it till 1833, and 
was followed by Orrin Thayer, second son of Jonathan. He was suc- 
ceeded by Horace A. Campbell about 1836. Later officials have been 
Orrin Gilbert, William L. Sheldon, H. A. Campbell, Edwin M Lamb, 
Reuben S. Hall, Joseph D. Avery, Milton E. Danforth, Charles W. 
Brasse, John D. Gilbert, who was in the office until 1876, since which 
time Silas W. Seymour has. been postmaster in Republican administra- 
tions and James Mosher in Democratic administrations. 

The first physician in Lebanon was Joseph Stowell, a Massachusetts 
school teacher who settled about 1800 in the southeast corner of the town 
and practiced until his death about 1832. He was succeeded on the 
homestead by his son Kittridge. 

The second physician was Dr. Constant Merrick who settled about 
1803 on Billings Hill and removed to the village about 1806, practicing 
until his death in July 1828. Dr. John Clark settled in 1806 on lot 45 
where he resided until his death at the age of ninety-five years. Dr. 



372 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Erastus B. Burroughs settled in the village in 1827 and gathered about 
him a number of students whom he located in surrounding places for 
the purpose of increasing his patronage to consultations. Among these 
students were Albert G. Purdy, who located first in Eaton, removing 
thence to Oneida; Milton Burnett, a native of Georgetown who settled 
at Morrisville and eventually removed to Oneida; Frederick Bradley, 
a native of Georgetown; Ralph Shepard, also a native of Georgetown, 
both of whom settled in Michigan; James Stewart and others. Dr. Bur- 
roughs went to Florida in 1841 to improve his health, returned in 1842 
and died in 1843. Dr. Lyman O. Horton, a native of Hamilton, set- 
tled in the village in 1843, practiced about ten years and removed to 
Illinois. Dr. John Baker and Cyrus his brother, homeopathists, were 
contemporary with Horton and practiced in company from about 1848 
to 1853 and removed to the west part of the state. Dr. Frank D. 
Beebe practiced from 1855 to 1862, removing to Hamilton, Dr. E. Lamb 
Root taking his place. Dr. James Mott Throop began practice in the 
village in 1866 and continued many years. The only present physician 
is Dr. M. D. French who has been in practice about four years. 

The Congregational church of Lebanon was organized October 2, 
1802, as the Third Congregational Church of Christ in the Town of 
Hamilton. The records of the society in early years are very meagre, 
but a pastor was probably not settled before July, 1825, when Rev. 
Preston Cummings was called and served about two years. Succeed- 
ing pastors were Rev. S. Scott, called in 1831; Rev. Jeremiah Pom- 
eroy for a short period; Rev. William B. Tompkins, 1836-39. During 
his pastorate the church building which was erected in 1825 a mile 
north of the center, was removed to the village. In 1840 Rev. G. W. 
Finney was called to the joint pastorate of this and the Georgetown 
churches. Later pastors have been Reverends Redfield, Copeland, 
Wyn Root, G. M. Smith, T. A. Wadsworth, C. Barstow, W. W. War- 
ner, Abisha Scofield, Ovid Miner, E. D. Reed, J. D. Woodruff, Ward 
Batchellor, Seward M. Dodge, and perhaps a few others. Since its re- 
moval the church building has been greatly improved, the gallery taken 
out, new seats and windows put in, etc. Rev. Hugh Ivey is the pres- 
ent pastor. 

The early settlement and industries established at Smith's Valley on 
the east border of the town have all been described. The place at the 
present time possesses very little business importance, containing only 
two stores, one conducted by George Waite and the other by Riley 



Improvement in towns— Lebanon. 373 

Arnst, the post-office and a milk station on the railroad. For a long 
period previous to the building of the railroad the little village was a 
quiet country hamlet, but with the opening of the railroad a consider- 
able impulse was given to business enterprises. J. Dayton F. Smith 
began mercantile trade in 1870, was associated with his son Adon N. 
Smith from 1873 and sold about 1874 to Charles E. Montgomery. A 
year and a half later he sold to Sidney Dayton Smith, who continued 
business several years. E. C. Bixby kept a grocery for some time after 
1877. A cheese factory was built in 1863 by a stock company com- 
posed of M. M. Campbell, A. L. Brown W. C. Russell and D. B. Shap- 
ley; this is not now in operation. The first postmaster here after the 
opening of the railroad was Peter L. Beers. Among his successors 
have been Henry T. Robinson, J. D. F. Smith, C. Montgomery, Sid- 
ney D. Smith. Mary C. Hatchings has been postmistress about ten 
years past. 

The Baptist church of Lebanon resulted from the ei?orts of Thomas 
Jeril, then residing in Georgeton, who was converted during a revival 
experienced between 1808 and 1811 under the labors of Elder Hosmer 
of Lebanon. Mr. Jeril prepared a room in his dwelling for meetings. 
A band of twenty-seven members was finally recognized as a church by 
a council June 26, 1S16, and Mr. Jeril was ordained pastor. A meet- 
inghouse was erected in the winter of 1819 about 100 rods south of 
the site of the present church. The latter was completed early in 
1835. Among the pastors who have served this church since Elder 
Jeril, who resigned in 1836, were Eiders Washington Kingsley, Benja- 
min Putnam, E. D. Reed, Daniel Hascall, E. D. Reed, C. V. Patterson, 
George B. Simons and a few others. An old Baptist church located a 
mile and a quarter northeast of Lebanon village, built many years ago, 
was removed to the village in 1889 and rebuilt. The society is in a 
fairly prosperous condition and the pulpit is supplied from Colgate Uni- 
versity. About a mile east of the village of Lebanon was formerly a 
Universalist church, which had a precarious career for some years, and 
is now used as a store house by S. B. Yates. 

The little hamlet of South Lebanon, situated in the southeast part of 
the town, contains at the present time a general store kept by Sidney 
Catlin, a .'team saw mill operated by Charles Bills, a blacksmith shop 
by Cornelius Downey, and a school house. Samuel Benedict was a 
former wagonmaker here and Stephen J. Wedge a blacksmith. The 
first merchant was W. H. Williamson, a native of Lebanon, who came 



374 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

from Hamilton about 1871 and sold out in 1876 to Lewis H. Wedge. 
The saw mill was originally built about 1860 for a carriage shop by 
Sidney Bills, and in 1871 was converted to its present use. An addi- 
tion was erected by Mr. Bills, which was built for a cider mill in which 
was subsequently placed a feed mill. It is operated by steam. About 
the close of the first quarter of a century a Methodist society was 
formed and a church built at this point which was used a number of 
years but finally declined and the building has been demolished. 



CHAPTER XX. 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED — MADISON 
AND NELSON. 

The history of the town of Madison succeeding the date of the forma- 
tion of the county to which time it is brought down in Chapter VHI, 
embodies a brief story of quiet, peaceful agricultural development and 
the moderate growth of the several small villages. As seen by the 
population statistics in the later Gazetteer of the town, the number of 
inhabitants remained about stationary through more than half a cent- 
ury, while in recent years it has slightly decreased through the same 
causes that have operated in that direction in other rural districts. 

The improvements made by Gen. Erastus Cleveland in the town 
prior to the beginning of the present century and during some years 
thereafter have already been described. The most important of them 
to the pioneers was the building of what were long known as Cleve- 
land's mills, which were erected in 1795 on the site of the present mill 
of F. M. Fiske on Oriskany Creek east of Solsville. He had built a 
saw mill the previous year and continued in that business until his 
death. He was for many years the most conspicuous citizen of the 
town. A few years after his erection of the first mill, which had be- 
come inadequate to the wants of the settlers, he built another half a mile 
east of the first, which later became known as Gray's mill. Still later 
he built another at Solsville, which he transferred about 1833 to his 
son-in-law, N. S. Howard. The latter operated a distillery opposite. 
When the water power here was greatly impaired by the construction 



Improvement in towns— madison. 37S 

of the Chenango Canal, Howard was reimbursed by the State and the 
mill was idle some ten years. It was then repaired and put in use. 
The distillery building was ultimately demolished, and a cheese fac- 
tory built on the site, which for several years past has been used as a 
storehouse. The mill property passed in later years from Howard to 
his brother Adin and from him to A. C. Wheeler, who sold it to William 
A. Simmons; he sold to William S. Pierce and he to James H. Parker. 
The property is now owned by George Smith, who succeeded Smith & 
Spooner. 

Among other prominent men of this town in early years was Samuel 
Goodwin, father of Daniel B. Goodwin. He was the founder and 
owner of the first line of stages through the village of Madison, which 
carried the mail. He was associated also in other stage business be- 
tween Utica and Albany with T. L. Faxton and Jason Parker, both of 
Utica. Goodwin acquired considerable wealth and sold his stage prop- 
erty to Col. Thomas C. Nye, of De Ruyter, who operated the lines 
many years, making his home in Madison. He extended the business 
and made this a very important stage headquarters. When staging de- 
clined and became less profitable he abandoned most of his routes and 
for a period kept the Park House in Hamilton. 

The site of Madison village was known in early years as "The In- 
dian Opening," and became the scene of early business operations 
which gave promise of later large extension. This promise was so far 
fulfilled that the little village was incorporated on the 17th of April, 
1816, the boundaries including "all that district of country compre- 
hended in lot number 30 of the third town of the Twenty Townships, 
as laid out into lots by Nathaniel Locke." The government of the vil- 
lage was, of course, for many years extremely simple. The first meet- 
ing for the election of officers was held, at the house of Benjamin I. 
Starr on the first Tuesday in May, 1810, and there the following officers 
were elected: Samuel Goodwin, Truman Stafford, Alfred Wells, Ed- 
ward Rogers, and Adin Howard, trustees; Asa B. Sizer, Amos Burton, 
and John Lucas, assessors; Asa Curtis, collector. At the first meeting 
of the trustees on June 4 of that year, Samuel Goodwin was chosen 
chairman, and Adin Howard, treasurer. 

The village records are very incomplete, but from them it is learned 
that during the first fifteen years persistent efforts were made to sup- 
ply the village with water. The first section of an amendment to the 
charter made April 28, 1847, authorized the appropriation of $50 an- 



37G OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

nually for maintaining a fire engine and other apparatus. Another 
amendment made in the following spring authorized the trustees to 
" expend annually one-half of the highwa}' tax assessed upon the in- 
habitants of said village by the commissioners of said town of Madison 
in the construction of drains, ditches, gutters, sidewalks, as in their 
opinion will best subserve the interests of the inhabitants of said vil- 
lage " 

An amendment to the charter made in April, 1878, authorized the ap- 
pointment of a police justice and constable in the village, with the usual 
powers of such officers. 

Many years ago the village authorities procured the right to use the 
water from certain springs for public purposes, and built three large 
reservoirs for storage in the village. This water supply is still in use. 

John T. Lucas opened a store on the site of the village in 1800, as 
before noticed and was in trade either alone or with partners for many 
years. In 1871 he became associated with H. C. & O. C. Bicknell, 
under the firm name of J. S. Lucas & Co., and so continued until his 
death, after which the business was conducted by the Bicknells until it 
passed to the present proprietor, O. C. Bicknell. 

John T. Burton built and kept one of the very earlj' taverns of the 
town, and there the first post-office was located with Asa B. Sizer, post- 
master. Another early tavern and possibly the first one was built at 
about the beginning of the century by Major St. Clair, who kept it sev- 
eral years. Ralph Tanner was an early tavern keeper and postmaster. 
About 1812-13 a tavern was built which was kept by Samuel Goodwin, 
before mentioned. A part of the old St. Clair tavern is still included 
in the present hotel kept by F. B. Howard. 

John T. Lucas moved his store from the " Opening" to the north- 
east corner of the roads when the course of the Cherry Valley Turn- 
pike was laid out. Mr. Sizer built his house just east of the tavern, and 
Alfred Wells had an early store on the southeast corner. Dr. Samuel 
Barber kept the first drug store and built one of the early dwellings. 
Eliphalet House was a blacksmith in early years and made edge tools 
at the " Opening," and was succeeded in the village by his sons, Eleazer 
and James. 

Truman Stafford began as a merchant soon after the opening of the 
Cherry Valley Turnpike and continued until his death. His clerk, 
Erastus Berry, was in company with him for a time and continued in 
business a few years later. Gen. Erastus Cleveland and Dr. Benjamin 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— MADISON. 377 

Cleveland were also in trade a short time, and E. F. Gaylord, son-in- 
law of General Cleveland, was in business many years and removed to 
Cleveland. From 1840 to 1853 Lyman Root and Henry Lewis, both 
natives of the town, were in trade as Root & Lewis and became wealthy. 
They sold to James D. and Robert W. Lane, and Horace C. Bailey, all 
from Westmoreland; this firm of Lane, Bailey & Co. continued three 
years, when Bailey withdrew and the Lanes continued imtil 1866, when 
J. D. Lane sold to F. D. Higgins and the firm of R. W. Lane & Hig- 
gins continued six years. In 1873 Higgins failed and withdrew, Lane 
acquiring the interest and continuing to 1878. He was then succeeded 
by his brother, J. D. Lane, who sold in 1879 to A. S. Ackerman; he 
was succeeded in 1880 by D. E. Smith, who is still in trade. 

Henry Hull, from Connecticut, was in business here from about 1840 
until his death in June, 1845, when he was succeeded by Adin Howard 
and John Morgan. A few years later Morgan purchased his partner's 
interest and in 18')9 took his son, L. J. Morgan, and W. H. Benjamin 
as partners. The latter withdrew in January, 1871, and Harry Mor- 
gan, son of John, joined his father and brother as the firm of J. Morgan 
& Sons. L. J. Morgan withdrew in 1875 and two years later John 
withdrew. Harry continued for a time and was succeeded by Davis & 
Fuess, and they by the present merchant, Louis Fuess. 

A. J. Cushman and William H. Ives began as general merchants in 
1873 and continued to 1876 when Ives sold to George H. Root. The 
firm of Cushman & Root was succeeded in 1893 by the present propri- 
etor, George H. Root. E. B. Wells started in the drug trade in 1888 
and still continues. J. L Dunster & Son opened a grocery in 1896 and 
T. Terry conducts a meat market. 

The second postmaster, succeeding Asa B. Sizer at an early date, was 
Ralph Tanner, who was then keeping the hotel. He continued in the 
office until about 1840 when he was succeeded both as postmaster and 
as landlord by Isaac Curtis, who continued until about 1861, during 
which long period he also kept a tavern. E. R. Barker, was then ap- 
pointed and succeeded as postmaster James Brown, and held the office 
until his death; he was succeeded in 1874 by A. J. Cushman. Since 
his incumbency O. C. Bicknell, G. C. White, O. C. Bicknell again, and 
G. C. White have held the office. 

The early arrival in this town of Drs. Jonathan Pratt and Zadock 
Parker has been mentioned. The latter practiced until his death in 
1816. Dr. Daniel Barker came at about the close of the war of 181:i 



378 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and practiced very successfully a number of years. Asa B. Sizer was 
also an early physician as well as the first town clerk and surrogate for 
a period after 1816. Dr. Elijah Putnam was an early physician at the 
Center and his son, Dr. John Putnam, practiced in the village from 
about 1839 until his death in 1879. His father came to this town from 
Peterboro in 1803 and died in 1851. With him in his practice for a 
time was Dr. Samuel Collister. Dr. Marcus H. Sutclifife, a native of 
Canada, began practice in 1873 and continued until his death. Dr. 
Elisha B. Hopkins, a native of Truro, Cape Cod, began practice in 1874 
and still continues. Dr. B. R. Gifford and Dr. W. R Hammond are 
the other two physicians at present in practice. 

Although there is at the present time no lawyer in this town, there 
were in past years a few practitioners at the bar who were well known 
throughout the county. The first of these were Phineas and Albert H. 
Tracy, brothers and natives of Norwich, Conn., who came to Madison 
in 1811. Phineas was a graduate of Yale in 1806. Albert H. had 
studied medicine with his father but adopted the profession of law and 
was admitted in 1815. They remained here only a few years, Phineas 
going to Batavia and Albert H. to Buffalo. Edward Rogers, born in 
Cornwall, Conn , May 30, 1787, settled here about the close of the war 
of 1812 and was in practice about thirty years. He was a Yale grad- 
uate and a writer of ability; was a member of the Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1831 and represented the 23d district in Congress in 1839-41. 
He was also a judge of the Court of Common Pleas a number of years. 

David Woods and his son Jonathan were contemporary lawyers with 
Judge Rogers, cominghere from Washington county about 1817. They, 
however, soon returned to their former home. 

There has never been much manufacturing in Madison village, the 
industries having been confined principally to the few shops of black- 
smiths, shoemakers, wagonmakers, etc., usually found in early years in 
all villages. At the present time Thomas A. Ferguson has a shoe shop, 
John Bensted a harness shop, and John Salisbury and F. Collister, black- 
smith shops. A. O. Netf and J. W. Salisbury formerly carried on car- 
riage making and blacksmithing. M. B. Hill and T. W. Pilbeam were 
former blacksmiths and Charles Dunster a harness maker. 

Two of the churches in the village were organized previous to the 
formation of the county and have been noticed. The First Universalist 
Church was organized July 13, 1828, and Rev. Nathaniel Stacy, of East 
Hamilton, the first preacher of this faith in this region, was probably 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— MADISON. 379 

the first pastor here and was foremost in the formation of the society. 
Other pastors who served the congregation for varying periods were 
Revs. Wright and A. H. Marshall. A society organization was effected 
July 10, 1853, when there were forty-two members. A reorganization 
and incorporation took place in 1866. The records of this church are 
fragmentary and for a considerable period past no services have been 
held. 

Wesleyan Chapel was organized about the year 1833 by Rev. Mr. 
Cameron, who gathered a class of nine persons, all but one of whom 
had been members of a church in Eaton, which had a chapel about a 
mile west of Bouckville. The house of worship in Madison was built 
in 1840. The present handsome edifice was erected in 1873. Regular 
services were held under various pastors and the society has ever since 
been prosperous. In 1888 the name was changed to the Methodist 
Episcopal Church of Madison. The present pastor is R. J. Smith. 

When Dr. Samuel McClure came from Vermont about 1806 with his 
family of eight children and purchased a farm which included most of 
the site of the village of Bouckville, he built a small frame house and 
about the beginning of the war of 1812 opened a store at that point; 
he also kept an early tavern there. The locality was favorable for a 
village site and other settlers gathered around this store. Dr. McClure 
traded only a year or two and removed to Erie county. The little 
hamlet was known at first as McClure's Settlement, while some people 
called it The Hook. The first settler at this point was John Edgarton, 
one of the pioneers of the town, and from him the place in later years 
was given the name " Johnsville." When the post-office was estab- 
lished about 1837 it was given the present name in honor of William C. 
Bouck, who was then canal commissioner. The village was principally 
called into existence by the construction of the Chenango Canal, which 
passes through it and was for many years of great benefit to the town. 

The next merchant of f)rominence after Dr. McClure was Ira Bur- 
hans, who, with his son Lindorf, opened a store about 1854 and con- 
tinued business until the beginning of the Civil war, when the father 
removed to Albany county, whence he came. William Coolidg suc- 
ceeded as merchant and continued until his death in 1875. He was the 
youngest son of James D. Coolidg, whose early settlement has been 
described, and succeeded to his father's homestead. In 1876 Lewis E. 
Coe opened a store and was succeeded by his wife and H. D. Brockett 
under the firm name of Coe & Brockett, and are still in business. 



380 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

This village has for many years been an important point for the ex- 
tensive manufacture of cider. H. I. & E. L. Peet began the business in 
a small way more than thirty years ago in a building erected by Moses 
Maynard when the canal was opened. After about ten years their 
business was greatly extended, the building having been enlarged in 
1876 and again in 1879. More than 10,000 barrels of cider were made 
in prosperous years About six years after the Peet brothers were es- 
tablished, Samuel R. Mott engaged in it, occupying an old stone dis- 
tillery and malt house on the canal bank, and soon rivaled the earlier 
firm in the quantity of his product. He was succeeded by his son, J. 
C. Mott, who bought also the Peet mill and continued the business. In 
1890 the Genesee Fruit Company took the business and are now exten 
sively engaged in making cider, vinegar and cider and whisky barrels. 

The Peet brothers also operated for some years a saw mill and cheese 
box factory. Their buildings were burned in 1869 and rebuilt on a 
larger scale. These buildings were originally erected for a saw mill 
and cider mill by James, Sylvanus and William Coolidg, who a few 
years later sold out to Sylvanus Root, jr., who sold to the Peet broth- 
ers. The mill and box factory are now operated by Leo Phelps, 

An industry which, during its existence, was of still greater impor- 
tance to this village was the manufacture of the Hopkins Choice Mower, 
which was established about 1870 in Morrisville by a stock company 
composed of thirty members, principal among whom was Harvey L. 
Hopkins. The industry was removed to Bouckville in 1875, where a 
large building was erected for its accommodation. William Edgar- 
ton was superintendent after the removal. In 1877 the business was 
sold to Hopkins, Beebe & Co., and was soon afterward closed up here 
and transferred to Chicago. 

The first postmaster at Bouckville was Moses Maynard, who was then 
keeping the hotel which he built about that time (1837). From about 
1861 until his death in 1875, William Coolidg was postmaster and was 
succeeded by Lewis E. Coe; he was followed by Isaac Forward, and he 
by A. J. Wiltse, who was succeeded by the incumbent, F. Parker. The 
hotel before mentioned ha; passed through several proprietorships and 
is now conducted by Fayette Livermore. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Bouckville was organized in 
1853 and the house of worship was built at the same time; there were 
fifteen constituent members. Circuit preachers supplied the pulpit a 
year or more, since which time, according to the Methodist custom, 



I 




JAMES COOLIDG. 



\ 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— MADISON. 381 

there has been a change in the pastorate about once in two years. 
The present pastor is Rev. R. J. Smith, of the Madison village church. 

What became the small but stirring village of Solsville grew up 
around the grist mill built by Gen. Erastus Cleveland early in the cent- 
ury. The place bore also the name, Dalrymple's Mill, and Howard's 
Mill at different periods, but finally received its present name from 
Solomon Alcott, who was an early settler here. As before stated, the 
Cleveland Mill passed to his son-in-law, Nathan Howard, during whose 
ownership it was idle many years, while the owner was engaged in 
efforts to obtain remuneration from the State for injury to his water 
power by the canal. He died January 21, 1855, and the property passed 
to his brother Adin; from him to A. C. Wheeler, who sold it to Will- -y 
iam A. Simmons. He soon sold to William S, Pierce and he to 
James H. Parker. The mill is now owned and operated by Smith 
& Spooner. 

The first merchant in the village was Nathan S. Howard, who kept a 
small store part of the time while he owned the mill property, in com- 
pany with his brother Ambrose, about 1831 to 1839, Abel Curtis and 
his uncle Thompson were in trade from 1832 to 1835, and in the latter 
year Mr. Curtis and Marsden Kershaw formed a partnership which con- 
tinued to 1838, when Kershaw purchased his partner's interest and 
about a year later took in Amasa Paddleford. After about a year Ker- 
shaw again bought out his partner and took in his brother Robert The 
firm of Kershaw & Co. continued to about 1861 when Robert withdrew 
and Benjamin S. Bridge joined with Marsden Kershaw in forming the 
firm of Kershaw & Bridge, who continued to 1869, when Bridge sold to 
Augustus N. Peckham. Very soon afterward Kershaw sold his interest 
to John Harris and the store building to Julius Tucker. Harris & 
Peckham continued nearly a year when Harris purchased his partner's 
interest and about two years later failed. 

Warren H. Benjamin & Sons (Frank H. and Will H ) began trade in 
1875 and are still in business. L. D. Lewis also has a general store. 
Benjamin S. Bridge carried on a grocery business about three years 
previous to his death in 1879. 

T. B. Manchester has had a blacksmith shop in the village since 1883. 
Lewis & Rundell formerly carried on blacksmithing. 

Albert Hall was the first postmaster at Solsville and was succeeded 
by Marsden Kershaw who was eight years in the office. His succes 
sji"ri have been Agur Gilbert, Isaac Phelps, appointed in 1864 and held 



382 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the office nearly twenty years ; W. H Benjamin, Rodney Bridge, W. H. 
Benjamin again, L. D. Lewis and George R. Smith. 

There is a milk station on the railroad which is conducted by the 
Mutual Milk and Cream Company, with A. D. Eames, local manager. 
About 5,000 pounds of milk are taken daily. 

Pecksport is a railroad station in the west part of the town about 
three-fourths of a mile from the Eaton line. There was formerly a 
cheese factory here and large quantities of milk were shipped that came 
from the town of Eaton. 

The town of Madison is divided into thirteen school districts and is 
a part of the First School Commissioner district of the county. The 
value of the school buildings is a little more than $10,000 and the whole 
number of children attending the schools as shown by the report of 
1898 was 432. In December, 1878, there was established in Madison vil- 
lage Union Free School District No. 1. Benjamin B. Mereness was 
chairman of the meeting at which this action was taken ; Russell Haz- 
zard, secretary, and George W. Baker, assistant secretary. It was voted 
that the Board of Education should consist of two persons to serve one 
year; two for two years, and one for three years. The following were 
chosen: Harrison C. Bicknell and E. B. Hopkins for one year; John 
E. Barber and Orlando L. Brigham for two years; George Hardy for 
three years. The term of service began on the second Tuesday of 
October, 1879. At a meeting held December 9, 1878, E. B. Hopkins; 
was chosen president of the board; George Hardy, clerk; Samuel R. 
Brownell, collector; Russell Hazzard, treasurer. George E. Satchwell 
was the first principal of the school. The building occupied was erected 
in Morrisville by the Madison County Agricultural Society for fair pur- 
poses, and was removed to this village a little before I860, where it was 
used a short time for an armory, called " Military Hall." It was first 
occupied by the school in 1871. 

In past years Madison has been among the towns of the county most 
extensivel)- engaged in hop raising. It was in this town that the first 
crop of hops grown in the county, and perhaps in central New York, 
was produced. This was done by James D. Coolidg in 1808. From that 
year onward he increased his annual crop gradually, and in 1816 took 
the first western hops to the New York market. Their quality was such 
that the attention of buyers was soon attracted to this locality and the 
prices obtained were sufficient to induce others to engage in the indus- 
try. Solomon Root, neighbor of Mr. Coolidg, soon took up the business 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— NELSON. 383 

and about 1818 sold two tons of hops at $1,000 per ton. For half a 
century thereafter this town remained in the front rank of hop-growing 
towns in the county. 

Leading farmers of Madison have been Duane Neff, O. R. Cole, B. 
B. Johnson, J Pilbeam, H. Frederick, T. A. Cole, Charles Welch, C. T. 
Cole, H. G Curtiss, Edward Lloyd, George Cole, A. H. Rowland, John 
Morgan, Darwin Putnam, Edward Hunt, John Phelps, and the Bridge 
Brothers. 

The summit level of the Chenango Canal was in this town, the rise 
from Oriskany Falls to Bouckville being 172 feet, at which point it is 
1,128 feet above tide. From Utica to the summit the rise is 706 feet. 
Moses Maynard was sent by the people of this town to Albany to advo- 
cate the construction of the canal, where he labored earnestly for the 
project during two years. 

In continuing the history of the town of Nelson from the point to 
which it is brought down in Chapter VIII, the reader's attention is first 
called to the settlement that gathered in early years around the first 
store which, as before stated, was opened on the site of the village of 
Erieville in 1807 by Josiah Hayden. This village is centrally situated 
in the southern part of the town and is a station on the Chenango Val- 
ley branch of the West Shore Railroad, and received its name from En 
Richardson (according to Mrs. Hammond), using his first name as part 
of the word " Erieville." Mr. Richardson was a prominent citizen and 
long a prosperous merchant. He was a member of tlie Legislature in 
1822 and was connected with the State militia, whence he received his 
title of major. 

Daniel Bicknell was the second merchant, coming hither from Mor- 
risville. He died a year or two later, about 1816. Andrew C. Hull 
came from Eaton and opened a store in 1818 in a building which was 
erected about 1811 for a school and meeting house. The Baptists used 
the building about a year when they were dispossessed through neg- 
lect in procuring their title. Hull continued in trade about two years 
and then purchased what was known as the lower tavern, which was 
built by George Salisbury. This he kept about twoyeais and operated 
also an ashery. He then removed to Eaton, thence to Allegany county 
and later to the South. 

Nathaniel Hotchkin came from Otselic about 1822 and settled as a 
merchant in the village and about a year later took Alpheus Morse ns 
partner. They had a prosperous business, operated an ashery, and 



384 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

also established a foundr}' in which they made the first cast iron plows 
used in this region, after the plans of Jethro Wood, the inventor. 
After about three years Mr. Morse returned to Eaton and engaged in 
business, and about 1847 built the Alderbrook woolen factory, about 
half a mile below West Eaton; he subsequently removed to Syracuse 
and Hotchkin also left the place. 

John Elmore, who came from De Ruyter about 1827, was a merchant 
here until about 1838 when he returned to De Ruyter. David Hamil- 
ton, whose father was a pioneer of the east part of this town, was in 
trade a year or two about 1840 and sold to Allen Curtis and Eli B. 
Drake. The firm of Curtis & Drake continued about two years and 
sold to George R. Parmalee, who came from Cazenovia about 1843 and 
continued business until 1848, when he failed and returned to Caze- 
novia. Thomas Medbiiry began as a merchant in 1855 and continued 
to about 1862. He was a grandson of the pioneer of the same name 
who had a gun shop in the village before 1820. Joseph Norton and 
Samuel J. Anderson took Medbury's stock and were in trade about four 
years, being succeeded in 1866 by Warren vS. Cotes & Co. (Joseph E. 
Maynard). Cotes sold his interest in 1868 to Charles E. Maynard, son 
of the other member of the firm. The firm of C. E. Maynard & Co. 
continued until 1879, when Charles E. Maynard purchased his father's 
interest and has since carried on a large business. He also has an ex- 
tensive milk business, handling in 1897 3,946,065 pounds of milk, mak- 
ing 324,435 pounds of cheese, 22,592 pounds of butter and shipping to 
the New York market 4,622 forty-quart cans of milk. Mr. Maynard 
has served two terms as member of assembly. The Maynard store 
was built in 1832 by Nelson Richardson. 

G. C. Moore has been in trade since 1874 when he purchased an 
interest in the store of H. Burgess & Son, established in 1866 by H. 
Burgess. E. S. Jillson has a general store and has been in business 
since 1879. S. D. Moore and Milton Y. Hudson were formerly in trade 
together and sold out in 1879 to Franklin W. Moore, older brother of 
Sidney Moore. 

The present hotel stands on the site of the old Erieville House, which 
was burned in 1883. The Erieville House was built in 1820 by Thomas 
Medbury, who kept it a short time. The first tavern on the site was 
built by Ephraim Mallory, who was succeeded as proprietor by Abram 
Tuckerman. Mrs. H. T. Griffin is the present proprietor. 

About 1827 the elder Thomas Medbury erected a building which was 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— NELSON. 385 

variously occupied as a jewelry repair shop, shoe shop, etc. , in which 
he lived until his removal from the town; his son Alfred afterward re- 
sided there a few years. It was then taken by Amasa Jackson, a native 
of Georgetown, who put in a stock of goods and for twenty years was 
a prominent merchant. This building is still standing. 

A steam saw mill was established in the village in 1871 by Palmer 
Freeborn, who operated it until 1876 when Channcey P. Wells pur- 
chased it at sheriff's sale and soon sold it to Moses Stone, who sold it 
to Peter R. Duffey, who now operates it. 

A second steam saw mill was built near the site of the present hotel 
and afterwards moved down South street opposite the present school 
house. It is now operated by W. S. Kelley. 

For some years a stock company under the name of Moore's Empire 
Milk Pan Company manufactured a milk pan and cooler patented by 
Franklin W. Moore. The officers of the company were W. W. Lyon, 
president; J. W. Torpy, vice-president; G. W. Salisbury, secretary. 
The business was ultimately closed up and Mr. Moore removed to 
Syracuse . 

There is a cooper and wagon shop in the village conducted for many 
years by James Stevenson, and two blacksmith shops. 

The first postmaster at Erieville was probably Thomas Medbury, at 
the time he was keeping the hotel. He was probably followed by 
Samuel Gage, who kept the upper and afterwards the lower tavern. C. 
H. Jennings succeeded to the office in 1835, Hiram Anderson in 1839, 
and the successors have been Allen Curtis, John Durfee, Hiram Stone, 
Richard Stevens, George Parmelee, Amasa Jackson, Canfield Jennings, 
Amasa Jackson again, Harrison Burgess, E. S. Jillson, G. C. Moore, 
E. S. Jillson again, and G. C. Moore, present postmaster. 

Dr. John Heffron was the first resident physician in this place, com- 
ing from his native town of Swanzey, N. H. He was a Dartmouth 
graduate and settled in Erieville in 1809, where he practiced until his 
death. May 30, 1861. He was a practitioner of great skill and was sev- 
eral years president of the Madison County Medical Society. John 
Goodell, jr., who married a daughter of Dr. Heffron, practiced with 
him from about 1820 to 1834, when he removed to Delphi and thence 
to New Woodstock, where he died. Dr. Levi P. Greenwood was born 
in Lebanon September 26, 1816, and studied medicine in Hamilton, 
graduating from the Fairfield Medical College. He settled in Erieville 
in 1840, and during his long term of practice met with unusual success. 

25 



386 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Dr. Wesley M. Carpenter, a native of Erieville, studied with Dr. Green- 
wood, and for many years practiced with him under the firm name of 
Greenwood & Carpenter. Dr. Carpenter was a skillful physician. He 
afterwards moved to New York city where he was a professor in a med- 
ical college and was a writer for medical magazines. He is now deceased. 
Dr. James W. Smith, a native of Nelson, studied with Dr. Greenwood 
and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New 
York. He practiced in Erieville about a year and a half and removed 
to Morrisville. Dr. Charles H. Ransom, a graduate of the University 
Medical College of New York, began practice here in 1873, and subse- 
quently removed to Syracuse. Dr. C. P. Munroe practiced about three 
years and removed to De Ruyter. The present physicians are Dr. L. 
C. Beebe and Dr. E. L. Ensign. 

The holding of early meetings by the Baptists in a building erected 
for school and religious purposes has been mentioned a few pages back. 
When they were dispossessed of the building they erected what was 
called The Temple, about a mile north of Erieville, which was also 
used jointly as a school house and meeting house until 1821, when the 
Baptists erected their church which originally stood about forty rods 
north of its later site to which it was removed in 1877. The first meet- 
ing having for its object the organization of a church was held April 
26, 1810, and about 100 persons subscribed to the articles of faith and 
the covenant. The Second Baptist Church of Nelson was thereupon 
formally organized. On October 27, 1810, a council convened and 
recognized twenty-three persons as a church in fellowship. Among the 
pasiors who have served this society are Revs. James Wheeler, Nathan 
Peck, Nicholas Johnson, Orin Beckwith, S. C. Ainsworth, J. W. Weath- 
erby, M. T. Wadsworth, P. L. Hakes, L. E. Swan, Judson Davis, E. D. 
Reed, who was the last resident pastor, since which the pulpit has been 
supplied mostly from Hamilton College. 

The first meetings of Methodists in this vicinity were held in 1826 
about two miles west of Erieville, and there a class was soon formed. 
Meetings were held thereafter in the school houses, private dwellings and 
finally in the school house in Erieville, until 1849, when a church was or- 
ganized and a house of worship erected in the next year. Previous to 
the building of the church and later it was on the Georgetown circuit, but 
it was made a separate charge in 1876. The church has been in fairly 
prosperous condition ever since and is now served by Rev. A. W. Battey, 
who is also pastor of the church at Nelson. 

There was many years ago a flourishing Universalist society here and 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— NELSON, 387 

a church edifice was built in 1842, which was subsequently and now used 
for a town hall. The church is not now in active existence. 

The village of Nelson, or Nelson Flats, as it was long known, was in 
early years of more business importance than at the present time. 
Situated on the Cherry Valley Turnpike and being a halting place for 
many stages, the passengers giving support to several good taverns, 
it was thought by the residents that a large village would eventually 
be built up at this point. But changes in methods of transportation, 
in main roads, and other causes gave its rival in the south part of 
the town the advantage. The first store in the town, as stated farther 
back, was opened here by EliphaletS. Jackson, who traded several years 
soon after 1800 and was succeeded by his cousins, John and Salathiel. 
The firm of Bush & Donaldson were early merchants, and in 1833 
John James purchased Bush's interest in the business and continued 
in trade many years, either alone or with partners. In 1874 he took 
his son, William H. James, into partnership and from that time the 
firm of J. James & Son dealt mostly in hardware for a number of 
years. William H. James now conducts a general store alone. 

Lester Curtis came from Winfield, Herkimer county, about 1837 and 
opened a store, in which he was succeeded about two years later by 
Emilius Bates, who was in business a few years. Joseph V. Kent, 
from Fayetteville, was in trade about three years from 1843. Hull 
Whipple and S. Smith were in business as early as 1830, continuing 
several years, when they sold to Miner Anderson; he kept the store five 
or six years and sold to John Donaldson, who was subsequently associ- 
ated with Mills Bush. L D. English, a native of Nelson, began trade 
in 1870 and continued many j'ears. Frank E. Whitney was in business 
with Fordyce R. Gage, who had already kept a store several years, 
from 1876 to 1879, when he bought Gage's interest and continued alone 
several years. The secrmd general store at the present time is kept by 
W. R. Richards, who succeeded in the Gage store. 

The first postmaster in the village of whom anything can now be 
learned was Jeremiah Whipple who was succeeded by his son Jeremiah 
in 1828. John Donaldson was appointed about 1834 and Harvey Smith 
succeeded about 1848, but only for a few months. Archibald Bates 
succeeded for a short term and was followed by John Donaldson. The 
office has been successively held since by Charles Covell, Evan G. 
Hughes, Alanson G. Gage, George E. Gage, John James, and George 
W. Holmes, present official. 

II. A. Camp has a cheese box factory two miles southwest of the vil- 



388 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lage. In 1868 a cheese factory was established by G. E. Gaige and sub- 
sequently was operated more than fifteen years by William Richards, 
who had also four other factories in the town. This factory is now 
owned by Edgar Beebe and conducted by W. M. Striker. G. E. Gaige 
conducted a fruit evaporator here for several years, but the business 
was abandoned. 

In the fall of 1885 a large building was erected for use as a saw mill, 
grist mill, cider mill, blacksmith shop and wagon shop, by the Nelson 
Manufacturing Company, in which L. C. Barnes, Arthur Bailey, Frank 
Taylor, S. N. Judd and Charles J udd were interested. This promising 
industrial enterprise was destroyed by the burning of the building in 
1887 and it was not rebuilt. 

There is in operation a half mile east of Nelson a grist mill, saw mill 
and cider mill combined, by L. H. Hutchinson ; it was formerly for 
many years owned by H. P. Hutchinson, who was a respected citizen 
of the town; he died in 1897. There is also an old grist mill on the 
road between Nelson and Erieville which was formerly operated by S. 
G. Bump, but is now idle. 

The earliest meetings by Methodists in this place were held in 1826 
in school houses and private dwellings. A church organization was 
effected at Nelson Flats in 1833, with A. Hyatt, W. W. Clough, E. Al- 
len, J. Anderson, Allen Smith, J. vSayles, and A. S. Pierson, trustees. 
The first house of worship was the one subsequently occupied by the 
Free Methodist society, organized in 1861. The second one was the 
building formerly occupied by the Presbyterian society, which was ex- 
tensively repaired in 1878. The society is in active and prosperous 
condition. 

The Presbyterian church, just mentioned was organized sometime 
previous to 1813, when it became connected with the Union Associa- 
tion. In 1825 it was first reported under care of the Presbytery of On- 
ondaga. The largest number of members ever reported was fifty, which 
had declined in 1846 to twenty-one. The first house of worship stood 
two and a half miles southeast of Nelson village and was subsequently 
occupied by the Welsh Congregational society; the second edifice was 
transferred to the Methodists, as before stated. The Welsh church was 
organized in 1850 with a small membership, and was given permission 
to occupy the old Presbyterian meeting house, which was convenient 
for these people in the northeastly part of the town. It was used by 
them about twenty-seven years when a new edifice was built in 1876 at 
a cost of $6,000. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 389 

The principal agricultural industry of this town is dairying, the pro- 
duction of milk, and sheep raising. There are four cheese factories at 
the present time; one on the Richards estate; one in Nelson village; 
one at Erieville, and one four miles northeast of Nelson. Large quanti- 
ties of milk are shipped to the New York market on the railroad. 
Among the leading farmers of the town may be mentioned Ward Smith, 
Orson Graves, W. L. Richards, D. M. Jones, Morey Brothers, W. D. 
Brown, M. D. Lyon, H. K. Smith, S. L. Jones, Adelbert Howard, 
Charles E. Richards, John H. Richards, Evan D. Davis, Loren Case, 
Lucius Case, Henry C. English, George E. English, L. D. English, H. 
Hudson, Frank Hamilton, Eugene Keith, D. W. Jones, Frank Isbell, 
Isaac Blair, Merritt Lyon, Frank Blair, Thomas and George N. Ensign, 
and others. 



CHAPTER XXL 

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— SMITHFIELD 
AND FENNER. 

The town of Smithfield, the modern history of which must now be 
considered, is more peculiarly situated with references to changes of 
recent years, than any other in Madison county. It is almost centrally 
located in the county and is wholly isolated from railroads. As a con- 
sequence of this lack of rapid and easy communication with other points, 
and partly from the causes to which reference has frequently been made 
in these pages, the population, as will be shown, has decreased in com- 
paratively recent years by a greater per cent, than that of any other 
town. From about 1,500 in 1860, it has fallen to about 1,000 at the 
present time, while its village life and business interests have propor- 
tionately declined. 

The village of PeterJboro is pleasantly situated near the center of the 
town and is built around a Green at the intersection of the Oneida Turn- 
pike and the Morrisville Stone Road. In 1807 there were only ten or 
twelve buildings of all kinds in the village, including a store, and the 
grist and saw mills; but in those days it had prospects at least equal to 
those of many other settlements in the county. 



390 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Dr. Joel Norton settled in the town in 1814, succeeding Dr. Nash, be- 
fore mentioned, and during many years was a successful physician and 
a respected citizen. He died at the age of fifty- four years. 

John Forte, who settled early within the limits of the town of Lenox, 
became a resident of Smithfield. He was father of Irvin A. and Irving 
C. Forte, former publishers of the Cazenovia Republican. 

In the strife regarding the location of the county seat, Smithfield played 
an important part. The central situation of the town in the county was 
a strong argument in its favor; but it was destined to disappointment in 
this hope and also to become by the erection from its former large terri- 
tory of Fenner in 1823 and Stockbridge in 1836 the smallest in area of any 
of the towns of the county. 

Nehemiah Huntington, a man of high character and signal ability, 
was the first attorney to settle in Smithfield, locating in Peterboro 
in 1807. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and a classmate 
of Daniel Webster. He died in 1855, after a long life of usefulness. 

Asahel C. Stone settled in Peterboro with his father's family, in 1808, 
and ultimately became a successful lawyer, State senator in 1850, and 
sherifl: of Madison county in 1866. 

The old Livingston House, built in 1801 and previously noticed, stood 
at the east end of the Green and was kept as a tavern until 1850, when it 
was removed to its final site by the late Eliphalet A} lesworth. It isnow 
the property of Mrs. Quincy Martindale and is occupied as a dwelling. 
In this old building were held many town meetings and other public 
gatherings. In 1830 David Ambler built a hotel on a corner of the Smith 
estate, in which he was aided by Gerrit Smith. It was stipulated in 
their agreement that it should be conducted on temperance principles; 
but it was an unprofitable venture and after a few years Mr. Smith pur- 
chased it to prevent its being converted into a liquor-selling place, and 
on several later occasions supplied money to new owners or lessees to 
keep it open as a temperance house. But the community did not share 
his devotion to the cause and the house continued to run behind. Mr. 
Smith finally and soon after 1855 again came into possession of the 
building and the two stores adjoining which he removed and added the 
ground to his lawn. About the same time he built a hotel at the west 
end of the Green and offered it rent free to any one who would keep it 
open on temperance principles. The experience here was similar to 
that in the older house and it was closed before the death of Mr. Smith, 
the property passing to Jeremiah Bump, who built there his fine resi- 



Improvement in towns— smithfield. 391 

dence. W. S. Martindale opened a hotel previous to 1879 which he 
kept a number of years, when it passed to proprietorship of his son, 
Frank, the present landlord. The Cameron House was built in recent 
years by Charles Cameron, who now conducts it . 

Tanning was quite extensively carried on in this town in the first 
half of the century. In 1810 Benjamin Wilbur erected one at the east 
end of the village, which was operated until about 1830. Abner Hall 
& Son built another in 183G, which was operated until near 18G0. It 
was purchased by Gerrit Smith who demolished it to escape the disa- 
greeable odors. 

The Peterboro Academy, an institution of good repute in its day, was 
built in 1853, with money obtained by subscription to the amount of 
about $3,500. The charter was dated January 23, 1853, and the school 
opened in November with forty-two students. The first trustees were 
James Johnson, Gerrit Smith, Caleb Calkins, James Barnett, Samuel 
Wells, W. C. Powers, Nehemiah Huntington, Albert E. Coe, R. North- 
rup, A. C. Stone and Joseph Sims. The site was donated by Gerrit 
Smith, and in 1864 the academy received an endowment of $15,000, 
the income from which, less a reserve of $300 given to the poor, yielded 
about $800 annually. In 1871 Gerrit Smith purchased the stock in the 
academy at twenty-nine per cent, and transferred the lot and building 
to the Orphans' Home, which was then being organized, for which pur- 
pose it has since been used. At the same time Mr. Smith purchased 
the unused Presbyterian church edifice, on which he expended about 
$7,000 to adapt it to school purposes, and transferred it to the trustees 
of the academy. The Union School of Peterboro was incorporated in 
1896, the first board of trustees being Garrett G. Miller, W.C. Dorrance, 
I. O. Wright, W. E. Coe and John N. Woodbury. The board remains 
the same, excepting the substitution of A. M. Bump for John N.Wood- 
bury. The academy building was transferred to the school authorities 
and is still in use. The present principal is Arthur H. Jackson and 
about seventy-five scholars are enrolled. 

The Home for Destitute Children of Madison County, although a 
county institution, was situated in this town and founded by the gen- 
erosity of Gerrit Smith and may properly be noticed here. It is under 
management of the Board of Supervisors and has accomplished a vast 
amount of good. Mr. Smith donated a site and building and added 
ten acres of excellent land, which has been cultivated by the boys in 
the Home. It was incorporated in 1871, at which time fifteen children 



392 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

were taken from the county poor house and placed in the Home. The 
value of the property has gradually increased until now it is more than 
$30,000. The average number of inmates is about forty and about 
$3,000 is raised annually for maintenance of the institution. 

The frequent reference in the history of this town to the name of 
Gerrit Smith, and mention of his many benevolent acts, renders it 
necessary to further notice his life. He was the second son of Peter 
and Elizabeth Smith and was born in Uiica March 6, 1797. He was 
brought to Peterboro by his parents in 1806. Prepared for college at 
Clinton Academy he entered Hamilton and graduated in 1818. In the 
following year he married Wealtha A. Backus, and established a mod- 
est home in the little village. He intended to study law and to gratify 
his literary ambition, but the sudden death of his wife, August 15, 1819, 
and a few months later the transfer to his charge of his father's prop- 
erty and various interests, changed his whole course of life. On Janu- 
ary 3, 1832, he married Ann Carroll Fitzhugh of Livingston county, N. 
Y., and formerly of Maryland. They had seven children, one of whom 
was Greene Smith, who inherited the family mansion and lived there 
most of the time until his death. It is manifestly impossible to give a 
detailed account of the life of Gerrit Smith in these pages, for he was a 
man whose actions and sympathies were far reaching and his public 
deeds innumerable. Liberty, temperance, independence and integrity 
were the great purposes of life, as he viewed it, and he drifted from 
the old Presbyterian faith in which he was reared, mainly because that 
church showed indifference to the great evils of slavery and intemper- 
ance. He was an earnest advocate of the suppression of liquor traffic 
by legal enactment. He opposed all secret societies, beginning with 
his career in college, and during the anti-Masonic crusade was candi- 
date for State senator by that hapless party. Politics in everything 
except as a means for the accomplishment of worthy objects, he dis- 
tinctly disliked; yet he founded four parties and was four times nomi- 
nated for the presidency of the United States, twice for governor of 
this State, and once for member of congress from Oswego and Madison 
connties. The so-called Liberty Party was organized under him in 
1840 and continued its existence until the Civil war; by it he was nom- 
inated for president in 1848 and 1851. The Industrial Congress nom- 
inated him for president in 1848 and the Land Reform party in 1856. 
The Anti-Slavery convention in Syracuse in 1840 nominated him for 
governor, and again in 1858. Of all these honors he accepted only the 




GHRKIT SMITH. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 393 

latter, for which he made a vi.sforous canvass, but received only 5,446 
votes. The reason for this outcome is clear to the reader. His elec- 
tion to Congress in 1853 was by only a narrow majority and he entered 
that body against his inclination. After the first session, during which 
his bold eloquence was frequently heard in opposition to the Nebraska 
bill and other measures of which he did not approve, he resigned on 
account of ill health and the demands of his private affairs. He fre- 
quently and bitterly denounced the churches for their apathy towards 
the great evils of the time, and yet he was of deeply religious and de- 
vout character. His efforts to uplift the colored race were unceasing 
and his gifts for that purpose amounted to about $200,000. While war 
was repugnant to him, he firmly supported the government during the 
civil conflict and after the issue of the emancipation proclamation joined 
the Republican party. Mr. Smith possessed a powerful intellect; he 
could use his resonant voice with fiery eloquence when aroused, and 
his habits of reading and study made him a bold and original thinker. 
His judgment was frequently at fault, but his will was indomitable. 
These traits unfitted him to some extent for statesmanship. He died 
in New York city December 28, 1874, while on a holiday visit. His 
wife died three months later. 

The town of Smithfield has produced a number of other men of prom- 
inence and ability, aside from Mr. Smith, some of whom have been al- 
ready noticed. Caleb Calkins, a native of Aurora, N. Y. , was a farmer's 
son, and received an academic education, and a two years' course in 
Hamilton College, supplemented by a year in Union College. In 1838 
he received a letter from Gerrit Smith requesting him to accept a posi- 
tion as his private secretary. He did so and remained in that capacity 
about half a century. He held the office of justice of the peace, and in 
1866 was elected to the Assembly. 

Asahel C. Stone, a distinguished lawyer; H. S. Foster, who rose from 
the humble position of a shoemaker to eminence at the bar; William 
Evans, and Judge Bronson, all of whom are noticed in other pages of 
this work, were Smithfield men. 

Mercantile operations in Peterboro began early, but have never been 
extensive. James Livingston, whose early tavern has been mentioned, 
traded several years beginning in 1801, and in the same year Daniel 
Petrie, who came from Herkimer, opened a stoie. Among other mer- 
chants of the past were William Solon, and Myron Taylor, Elisha Car- 
rington. Royal and Dorman Cooper, Asa Raymond, Charles H. Cook, 



394 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLli. 

Peter S. Smith, Samuel Forman, Dunham & Clink, Harry Curtis, J. G. 
Curtis, Eliphalet Aylesworth, Ives & Woodbury, Dr. N. C. Powers, 
Andrew S. Douglass, Dr. A. C. Baum, James R. Barnett, Charles Cut- 
ler, John A. Campbell, William T. Marcey, W. C. Ives, Charles N. 
Snow, Thomas C. Taylor, and possibly a few others. At the present 
time J. N. Woodbury has a general store, which he has conducted more 
than forty years. W. E. Coe has been selling groceries and drugs 
about sixteen years. I. O. Wright has conducted a general store more 
than twenty years. Dr. George W. Davis has sold drugs nine years. 
Besides these there are the clothing store of T. O. Taylor, the station- 
ery store of Charles E. Wagoner, and the musical instrument and agri- 
cultural tool establishment of M. L. Dennison, all of which are of more 
recent date. William Ginney and Timothy Ginney are the village black- 
smiths, and Wiley Conine and David Devan are wagonmakers. The 
grist mill and saw mill are now operated by A. M. Bump; there is no 
other manufacturing in the town. 

Among the early physicians of this town and succeeding Dr. Phin- 
eas Lucas, who came in 1804, was Dr. John Dorrance, who remained 
in practice here until his death in 1855. Dr. R. Nash settled in Peter- 
boro in 1807. Other later physicians were Drs. Stevens, Messeager, 
Mason, Watson, Norton, and N. C. Powers, who removed to Syracuse. 
Dr. F. E. Dewey began practice here more than twenty years ago and 
still continues. The only other physician is Dr. G. W. Davis. 

The date of the establishment of the post-office cannot be obtained, 
but it was in the early years of the century, and Daniel Petrie received 
appointment as postmaster. Those who have held the office since have 
been Nehemiah Huntington, Joseph S. Palmer, John M. Messinger, N. 
C. Powers, Harvey Williams, Oliver Williams, A. C. Stone, Thomas 
Petrie, Andrew Douglass, Emmet Coe, and W. E. Coe. 

Besides the post-office at Peterboro there is another in this town at 
Siloam, a little hamlet on the Oneida Turnpike, east of the larger vil- 
lage. This post-office was for a period closed. Harmon L. Holmes is 
the present postmaster, and a general store is conducted by Francis M. 
Wright, the grist mill and saw mill are operated by Mr. Holmes. The 
post-office named Mile Strip is about on the line between this town and 
the new town of Lincoln. Roscoe Gates is postmaster and keeps a 
small store. 

The principal agricultural industry of Smithfield is dairying, while 
hops are grown to a considerable extent. At the present time there 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 395 

are three cheese factories in operation, a less number than in previous 
years. These are situated one at Siloam, operated by Albert Mil- 
ler; one at Peterboro, by Robert Warcup, and one in the west 
part of the town, by Levi Miller. Among the most successful 
and respected farmers of the town may be mentioned Brainerd John- 
son, Winchester Johnson, A. L. Cameron, Henry Campbell, Norton 
Bliss, Frank Conley, Frederick and John Brown, W. Cole, Everett 
Brown, Eugene Davis, Timothy Griffin, James W. Rich, A. Ingalls, 
L. A. Austin, J. C. Lynch, Louis Marquisee, E. D. Gill, D. E. Wright, 
H. E Chafee, Charles L. Hecox, A. Moody, Henry and W. Eisaman, 
William Davis, Harvey Austin, Austin Hecox, Albert Howell, Eugene 
Rich, Morris Woodworth, Reuben Rich, Clarence Battey, and G. S. 
Miller. 

The second church formed in Smithfield was at Siloam and was called 
the Baptist Society of EUinwood Hollow (a name applied to the place 
for a time), which was organized in 1820, with a membership of forty- 
five. A modest church was built in the following year. Dyer D. Ran- 
som, of the Peterboro church, was the first pastor, and was succeeded 
by Elder P. P. Beman, who remained ten years, the membership reach- 
ing 100 before he left. It was he who gave the name of Siloam to the 
place, as appropriate on account of the sulphur springs which he was 
the means of advertising to the public. 

The Methodist society here is a branch of the Stockbridge church 
and is in a flourishing condition. The church edifice was built in 
1896. 

The Mile Strip Methodist Church was organized as a class in 1839 by 
Rev. Isaac Pufifer. Meetings were held with regularity many years in 
the school house. The society is still in existence. 

The Methodist Church of Peterboro was organized in 1854, mainly 
through the efforts of Avery H. Forte, then class leader. Services were 
held in various places until 1858 when a small frame church building 
was erected. The first pastor was Rev. A. L. York. Although this 
society was small in numbers and scattered in its early years, it has 
gradually grown and is now in a flourishing condition under the pastor- 
ate of Rev. George W. Reynolds. The church building has recently 
been much improved. 

The so named Church of Peterboro was formed in 1843 upon the 
theory of Gerrit Smith that the true church should be free from eccle- 
siasticism and creed obligations. Through widely circulated literature 



396 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

his views received extended notice and drew from the sectarian organi 
zations many members. In 1847 he built a chapel in Peterboro and 
opened its doors to preachers of all denominations. The first stated 
pastor was Hiram P. Crozier, who remained two years, when he was 
requested to resign, as his teachings were radically atheistic. Other 
pastors followed for indefinite periods, while the pulpit was occasionally 
occupied by men of fame. The expenses of the services were defrayed 
by collections, but Mr. Smith had frequently to make up deficiencies 
from his own purse. In recent years the church has been occupied as 
a dwelling. 

The town of Fenner, the early settlement of which has been described 
in Chapter IX, has seen few changes since the organization of the 
county aside from the gradual clearing of the lands and improvement 
of farms, with such municipal growth as has centered at the village of 
Perryville. The fact has already been noticed that a valuable limestone 
crops out on the northern line of this town, from which an excellent 
quality of lime has been manufactured many years, the works being- 
situated just over the line of Sullivan. Marl lime was also made some 
years ago in the northwest corner of the town on the farm of Charles 
Keeler, who still resides there, but has discontinued his operations in 
that direction. 

Hop raising has been followed in Fenner to a less extent -than in many 
other towns in the county, more attention having been given to mixed 
crops and to dairying. The celebrated Hess barley was originated by 
David Hess, of this town, but it is not now grown to any extent. With 
the introduction of the factory mode of cheese making, Fenner farmers 
took up the business with enthusiasm, and at one time there were five 
factories in operation. One of these was at Perryville, which was built 
in 1868 by Webster C. Hill. Another was on the Mile Strip three miles 
from Perryville, built a little later by Monroe Lownsberry; both of 
these were owned during a period by the firm of Avery & Wadsworth . 
Another was at Fenner Corners and was built by William P. Lowns- 
berry about 1865. A fourth factory was located a mile southeast of the 
Center on what is known as the Hutchinson Corner. Another was on 
the Peterboro and Cazenovia Turnpike and was operated for some time 
by William Richards. Every one of these factories is now idle and the 
dairying interest of the town is chiefly confined to the domestic manu- 
facture of butter . There is, however, a cheese factory at Perryville, 
but just over into the town of Sullivan, which is operated by a stock 
company. 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— FENNER. 397 

The village of Perry ville is pleasantly situated on the north line of the 
town of Fenner and is partly in this town, partly in Sullivan and partly 
in what was the town of Lenox before the recent division. The east 
and west road through the village is the town line. What was origin- 
ally the Cazenovia and Canastota Railroad, and later the Erie, Cortland 
and Northern road, passes through the village, and with other causes 
operated in comparative recent times to make it the business center of 
the town, drawing away from Fenner Corners most of the industrial 
and mercantile interests that promised in early years to make that a 
business center. The excellent water power of the Canaseraga Creek 
at this point has been also an important factor in the growth of the vil- 
lage. The first grist mill here was built soon after 1800 by Richard 
Card, and around it the settlers gathered and stores and shops were 
opened. The old mill was superseded in 1832 by the present one, 
which in passing years was owned and operated by various persons. 
For some years past it has been operated by J. A. Armstrong and is 
used largely in grinding buckwheat flour and feed. 

A carding and cloth dressing mill was established here in 1815 by 
Alpheus Britt, who had settled in Lenox about 1810, coming from Ver- 
mont. In that town he carried on the same business until his removal 
to Perryville In 1831 he transferred the business to his son. Sergeant, 
who continued about twtnty years and until it became unprofitable. 
The last building in use was erected about 1835. In later years it was 
used by Mr. Britt for a cider mil!. In 1861 E. S. Hamblin purchased 
the property and converted it into a saw and planing mill, carrying on 
the business until 1877, when he sold to E. G. Crosby. Two years later 
he sold out to Abram Colyer and subsequently it passed to Fred W. 
Hodge, who uses it in connection with his stone industry. Alpheus 
Britt purchased a farm of 115 acres from the Peter Smith land-^, which 
also passed to his son. 

A tannery was established at an early day by a Mr. Glass, to which 
Oren S. Avery succeeded and wherein he established a boot and shoe 
manufactory. The business was long ago discontinued and the tannery 
building was demolished. Eli Blakeslee established a carriage manu- 
factory many years ago, but it was discontinued about 1836. 

In 1886 Fred W. Hodge, who had previously been engaged in wagon 
making, established a land plaster, water lime and cement works, in 
connection with a large quarrying and stone crushing business. After 
continuing his operations ten years, developing an extensive industry, 



398 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

he was killed in 1896 by an explosion of nitro glycerine. The business 
has since been conducted by his widow, Mrs. Hattie Hodge. Long 
leases are held for several quarries in the vicinity and crushed stone is 
sold to cities and villages under contract. Mrs. Hodge also operates a 
saw mill. These works are within the town line of Sullivan. About a 
mile north of PerryviUe, within the Sullivan bounds, Cyrus Worlock 
conducts a similar industry on a still larger scale. 

The first merchants at PerryviUe was the firm of Tyre & Cole, who 
located there about 1811 and occupied a building standing near the 
bridge, which was later converted into a dwelling. About the close of 
the war of 1812 the Weeks Brothers opened a store in the building now 
occupied by John Hill as a hop house. Capt. Justus Durkee and a 
man named Bowen were merchants a little earlier than the Weeks 
Brothers, but they remained only a short time. William Doolittle came 
from Paris, Oneida county, about 1830 and continued in trade until 
1828, when he failed and removed to Chittenango. Samuel Hill and a 
Mr. Stillson, who came from Jamesville, traded about three years after 
Doolittle. Leonard Gough, from Plainfield, Conn., came to the village 
and opened a store, in connection with farming, about 1835 and con- 
tinued during much of the time untill his death about 1850. John Hill, 
who had kept an early tavern on the Peterboro road a little east of 
PerryviUe, opened a store in the village about 1839 and continued in 
trade about twenty years, carrying on also an ashery, distilling and 
milling apart of that period. He was associated in his store with his 
brother-in law. Mason Annas, and also at another time with Webster 
C. Hill; the latter succeeded to the store and continued in business to 
1875, with the exception of a few years while he was engaged in mak- 
ing cheese. John Hill was a son of Daniel Hill, a pioneer in Lenox, 
who afterwards settled in Fenner on the well known Hill farm. John 
Hill purchased the PerryviUe mills in 1837, of Enoch Dykeman, and 
sold them about five years later to Lobdell & Rich. H. L. Keeler 
opened a store in 1864 and in 1876 sold it to Paul S. Maine, a native of 
Fenner and present clerk of the county; he is still in business and is 
the only merchant, aside from the stock of groceries kept by Mrs. 
William Cross. S. E. Marshall & Son carry on wagon making and 
blacksmithing. 

The PerryviUe post office was established about the year 1816 with 
Oren S. Avery, postmaster. He held the ofl!ice until his death in 1836. 
During that long incumbency he was one of the most prominent and 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— FENNER. 399 

enterprising citizens of the town and identified with various industries 
and business operations. He operated the old tannery and employed a 
number of hands in the making of boots and shoes. He was succeeded 
as postmaster by Silas Judd, whose successors have been Leonard 
Gongh, Ira Bates, Silas Judd again, Orrin J. Woodworth, Joseph V. 
Wells, Webster C. Hill, H. L. Keeler, John Hill, Paul S. Maine, Leon 
Berson, Duane Chapman, Paul S. Maine again, James Wells, and again 
Paul S. Maine, who is the present incumbent. 

A hotel called the Perryville House was built about 1835 by Simeon 
Jenkins, who kept it a few years. After several changes it passed to 
William T. Cross in 1857, who conducted it until his death in January, 
1899. He was succeeded by F. F. Hamilton. 

During the period of medical practice of Dr. John Didama in Perry- 
ville, which extended from about 1812 until after 1840, when he went 
to live with his son Edward at Ovid, N. Y. , Dr. Reed and Dr. N. C. 
Powers practiced about a year in 1833-34. Dr. Powers subsequently 
removed to Peterboro and from there to Syracuse, where he died. Dr. 
Powers R. Mead settled here about 1835 and practiced to about 1852, 
when he removed to Nelson. Dr. Theodore Mead, a native of New 
Hampshire, practiced in Auburn, N. Y., and in Nelson and settled in 
Perryville in 1851 and practiced until 1874, when he removed to Caz- 
enovia. From there he went to Oneida. Other later physicians were 
Drs. John H. Ramsey, Sylvanus Guernsey, George B. Munger, Ben- 
jamin Rush Mead, George W. Miles, M. R. Jo}', and the present phy- 
sician, Dr. Nelson O. Brooks. 

The first religious organization of Perryville was the St. Stephen's 
Episcopal Church which was formed on September 18, 1816. It was the 
third church of this denomination in the State west of Albany. The 
society was always small in numbers and was served by numerous pas- 
tors, the records of whose terms are fragmentary. The parish was re- 
ported in 1851 as being old and feeble and in 1868 there were only nine 
communicants. There were frequent periods when the church was 
closed. The edifice was erected not long after 1830 and was conse- 
crated in 1833. It is now in use for the Union school, as elsewhere 
noticed. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Perryville was organized as a 
class under leadership of Charles Blakeslee in 1831, at which time there 
were only four of that denomination in the place. The early meetings 
were held in the school house and later in the upper story of Eli Blake.s- 



400 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

lee's wagon shop. The church building, which is still in use with sub- 
stantial repairs at various times, was erected in 1839. A parsonage 
was built in 1867, and is still in use. This church is connected with 
the one at Chittenango Falls, and Rev. T. F Harris is pastor of 
both. 

The town of Fenner was early divided into school districts, of which 
there are now eleven. There was little change for many years. In 
1897 the Union School of Perry ville was incorporated, uniting the ad- 
joining districts of the towns of Fenner and Lincoln forming District 
No. 1 of the towns of Fenner, Lincoln and Sullivan. The Episcopal 
society gave to the school authorities their old church building and site 
which was extensively remodeled and improved. The first and present 
Board of Education consists of Henry Hakes, Frank Blakeslee, Henry 
Stafford, John Hill, Edwin D. Ransom, John Armstrong, Charles 
Cooper, Jefferson Howard, and Willis P. Huyck. The present prin- 
cipal of the school is F. Reid Spaulding, who has two assistants. 

Fenner Corners is a mere hamlet in the central part of the town, 
where it was originally supposed the business interests would be estab- 
lished. Martin and Daniel M. Gillet opened the first store, and Charles 
F. Kellogg, from Cazenovia, succeeded them for a short period. Hiram 
Preston and Martin Woodworth traded each a short time in early years. 
Perry Tibbitts was a merchant in 1875 and Augustus Daniels in 1878. 
Benjamin Pearlman now keeps the only store. 

The first post-office here was established some time between 1820 and 
1825, with Ebenezer Dunton, postmaster. Later officials were Elias 
Munger, Anthony Barrett, William Barrett, Caroline Barrett and 
Charles Barrett, who held the office until 1865; Alanson Roach, Frank 
W. Dewey, Lawrence Young, Joseph Mathers, Van Buren Stafford, 
William Lownsberry, Alfred Loomis, Walter K. Smith, Perry Tibbitts, 
Andrew Jackson, Theodore McAlpin, Mrs. McAlpin, and Sanford 
Murray. 

The only resident physician of the Corners was Dr. Powers R. Mead, 
who practiced about two years before his removal to Perryville. Dr. 
Daniel Pratt, brother of Dr. Jonathan Pratt, the pioneer physician in 
Madison, settled in Fenner in 1814 on a farm a mile and a half north of 
Fenner Corners. There he practiced many years and was a prominent 
and respected citizen. 

The Fenner Baptist Church was organized August 23, 1801, by Elder 
Thomas Tuttle, with seven members. The first baptism in the young 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— FENNER. 401 

church took place April 25, 1802, when eight candidates received the 
ordinance. This society has already been further described in Chapter 
IX. 

The hamlet of Chittenango Falls is situated on the western line of 
the town. In early years there was considerable manufacturing here, 
which has substantially disappeared. A paper mill was in operation 
many years ago, wrapping paper being extensively made from straw. 
With the introduction of wood pulp the industry became unprofitable 
and was abandoned. A cheese factory on the Cazenovia side of the 
line (where the paper mill was also situated), was operated a number of 
years, but is now closed and there is very little business in the place. 
There was formerly a saw mill here, the unoccupied building still 
standing, and an old carding mill, a mile and a half south, is now going 
into ruins. The Chittenango Falls Park Association is a recent organi- 
zation formed for the purpose of improving a beautiful park, which lies 
all in the town of Fenner. It is well laid out and provided with drives 
and shade trees, and affords a fine view of the Falls. 

Previous to the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
the Falls, meetings had been held in 1843-4 by Rev. Jesse Watson, and 
forty or more were converted. The church was organized June 4, 
1844, and the house of worship built the same year. The building has 
since been greatly improved, This church is now in a thriving condi- 
tion and is under the pastorate of Rev. T. F. Harris of the Perryville 
church. 

It will thus be seen that the town of Fenner in recent years is a quiet, 
peaceful agricultural community, the business interests of which are 
small and not likely to ever be much greater. It is proper here to 
mention some of the many prominent farmers who have labored for the 
good of the community at the same time that they struggled for the 
welfare of their families. Among them are Philander Blakeslee, Or- 
lando Allen, Dr. G. B. Hunger, L. Vander Hess, Loren Ransom, O. 
B. Hamblin, David Hamblin, N. B. Hill, Calvin Mead, Levi Brown, 
Alanson Burroughs, Garrett Blakeslee, Orrin Ransom, Eli Ransom, 
James Marshall, John Woodcock, and Abraham Wermuth. 

Among the leading fanners of the town in more recent years may be 
mentioned Melvin Wooiworth, Newell Hyatt, Orlando Hyatt, Kendall 
Cody, Irving Banyea, Frederick Barrett, Merton Allen, F. A. Hyatt, 
P. J. Huyck, Lysander Woodworth, George Brown, William Hamblin, 
Lucian Hamblin, Charles Hyatt, and others. 
26 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED— STOCKBRIDGE. 

In tracing the detailed history of the various towns of the county we 
have now reached the latest one organized, which is Stockbridge, 
formed May 30, 1836, the early settlement of which down to the date of 
county formation is described in Chapter V. Among settlers not there 
noticed who came in at a little later date maybe mentioned John Gregg 
who came from Augusta in 1812 and leafed one of the Indian lots on 
West Hill. One of his sons was Absalom Gregg who settled later at 
the foot of the hill on the west side of the Oneida valley, where his son 
David afterwards resided. Taylor Gregg was a cousin of John and set- 
tled on the hill east of Munnsville and his sons were prominent citizens. 

Abner Warren, son of John, came from Augusta in 1816 when he 
was seventeen years old and through his father's agency a farm was 
leased of the Indians on West Hill for three years, after which he 
leased the same from the State at $30 a year until the State purchased 
a tract including the farm, when he bought it. The father and son 
improved the place and made it one of the best farms in the town. 

Thomas Rockwell settled on East Hill in 1813, purchasing the small 
improvements made by a previous settler and buying the land of the 
State at $7 an acre. The farm included the Council Ground of the 
Stockbridge Indians. It will be remembered that these Indians pur 
chased their lands, comprising a tract six miles square, lying partly in 
Stockbridge and partly in Vernon, in 1784, and sold it to the State in 
various parcels in 1818, 1832, 1833, 1825, 1836, 1829 and 1830. These 
tracts are named to some extent in the public records as the West Hill 
Tract, the East Hill Tract, the Mile Strip, the Oneida Tract, the New 
Guinea Tract, etc. The Stockbridge Indians originally numbered about 
450 and were taught in religion and the customs of civilization by the 
Rev. John Sargent, who came on with them from their former home 
in Stockbridge, Mass. They had thus become considerably advanced 
in morals and agricultural methods before the advent of white settlers. 
Within three years after the first permanent settlement was made they 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— STOCKBRIDGE. 403 

had built a grist mill and saw mill on Oneida Creek near the site of the 
later mill at Valley Mills. Their numbers increased for a period and 
their homes were thickly scattered all through the valley of the Oneida. 
Thus it became necessary for the pioneers to deal with these people by 
way of leases, or otherwise, for the occupancy of the lands, until the 
State acquired its ownership, a fact that operated to postpone settlement 
to a later date than in many other parts of the county. 

The man who opened the first store at Munnsville did not arrive in 
the town until 1817, in the person of Asa Munn, who came from Au- 
gusta. From him the settlement took its name. It is delightfully sit- 
uated centrally in the town, in the lovely valley of the Oneida and is a 
station on the Midland Railroad, now the Ontario and Western. Mr. 
Munn occupied at first an Indian cabin, but soon built a small store 
where he traded about ten years. He also carried on distilling and 
other business undertakings. He was succeeded as a merchant by 
Charles Chandler and Henry Chandler, nephew and son respectively of 
Winthrop H. Chandler. A year or two later Matthew Pratt and another 
man took the business and conducted it about two years. Hiram Whe- 
don was the next merchant and continued in business about thirty 
years. Sometime in the war period he sold to William O. Sumner, who 
leased the store building to a Mr. Seeley who carried on business about 
two years while the railroad was being built; he had also a store in 
Oneida, where he subsequently committed suicide. Lorenzo Frost and 
James H. Lillibridge were in business here a few years, and George 
Colburn between one and two years, when he sold to Charles W. Dex- 
ter, a native of this town. In 1870 he enlarged and improved the 
building (which was the old Munn store), and in 1871-73 had as part- 
ner John Northrup. About 1890 he took as partner Clark W. Davis 
and the firm of Dexter & Davis has since conducted a large business. 
Mr. Dexter is postmaster at the present time, succeeding George R. 
Fryer, and is a prominent citizen. 

William J. Lynden began trade as a druggist and grocer soon after 
the war and was succeeded in 1886 by George F Griner. F. L. Van 
Slyke was a former merchant and was succeeded by W. T. Webber in 
general merchandise. James Lowe began trade in 1879 and was suc- 
ceeded by his son, C. H. S. Lowe, in 1897; the latter had been a partner 
with his father several years, a part of the time in association also with 
Henry Freeman. A. H. Owen & Son are in the hardware business as 
successors of the senior of the firm who began trade in 1866. Dr. S. P. 



404 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Moore, who has practiced in the village since 1873, conducts a drug 
store, and Mrs. George Cook a variety store. 

The grist mill in the village was built in 1822 by Sheldon and Sol- 
omon Parmalee. The site and 100 acres of land wrere purchased by 
them of one Dennison, who bought the tract of an Indian who had 
built a saw mill on the south side of the creek on the lot later occupied 
by the woolen factory; that saw mill burned and a second one was built 
by him. The Indian's name was Jacob Konkerpot; he had built also a 
frame of a grist mill, but its site was not satisfactory to the Parmalees, 
who built their mill on the site of the saw mill and later erected another 
saw mill a little farther down. The mill was owned by Gregg & Barr 
in 1878 at which time E. K. Gregg sold his interest to D. J. Merrill, 
who in the next year purchased Sherman Barr's interest. In 1880 J. B. 
Maynard acquired an interest in the property. J. H. Merrill was the 
next owner and in 1898 was succeeded by C. M. Merrill & Son. 

About the year 1824 a saw mill was built on the site of the Munns- 
ville Plow Company's works by Jairus Rankin and Robert Barr. The 
mill was subsequently owned by William H. Chandler who built an 
edge tool factory and manufactured scythes. That business was aban 
doned and the making of axes taken np. Sometime between 1840 and 
1850 the business passed to Daniel Holmes, who continued it until 1853, 
when William Stringer, Solomon Van Brocklin and R. S. Barr acquired 
an interest and the manufacture of various agricultural implements was 
begun. The firm name was Holmes, Stringer & Co. A few years later 
Van Brocklin sold his interest to his partners, and in 1861 Holmes also 
disposed of his interest and the firm of Stringer & Barr continued. In 
1866 William H. Stringer, son of William, became a partner and the 
style was changed to Stringer, Barr & Co. Upon the death of both Mr. 
Stringer and Mr. Barr their two-thirds of the property was bought by 
C. W. Dexter and Lewis Coe, Charles Stringer taking the remaining 
one-third, the firm name becoming Stringer, Dexter & Co. In 1892 J. 
E. Sperry bought Mr. Stringer's interest and soon afterward theMunns- 
ville Plow Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, 
and C. W. Dexter, president, who was succeeded by Mr. Sperry; W. R. 
Paul, vice-president; W. F. Bridge, secretary and treasurer. In 1894 
Mr. Dexter sold his interest to W. F. Bridge. The product consists of 
plows, various kinds of cultivators, hop and fruit evaporating stoves, 
etc. About thirty-five men are employed. 

The saw mill before mentioned as having been built by the two Parm- 



Improvement in towns— stockbridge. 405 

alees was demolished by Eben and Whedon Blakeman and a woolen fac- 
tory erected on the site. This was in turn taken down in 1884 and the 
timbers used in two dwelling houses which are on the site. A still 
earlier woolen factory stood there which was burned. 

About the year 1832 Henry Stewart built a wool-carding and cloth 
dressing factory on the site occupied in late years by the creamery. 
About two years later he sold it to Orrin Wright, who enlarged the 
facilities and operated it about ten years. He sold to Robert Turner, 
who again enlarged the building and added more machinery. About 
1854 the building was burned and at once rebuilt, Sanford Turner, 
brother of Robert, taking an interest at that time. They operated the 
factory to about the close of the war. Avery Wadsworth & Co. con- 
verted the building into a creamery about 1879. The building is now 
used by George Frost & Son as an evaporator. This firm also conduct 
a cold storage business in the building. 

A Mr. Buck had a tannery in Munnsville at an early day, which was 
subsequenth' operated by James Hazeltine, who had worked for Mr. 
Buck, and from about 1840 to 1860 by James Lowe. On this site is the 
residence of Mrs. James Perkins. 

At the present time L. P. Van Slyke and Joseph Carlon are black- 
smiths in the village and George Frost & Son operate an evaporator 
and cider mill. C. J. Bradner is the village harness maker. At the 
railroad station, which bears the name of Munns, is a milk station from 
which a large quantity of milk is shipped to New York. 

The first permanent physician here was Dr. Jairus Rankin who came 
during the war of 1813 and continued until his death in 1833. Soon 
afterward Orange R. Cook came from Augusta and practiced until 
about 1843, when he removed to Morrisville, where he died two years 
later. Dr. Henry T. Sumner, who was located at Stockbridge, prac- 
ticed here a few years. Dr. Julius Treat, after practicing two years in 
the town of Smithfield, came to Munnsville and practiced most of the 
time until 1877. Dr. William Taylor was in practice at about the be- 
gmning of the Civil war a short time when he entered the army; at the 
close of the war he returned and practiced a few years, and then re- 
moved to Canastota where he still practices. Dr. George Munger prac- 
ticed during the war and later sold out to Dr. Taylor. Dr. S. P. Moore, 
a native of Lenox, settled in Munnsville in 1873 and is still in practice 
and has a drug store. The only other present physician is Dr. William 
H. Griffiths, who has been in practice many years. 



406 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The American Hotel was built about 1820 by Barnabas Cook, who 
kept it about ten years. The present proprietor, Dennis Rightmyer, 
purchased the property in 1874 of George W. Richardson, and changed 
the name to Rightmyer Hotel. The Central Hotel was opened by 
Rudolph Zimmer and is now kept by Kelly & Burke. 

The Congregational Church of Munnsville was organized in 1828 as 
The Presbyterian Church of New Stockbridge, and the meeting house 
was built about 1834. The Presbyterian faith was abandoned for the 
Congregational in July, 1836. In 1868 the church was extensively re- 
paired and improved and rededicated. The first pastor was Rev. D. M. 
Smith. In 1894 the church building was remodeled and improved on 
modern plans. The present pastor is Rev. Roland A. Farnham, who 
succeeded Rev. Elliott A. Tuttle in 1897. 

The pleasant little village of Stockbridge, situated in the Oneida 
valley about a mile below Munnsville, was formerly commonly called 
Knoxville, from Hermon Knox, the first merchant who came from 
Augusta about 1823 and after trading a few years removed to Illinois. 
He lived for a time in a log house built by the Indians and in 1834 
moved into a building erected that year for a store, which subsequently 
became the dwelling of A. J. Hinman. As late as 1825 there were 
only six buildings on the site of the village. The first school house was 
built in 1824 just east of the four corners. A saw mill was built in 
1824 by Mr. Knox, who erected also a grist mill in 1828 and operated a 
distillery. Mr. Knox sold his store to David Wood, who came from 
Augusta and continued in trade more than fifteen years, a part of the 
time in company with Hiram Whedon. Wood sold to Amadeus Hin- 
man and removed to Oneida. Mr. Hinman was in business many years 
but at different periods; he was preceded a few years by his son. Grove 
Hinman, and son-in-law, Hermon Smith. In 1880 he traded his store 
for a farm with his nephew, A. J. Hinman, who continued in trade a 
number of years. Matthew Pratt and Carlos Atkins were in trade a few 
years each, and James H. Lillibridge, who came from New York in 
1877 and bought the store of W. J. Nash, who had been in trade about 
nine years, and C. C. White, long a cabinet maker, continued in general 
merchandise for fifteen years, when he removed to Munnsville. The 
cabinet and undertaking business established by C. C. White in 1857, is 
now conducted by C. E. Love, who took it in 1891. Charles White con- 
ducts a general store in which he succeeded S. M. Davidson in 1898. 
F. W. Cook was formerly in the cabinet making business, beginning 



Improvement in towns— stockbridge. 407 

fifty years ago, but subsequently took up wagon making, in which he is 
still engaged. Wadsworth Lyman was an early blacksmith and Luther 
Elphick has been in the business many years. C. C. White conducts a 
hardware store. 

The saw and grist mills here, built by Hermon Knox, were burned in 
1858 and rebuilt in the same year by E. J. Hostler, by whom they were 
operated until 1866 when he sold to Palmer W. Hinman and Chaffee C. 
Horton. A year later Hinman bought his partner's interest and in 1868 
sold a half interest to James Baker, to whom he sold the remaining 
half a year later. In 1874 Mr. Baker took his son, James S., as part- 
ner in the mills. In 1882 the son took the property and now operates a 
feed mill, saw mill and cheese box factory. 

A tannery was established in Stockbridge in 1825 by Thomas Wilson 
who continued it in connection with boot and shoe making until his 
death in 1849; he was then succeeded by his son, Jonathan M., who had 
been associated with him; he continued the business until 1877, when it 
was abandoned through the scarcity of bark. In 1880 the tannery was 
converted into a creamery by Mr. Wilson. A cheese factory has been 
operated in recent years by Carl Leach. 

The Central Hotel, which is the first one in the village, was built in 
1825 by Horace Parmalee, who kept it a number of years. In 1854 the 
property passed from the heirs of Dr. Henry T. Sumner to Amadeus 
Hinman, who kept it until 1883, when he was succeeded by the present 
proprietor, David Van Loon, who changed the name to Hotel de Van 
Loon. 

The post-office here was opened about 1824 with Dr. Henry T. Sum- 
ner postmaster. He held the office until his death in 1853, about thirty 
years. The subsequent list of officials is not accessible, but H. H. 
Lillibridge, N. J. Hinman, A. Bridge, have held the office; the present 
postmaster is Charles White. 

Dr. Henry T. Sumner was the first resident physician in the village 
and practiced from 1823 to some extent until his death. Dr. Fayette 
F. Elphick settled in the village in 1869 and continued in practice until 
his death, excepting two years. Dr. A. E. Broga is the present prac- 
titioner. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church of New Stockbridge was organized 
as a station in 1827, and placed in the Oneida district of the Genesee 
Conference. In the year 1830 the word New was taken from the title. 
At about the same time, probably in 1829, the church was changed to 



408 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the Oneida Conference and the house of worship built. In 1828 there 
were 120 members; in 1843, 270, which was the highest reached. There 
are now about 100 members. The first pastor was Rev. Alexander 
Irvine. The church was enlarged in 1853 and has lately been slate- 
roofed and painted, the money being furnished by Philip D. Armour, 
who was born in this village. 

There have been two other churches in Stockbridge which are now 
obsolete. The Congregational Church was organized in 1833 by about 
thirty five persons who were dismissed from the societies of Augusta 
and Smithfield. A meeting house was soon afterward built just west 
of the Central Hotel. This society was subsequently disbanded and 
the church edifice sold and removed. 

The Universalist Church was organized about 1837 by Rev. Daniel 
S. Morey, and a meetinghouse was built about 1843. The membership 
was never large and after about twenty years of activity the society 
was disbanded and the church was removed to Munnsville, where the 
upper part was in use as a public hall. 

The hamlet of Valley Mills, formerly known as Cook's Corners, from 
Barnabas Cook, an early settler and tavern keeper, is situated in the 
northern part of the town on the Midland Railroad. The post-office 
with its present name was established in 1870, with D. J. Dunham, 
postmaster. He was succeeded in 1877 by H. C. Quackenbush; the 
present official is Myron Stewart. The grist mill here was built about 
1848 by Rev. Ebenexer Ranney for a woolen factory and was operated 
by him five or six years, when it passed to William Bridge and Nathan 
Hayes; they were succeeded by Armour, Klock & Wilder, A. B. 
Pardee, Smith & Montgomery, the Quackenbush Brothers, who took it 
in 1870, M. C. Quackenbush, and the present proprietor, C. W. Dex- 
ter. The mill is now operated by Mr. Roantree. A cider and plaster 
mills are on the site, but not in operation. The grist mill is on or near 
the site of the mill built in 1794 by the Indians. A store is conducted 
by Dexter c& Davis, the Munnsville merchants. 

The Baptist Church of Stockbridge, located at Valley Mills, was or- 
ganized in 1839 as a result of preaching by several students in Hamil- 
ton College. The church was recognized by council in 1840, and 
Ebenezer Ranney and N. M. Coburn were chosen deacons. Rev. S. M. 
Bainbridge was ordained in 1840 and was succeeded during brief 
periods by several other pastors. The last regular pastor was Rev. J. 
H. Wells, who served in 1853-4. The pulpit was supplied for a time 



IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS— STOCKBRIDGE. 409 

thereafter, but about 1865 the church became inactive and has so re- 
mained. The building was torn down. 

The first school in the town of Stockbridge was taught in 1797 by 
Edward Foster, in a log school house in the southeast part. Since that 
early date the cause of education has been liberally supported. The 
town is divided into fifteen districts and constitutes a part of the Second 
School Commisiioner district of the county. The last report of the 
commissioner gives the number of children attending school as 413 and 
the value of school buildings and sites, $10,950. 

In 1829 the Stockbridge Academy was founded by Asa Munn and 
Thaddeus Muzzy, with Rev. D. M. Smith in charge. It was conducted 
in a building, since demolished, which stood near the meeting house in 
Stockbridge. Although comparatively successful for a period, the in- 
stitution succumbed under changing conditions. 

Union School District No. 1 in Munnsville was organized in 1894. A 
handsome school building was erected in 1894 at a cost of about $4,000 
besides furnishings. Frank M. Wiggins was the first principal and 
still holds the position. He was supplied at first with two assistants 
and at the present time there are three. The average attendance is 
120. The school passed under the Regents in March, 1890. 

The growing of hops and dairying are now the principal agricultural 
industries of this town. A large quantity of milk is shipped from the 
two railroad stations to New York and considerable butter and cheese 
is made. The hop industry has somewhat declined in recent years, as 
it has in other localities. 

Among the leading farmers of the town, past and present, may be 
mentioned McGee Wilson, William Bridge, Addison Snell, Emerson 
Quackenbridge, a large hop raiser. Waterman Simonds, Fred Marshall, 
J. W. Rockwell, and his father Thomas, the Wheeler brothers, Robert 
Clark, Samuel Spaulding, C. W. Dexter, Lewis Hinman, the Mackey 
brothers, Adelbert Pardee, John Rivenburg, Adelbert Wood, Eri Day, 
George Miller, Warren J. Gilbert, Andrew Perry, William Skadden, 
Orrin Porter, Norman Randall, John Hadcock, Charles Bush, Amos 
Bridge, Nathaniel Harrington, and his son Elmer, John L. Foster, Har- 
rison Lamb, Rensselaer Coe, E, J. vSpooner, Austin Carver, Robert 
Foster and Albert Lindsley. 



410 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLK. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
GENERAL COUNTY HISTORY FROM 1865 TO 1899. 

In closing these pages of general county and town history it remains 
to take a brief review of the events and changes that have taken place 
since the close of the Civil war. At that time (1865) the population of 
the county was 42,506, and it has remained with little variation to the 
present time. State legislation relating directly to Madison county 
enacted during the last thirty years has not been of paramount impor- 
tance. What has been accomplished in recent times towards draining 
and preparing for cultivation the great swamp area in the northern 
part of the county, -a work that is still in progress, is described in the 
preceding history of the town of Sullivan, in which the greater part of 
it lie.s. Succeeding the early efforts in this direction, an act of the 
legislature relating to this work was passed April 37, 1866, and ap- 
pointed Francis H. Kennedy, of Syracuse, Marcus C. Walrath, of Chit- 
tenango, and Clinton L. Colton, of Canastota, commissioners to fix the 
rate of assessment to provide the cost of the proposed drainage ditch, 
and perform other duties in connection with the matter. 

In the laws of the following year is an act (chapter 601) providing for 
draining " the Great Swamp," as it is termed therein. This act ap- 
pointed Daniel Lewis, Dr. Venoni W. Mason, and Clinton L. Colton, 
commissioners to " open and construct such ditch or ditches or drains as 
in their opinion may be deemed necessary to drain such lands of the 
Great Swamp " as they should determine upon; also " to commence at 
the easterly terminus of the ditch or drain which may be dug or opened 
under the chapter aforesaid, " and continue easterly as far as they deemed 
advisable. The cost of the work was to be provided for by assessment 
and collection of taxes on the lands lying adjacent to the ditch. 

It was under this legislation that the old State ditch was dug, which 
has since been greatly enlarged, as described in the Sullivan town iiis- 
tory. Great tracts of rich muck land have been reclaimed, in the towns 
of Sullivan and Lenox, lateral ditches dug, and the extensive produc- 
tion of celery, onions and other crops to which such land is particularly 



THE COUNTY FROM 1865 TO 1899. 411 

adapted has resulted. The men most prominent in this work in re- 
cent years are Milton Delano, Le Grand Colton, D. C. Twogood, of 
Canastota and Charles F. Pennock, of Chittenango. 

In the laws of 1874 (chapter 390) a State appropriation was made of 
$25,000 to "the Stroud, Chapman and Douglass ditches, so-called," 
now the State ditch, for widening, deepening, and digging new ditches; 
and again in 1886 (chapter 549), the superintendent of public works was 
directed to "clean out the State ditch in the towns of Sullivan and 
Lenox," so as to properly discharge the surplus water from the Erie 
Canal. The sum of $3,700, a residue from the first appropriation, was 
expended in this work. The more recent operations for draining this 
great tract of valuable land have been described in the Sullivan town 
history in a preceding chapter. 

The act of 1890 (chapter 353) appropriating $500 from the State 
treasury to reimburse the town of Madison for the expense of re- 
moving three bridges over the abandoned Chenango Canal and en- 
larging a culvert over Oriskany Creek, was a relic of the once busy 
water way. 

The subject of making certain county offices salaried positions has 
frequentl)' come up in the Board of Supervisors for consideration, as 
it has in many other counties of the State. The old method of pay- 
ing those officials through fees collected from the public was always 
characterized by uncertainty and sometimes by injustice. In 1890 this 
question, as far as it relates to the sheriff and the county clerk, was 
brought to culmination in the Board of Supervisors through the adop- 
tion of a resolution that the board petition the member of assembly 
(then Samuel R. Mott, of Bouckville) to procure the passage of a law 
making the county clerk a salaried officer, with annual salary of not ex- 
ceeding $1,800, and the sheriff the same, with salary of not more than 
$2,000. An act was passed making these changes in 1891 (chap. 29. ) 
Other county offices have received consideration by the Board of Super- 
visors, in relation to salaries, as seen in the adoption of a resolution in 
January, 1883, that the superintendent of the poor be paid a salary of 
not to exceed $800, and that after that date the position of keeper be 
abolished and the superintendent perform all the duties of the office and 
reside at the county house. This resolution was referred to the com- 
mittee on legislation. 

While upon the subject of supervisors' proceedings it is interesting, if 
not important, to notice that in 1860, a committee from the County 



412 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Farmers' Club called upon the board and, in view "of the growing im- 
portance of sheep husbandry," asked an increase of the dog tax to $5 
and that all dogs be muzzled. The matter went to the committee on 
legislation and that was the last heard of it. A relic of plank road days 
is found in the supervisors' proceedings of 1893, at a special session, 
when measures were taken to obtain an extension of the corporate ex- 
istence of the " Morrisville and Peterboro Stone or Plank Road Com- 
pany " for twenty years from the expiration of its charter which would 
carry it to fifty years from the original incorporation in 1863. 

In the same year (1893) a somewhat important recent feature of the 
periodic attempts to change the location of county seats, public build- 
ings, etc., in many localities of the State, appears in the following re- 
markable petition, which was signed by thirty-one persons and pre- 
sented to the Board of Supervisors in December- 

We, the undersigned, residents and freeholders, within the County of Madison. 
State of New York, do respectfully show that — 

Whereas. The present location and site of the Court House, Jail, Surrogate's 
Office and County Clerk's Office, are at the village of Morrisville, in said county ; 
and. 

Whereas, the village of Eaton in said county possesses railroad facilities, and all 
other suitable accommodations that would accommodate the people of the entire 
county, to attend to all business calling them to either and all of said offices, and 
believing that it would be both a matter of convenience and economy to the people 
of the county to have the site and location of all the said offices changed; We 
do, therefore, respectfully ask that the site and location of the Court House, 
lail. Surrogate's Office and County Clerk's Office be changed from their present site 
or location in the village of Morrisville, to the corner of North Main and Fayette 
streets, in the vil'age of Eaton, in said county. 

On the following day a protest signed by H. B. Coman was presented 
to the board against their receiving this petition. Then followed a series 
of preambles and resolutions, showing that if the change was made, the 
lands in Morrisville on which the buildings stand would revert to the 
grantors; that new buildings would cost $150,000; that the existing 
high taxes would be made higher, and that, therefore, the change was 
inexpedient. 

In May, 1898, the supervisors ordered 100 iron signs to be made and 
placed on prominent "market roads" one mile apart, for guidance of 
travelers — a very wise act and one worthy of emulation in other coun- 
ties. This was not carried out. 

The history of town bonding in Madison county in aid of railroads is 
an interesting one and relatively important; from it, also, it is possible 



THE COUNTY FROM 1865 TO 1899. 413 

to draw instructive lessons that may serve for the future guidance of 
these and other towns in this State. In past years the favorite manner 
of securing- funds with which to build railways was to send agents into 
the towns who were gifted with eloquent tongues, trained to dwell with 
rhetorical fluency upon prophecy of what the future would bring forth 
in any definite locality — if the people of that locality would bond them- 
selves as a community to supply the money with which to open a rail- 
road through their territory. Most of the counties in central New York 
have paid the penality of listening to the arguments favoring railroad 
building under such auspices; a few towns, to be sure, have at the same 
time received benefits, direct and indirect, commensurate with their 
sacrifices. 

The road popularly known as the Midland Railroad, passes through 
the towns of Lenox (now Oneida), Stockbridge, Eaton and Lebanon; 
the old Chenango Valley road through the towns of Georgetown, Leb- 
anon, Nelson and Cazenovia; what is now a branch of the Lehigh sys- 
tem through Fenner, De Ruyter, Cazenovia, Lincoln and Lenox; and 
the old Utica, Ct^rtland & Binghamton through Hamilton, Madison and 
Eaton. These towns were originally bonded in aid of one or more of 
these roads under chapter 398, laws of 1866, in relation to the Midland 
road, and other legislation relating to other lines: 

Cazenovia $150,000 

De Ruyter 103,300 

Eaton 150,000 

Fenner 30,000 

Georgetown.. 30,000 

Lebanon 135,000 

Madison 100,000 

Nelson 50,000 

Stockbridge 143,000 

Besides these towns, the village of Canastota was bonded for $50,000; 
De Ruyter, $30,000; Hamilton, $56,000, and Oneida, $30,000. 
The bonded debts of these towns in 1898 was as follows: 

Cazenovia $ 1 06,000 

De Ruyter about 50,000 

Eaton - 83,000 

Fenner 8,000 

Georgetown 13,500 



414 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Lebanon 55, 000 

Madison 21,500 

Nelson 42,500 

Stockbridge « 95,000 

Of these several towns De Ruyter refused to pay either principal or 
interest after July, 1878, when the amount of outstanding bonds was 
$102,300. The claim was made that the bonds were illegally issued— 
a claim which was never clearly decided. Chapter 303, laws of 1887, 
authorized the town to issue new bonds with which to compromise, can- 
cel and retire the original issue, and at the present time the debt re- 
mains as above stated. 

In the year 1890 and later the town of Stockbridge, and several other 
towns, through their supervisors, sued the Board of Supervisors as 
representatives of the county, to recover taxes paid by the towns to the 
county and State from 1881 to 1889, on the railroad property. The 
claim was set up by the town that, as the railroad property was exempt • 
by law from taxation for State, county, town or municipal expenses, 
the town could therefore recover taxes paid to the county on such prop- 
erty. The General Term of the Supreme Court held that the town 
could so recover the county tax for the years 1884 to 1889 inclusive, 
but could not recover State taxes, and that the claim for both State and 
county taxes for 1882 and 1883 was barred by the statute of limitations. 
This decision was reversed in the Court of Appeals, and the towns suc- 
ceeded in their suits. 

While it is impracticable to follow in detail the gradual change that 
has taken place in the amounts of assessed valuation of real estate and 
personal property in the county from its beginning, and the cost of 
maintaining various institutions, it will still be instructive and possibly 
interesting to trace some of these items as they changed from decade to 
decade, beginning with 1820. In that year the valuation of real estate 
was $3,836,690; of personal property, $156,728. The school fund was 
$2,240.09. This latter item had increased since 1816 from $1,522.30. 
This was the first appropriation of school money in the county and was 
apportioned as follows: Brookfield, $217.84; Cazenovia, $193.56; Eaton, 
$129.25; De Ruyter, $49.60; Georgetown, $38.58; Hamilton, $140.67; 
Lenox, $136. i'9; Madison, $137.49; Nelson, $119.92; Lebanon, $98.34; 
Smithfield, $151.27; Sullivan, $109.90. 

In 1830 the valuation of real estate was $3,912,180, showing a little 



THE COUNTY FROM 1865 TO 1899. 415 

less than $100,000 increase; personal property, $327,529, more than 
double that of 1820. The school fund was $2,205.19, and it cost that 
year to support the poor, $1,000. This last amount was trebled in 
1835. 

In 1840 the real estate valuation was $5,549,217, indicating a decade 
of progress and growth; personal property, $796,043, more than double 
that of 1830. The school fund was $o,G41.41, and $3,000 was devoted 
to the support of the poor. 

In 1850 the real estate valuation was $5,960,279, and of personal 
property, $1,006,773. The school fund was $4,485.05, and $9,748 was 
appropriated for support of the poor. The whole sum levied that year 
was $40,647, an increase from the figures of 1840, which were $34,050. 

In 1860 the valuation of real estate was assessed at $9,189,722; of 
personal property, $2,302,680. The assessment was $83,495.58. These 
figures for 1870 were: Real estate, $8,(i61,165; personal property, 
$1,838,185. Assessment, $188,464,51. In 1880, real estate, $17,422,823 
(assessed at 76.3 per cent, of full value); personal property, $2,313,650; 
total tax, $191,373.41. 1890, real estate, $17,999,201; personal proper- 
ty, $1,803,040. State tax, $45,180.68; county tax, $69,422.81. For 
1899, real estate, $18,465,274.34; personal property, $2,309,269.66. 
Total tax, $184,976.70. 

A change affecting the whole county for the improvement of town 
meeting regulations was effected by the Board of Supervisors of 1898. 
A resolution was adopted abolishing the spring town meeting altogether, 
and providing that hereafter they shall be held simultaneous with the 
regular fall elections. This is a change which probably will be of bene- 
fit to every community. The new town of Lincoln, in opposition to 
the change, held its regular town meeting for 1899 in the spring, and 
officers were chosen largely under Democratic auspices. This actiori, 
it is believed by many, was illegal. 

In the spring of 1899 a board of seven Cycle Path Commissioners was 
appointed by Judge John E. Smith, who met on April 11 and elected 
B. S. Tea'.e, president; and Charles E. Rose, secretary. The county 
has been divided into seven cycle districts, with a commissioner in 
charge of each. The money supplied through the sale of badges and 
otherwise is to be expended in the district in which it was contributed, 
and such other action taken as will best subserve the interests of both 
cyclers and the public. 

The facilities for caring for the poor and the insane of the county 



416 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

have received much attention during the period under consideration in 
this chapter. The building of the first poor house in 1838, and of the 
second on its site in 1878, has been previously noticed. In the years 
1886-87 new buildings were erected with modern conveniences for 
caring for thirty male and thirty female insane persons, afflicted with 
chronic insanity and indigent. These structures were accepted by the 
State Board of Charities, thus rendering it a State institution as to its 
general control. In 1890-91, under the State law, the insane persons 
were removed to State institutions, and the supervisors asked the State 
to reimburse the country for its outlay in buildings, etc. The sum of 
$ii,000 was received on this account 

All of the railroads that pass through portions of Madison county, ex- 
cepting the main line of the New York Central, have been constructed 
during the period since the close of the war. Their influence has 
wrought many and important changes in business centers. While as 
a whole it must be admitted that they are of great benefit to the people 
at large, there are still restricted localities that have been injured through 
their attraction of trade to more populous places. This is a cause and 
effect that almost invariably attaches to the opening of railroads; a few 
of the larger villages or cities along the lines, on account of increased 
shipping and traveling facilities, geographical situation, water power, or 
dominating enterprise of their inhabitants, or from all these causes in 
some degree, receive a stimulus from the opening of railroad communi 
tion with other points. They begin at once to draw trade from ham- 
lets and small villages along the line, the people who formerly bought 
and sold at the small places, on account of difficulty in reaching the 
larger ones, now take the cars to the more active business center and 
here spend their money, sell their produce and buy their goods. There 
is usually only one result of this — the smaller place suffers. Instances 
of this are numerous enough in this county and need not be particularly 
specified. In the end, however, the tendency is towards a balance in 
these conditions, as it is in all matters in which trade is a prominent 
factor. 

The so called Chenango Valley Railroad, now a part of the New 
York Central property, was opened through a part of its length in 1873, 
and wholly opened in 1874. When the West Shore road, of which this 
line had become a part, passed to the New York Central in 1885 this 
road went with it. 

Work was begun on what was first known as the Utica, Chenango 



THE COUNTY FROM 1865 TO 1899. 417 

and Susquehanna Railroad in July, 1866, one branch of which was to 
touch this county. It was ultimately leased to the Delaware and 
Lackawanna company and by extension was made an avenue for coal 
transportation, with its other traffic. 

The Utica, Clinton and Binghamton company was organized in 
August, 1863, but little more than horse roads were constructed out of 
Utica for comparatively short distances, until a reorganization in De- 
cember, 1867, with added capital. For this line Hamilton village bonded 
for $60,000, and the town of Madison for $100,000, in this county. The 
line was opened through to Hamilton and Smith's Valley, where it 
touched the Midland in 1870. 

The West Shore road was chartered in June, 1881, and was opened 
from Weehawken to Syracuse in 1883 and to Buffalo in the next year. 
Its influence upon Madison county has been insignificant. 

The preceding chapters of town history have shown the reader that 
while the years have been passing, great changes have taken place in 
industrial and agricultural operations in this county. Large manufac- 
turing establishments have come into being at several business centers, 
employing many workmen and vast sums of money. In this direction 
the future is promising for the community. No less important are the 
changes that have taken place in the methods of agriculture and par- 
ticularly in the kind and variety of crops grown. For many years 
Madison county has enjoyed a world-wide reputation for its vast and 
successful hop production. While this crop has in the past been a source 
of profit to the farmer, it may be doubted if the policy has been a wise 
one, of almost wholly neglecting the other grains, vegetables and fruits 
for the growing of hops. With the great decline in price of this crop 
in comparatively recent years, and the speculative conditions of the 
average market, Madison county farmers have been gradually decreas- 
ing their acreage in most towns. While the annual crop is a large one, 
it is not by any means what it once was. 

In the transition from hops to other sources of agricultural prosper- 
ity, as far as it has gone, the farmers of the county have shown a com- 
mendable degree of intelligence, enterprise, and good judgment. Fruit 
culture in some localities has been profitably taken up; dairying in its 
several features, and the shipment of milk to New York, has been ma- 
terially developed ; and in still more recent years, the drainage of muck 
lands in the northern part of the county and the cultivation of celery, 
onions, etc., thereon, which has been described a few pages back, has 
27 



418 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

added new and ver}' important factors to the agricultural interests of 
the county. The growing of peas for market, also, has recently be- 
come an extensive industry, the crop being sold to canning factories in 
the county and near its boundaries. In the towns of Lebanon, Ham- 
ilton, and Madison the acreage of this crop is now larger than that of 
any other crop excepting hops. A large acreage is sown also in the 
northern part of the county, most of which goes to the canning facto- 
ries of Oneida, Kenwood, Canastota, and other points. A good part of 
the crop of the southern towns is shipped direct to New York in bags, 
where it has brought a profitable return. 

The latest event of national importance that caused a wave of intense 
interest to flow across the country, its influence extending into every 
hamlet ia Madison and other counties, was the opening of what will be 
known in history as the Spanish-American war, the culmination of 
which brought on the necessity of subjugating the Philippine Islands, 
which is now in progress. So recent was the beginning, as well as the 
end, of the war with Spain, and so well known are its causes and the 
chief events in its progress, that they need not be further treated in 
these pages. The inhabitants of Madison county did not let this call 
upon their patriotism pass unnoticed or without prompt response, and 
about a score of volunteers, mainly young men, joined the United States 
forces for service in either the war in Cuba or in the Philippines. A 
part of the latter went in the First New York Regiment, an organiza- 
tion which left Fort Hamilton in New York harbor in May last, and 
proceeded to San Francisco and thence to Honolulu, beyond which it 
did not go. Of the whole number enlisting in these wars, one died in 
hospital and another on the way to Manilla. The history of the con- 
flict with the Philippines cannot yet be written, but it may safely be 
left to the future to prove that this county will be honorably repre- 
sented in the struggle. 

CIVIL LIST. 

State Senators. — From the date of its erection, in 180G, until the 
termination of the existence of the first constitution, Madison county 
formed a part of the Western Senatorial District which at first included 
also Allegany, Herkimer, Onondaga, Ontario, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, 
Steuben, Oneida, Cayuga, St. Lawrence, Genesee, Seneca, Jeff^erson, 
and Lewis counties. Broom, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara and 
Cortland were subsequently added. From the year 1803 to 1808 this 



CIVIL LIST. 419 

district was entitled to nine senators and to twelve from 1808 to 1815. 
On April 17, of that year, the district was reorganized, Herkimer, On- 
tario, Otsego, Schoharie, St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis being taken 
from it. Oswego was added in 1816 and Tompkins county in 1817. 
After 1815 the district was entitled to nine senators. Under the second 
constitution Madison county was placed with Herkimer, Jeff erson, Lewis, 
Oneida and Oswego counties in the fifth senatorial district and so con- 
tinued until May 33, 183(5, when Otsego county was added and Herkimer 
taken from the district. Under the third constitution Madison and 
Oswego counties were constituted the twentieth district and so remained 
until April, 1857, when it was associated with Chenango and Cortland 
counties in forming the twenty-third district. The next change was 
made April 25, 1866, when Madison and Oswego counties were consti- 
tuted the twenty-first district. On April 23, 1879, Madison, Herkimer 
and Otsego counties were made the twenty third district. It so re- 
mained until April 30, 1892, when Madison and Onondaga counties 
were constituted the twenty-fourth district. Under the constitution of 
1894 Madison and Oswego counties were constituted the twenty-seventh 
district, which condition still exists. 

Tliere was no State senator elected from the territory of Madison 
county previous to its formation and only three during the existence of 
the first constitution and the connection of the county with the western 
district. Those three were as follows: Sylvanus Smalley, of Lenox, 
who served during the sessions of 1809-10-11-12; Bennett Bicknell, of 
Morrisville, in 1815-16-17-18; and Perry G. Childs, of Cazenovia, in 
1820-1-2. They were succeeded by Thomas Greenly, of Hamilton, 
who served in 1833-4-5; Charles Stebbins, of Cazenovia, in 1826-7-8-9; 
John G. Stower, of Hamilton, in 1833-4; Joseph Clark, of Brookfield, in 
1839-40-1-2; Thomas Barlow, of Canastota, in 1844-5-6-7; Asahel 
Stone, of Peterboro, in 1850; Simeon C. Hitchcock, of Cazenovia, in 
1854-5 ; John J. Foote, of Hamilton, in 1858-9 ; James Barnett, of Smith • 
field, in 1866-7; William H. Brand, of Leonardsville, in 1870-1; Charles 
Kellogg, of Chittenango, in 1874-5; John W. Lippitt, of Solsville, in 
1878-9. Alexander M. Holmes, Morrisville, 1882-3; John E. Smith, 
1886-7 and 1892-3; 1894-5, Charles W. Stapleton. 

Members of Assembly. — The number of members of assembly from 
Madison county has, of course, varied with the ratio of her popula- 
tion to that of the State. The county had two members at the time of 
its formation ; three under the apportionments of April 1, 1808, April 8, 



420 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1815, April 12, 182'2, April 18, 1826 and May 23, 1836; two under the 
apportionment of March 8, 1846, April 13, 1857 and April 10, 1866; 
one under the apportionment of April 26, 1879, and since. 

The first assemblyman from the territory now embraced in Madison 
county was Jonathan Forman, who served in 1800-1. He was suc- 
ceeded by James Green and Stephen Hoxie, 1803; Sephen Hoxie, 1804 
Samuel Payne and Luther Waterman, 1804-5; Samuel Payne and Syl 
vanus Smalley, 1806 ; Erastus Cleveland and Sylvanus Smalley, 1807 
John W. Bulkley and Sylvanus Smalley, 1808; Oliver Brown, John W, 
Bulkley and Daniel Van Home, 1808-9; John W. Bulkley, Amos B 
Fuller and Daniel Van Home, 1810; John W. Bulkley, Henry Clark, jr. 
and Zebulon Douglass, 1811; Bennett Bicknell, Nathaniel Cole and 
Samuel H. Coon, 1812; Walter Beecher, John D. Henry and Jonathan 
Olmstead, 1812-13; Stephen F. Blackstone, Elisha Carrington and Abra- 
ham D. Van Home, 1814; David Beecher, Winsor Coman and John Mat- 
tison, 1814-15; Oliver Brown, Nathan Hall, jr., and Eliphalet S. Jack- 
son, 1816; James B. Eldridge, Moses Maynard and Jonathan Olmstead, 
1816-17; Thomas Greenly, James Nye and David Woods, 1818; Solo- 
mon Beebe, Thomas Greenly and Dennison Palmer, 1819; Amos Crocker, 
Eliphalet S. Jackson and Levi Morton, 1820; William Berry, jr., Justin 
Dwinelle and Herman Van Vleck, 1820-1 ; Pardon Barnard, Henry 
Clark, jr., and Justin Dwinelle, 1822; Rutherford Barker, Daniel M. 
Gillett and Curtis Hoppin, 1823; Joseph Clark, Edward Hudson and 
Thomas Spencer, 1824; Ellas P. Benjamin, Nehemiah Huntington and 
James Nye, 1825; Thomas Dibble, Nehemiah Huntington and Jacob 
Ten Eyck, 1826; Sylvester Beecher, James B. Eldridge and Lemuel 
White, 1827; Joseph Clark, John Knowles and Eri Richardson, 1828; 
James B. Eldridge, William K. Fuller and John Williams, 1829; William 
K. Fuller, William Manchester and John M. Messenger, 1830; Robert 
Henry, Stephen B. Hoffman and John Whitman, 1831; Nehemiah 
Batcheler, Daniel Gillett and John Head, 2d, 1832; Erastus Cleveland, 
John Davis and Jesse Kilborn, 1833; Sardis Dana, Benjamin Enos and 
Henry T. Sumner, 1834; Joseph Clark, William J. Hough and Jason W. 
Powers, 1835; Ephraim Gray, William J. Hough and John B. Yates, 
1836; Wait Clark, Isaac Coe, jr., and Silas Sayles, 1837; William F. 
Bostwick, William Lord and Onesimus Mead, 1838; Friend Barnard, 
Benjamin Enos and Uriah Leland, 1839; Daniel Barker, Daniel Dickey 
and Benjamin Enos, 1840; Seneca B. Burchard, Oliver Pool and Daniel 
Van Vleck, 1841 ; Simeon C. Hitchcock, Calvin Morse and Job Wells, 



CIVIL LIST. 421 

1843; Venoni W. Mason, Henry Palmer and Lorenzo Sherwood, 1843; 
Ralph I. Gates, Thomas Keith and Alfred Medbery, 1844; Stephen G. 
Sears, William Smith and John I. Walrath, 1845; Horace Hawks, 
Thomas T. Loomis and Stephen M. Potter, 1846; George T. Taylor 
and Peter Van Valkenburgh, 1847 ; John T. G. Bailey and George Grant, 
1848; David Maine and Robert G. Stewart, 1849; John Clark and 
Thomas O. Bishop, 1850; Jairus French and Franklin B. Hoppin, 1851; 
George B. Rowe and Henry L. Webb, 1852; Dennis Hardin and Mar- 
sena Temple, 1853; Samuel White, 2d, and Franklin M. Whitman, 1854; 
Gilbert Tompkins and Aaron B. Brush, 1855; Samuel White and John 
Snow, IBoG; Albert G. Purdy and Thomas P. Bishop, 1857; Lester M. 
Case and Robert Stewart, 1858 ; Simeon Rider and Noah M. Coburn, 
1859; David Clark and James Barnett, 1860; Orrin B. Lord and Fran- 
cis A. Hyatt, 1861; William H. Brand and Albert G. Purdy, 1863; 
William H. Brand and George L. Rouse, 1863; John W. Lippitt and 
Daniel F. Kellogg, 1864; Alfred A. Brown and Alvin Strong, 1865; 
Gardner Morse and Caleb Calkins, 1866; Bushrod E. Hoppin 
and Benjamin F. Bruce, 1867; D. Gerry Wellington and Robert 
Stewart, 1868; Wesley M. Carpenter and Leonard C. Kilham, 1869; 
Joseph W. Merchant and Leonard C. Kilham, 1870; David L. Fisk and 
Leonard L. Kilham, 1871; John W. Lippitt and Francis A. Hyatt, 1872; 
Edward C. Philpot and Joseph P. Crawford, 1873; Edward C. Philpot 
and Henry W. Carpenter, 1874; D. Gerry Wellington and George Berry, 
1875; Morris N. Campbell and Fred C. Fiske, 1876; Albert N. Sheldon 
and Merchant Billington, 1877; Lambert B. Kern and Willard A. Cran- 
dall, 1878; Augustus L. Saunders and George Berry, 1879; Gerrit S. 
Miller, 1880; David A. Jackson, 1881; Ladurna Ballard, 1882; George 
H. Benjamin, 1883; Edward F. Haskell, 1884-85; William S. Leete, 
1886-87; Charles E. Maynard. 1888-89; Samuel R. Mott, 1890-91; 
Clarence W. Dexter, 1892-93; Lambert B. Kern, 1894-96; Robert Jay 
Gish, 1897-99. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF MADISON COUNTY. 

The Regents of the University of this vState were incorporated in 
1787, and in their report for 1793 they called attention to the benefits 
likely to accrue from the establishment of schools in various parts of 
the State. "The mode of accomplishing this desirable object, " said 
the report, " we respectfully submit to the wisdom of the Legislature." 

At the opening of the session of 1795, Governor Clinton thus alluded 
td the subject in his message: 

While it is evident that the general establishment and liberal endowment of acad- 
emies are highly to be commended, and are attended with the most beneficial conse- 
quences, yet it cannot be denied that they are principally confined to the children of 
the opulent, and that a great portion of the community is excluded from their im- 
mediate advantages. The establishment of common schools throughout the State, 
is happily calculated to remedy this inconvenience, and will therefore engage your 
early and decided consideration. 

These were the first steps taken towards the establishment of the 
common school system of the State. On the 11th of January, 1795, 
the Assembly appointed a committee of six to consider the school sub- 
ject, and on February 19 they' reported "An act for the encouragement 
of schools," which became a law on the 9th of April. This act appro- 
priated $50,000 annually for five years, for the general support of com- 
mon schools, which sum was at first apportioned to the several counties 
according to their representation in the Legislature; later it was appor- 
tioned according to the number of electors for member of assembly, and 
to the several towns according to the number of taxable inhabitants. 
The act provided for the election of not less than three nor more than 
seven commissioners in each town, who should have supervision of the 
schools. The inhabitants in different sections of the towns were au- 
thorized to meet for the purpose of procuring "good and sufficient 
schoolmasters, and for erecting and maintaining schools in such and so 
many parts of the town where they may reside, as shall be most con- 
venient," and to appoint two or more trustees, whose duties were de- 



i 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 423 

fined by the act. The public money paid to each district was to be 
apportioned by the commissioners according to the number of days of 
instruction given in each of the schools. Provision was made also for 
annual returns from all districts, towns and counties. 

Lotteries were early instituted by the State for the support of schools, 
first in 1799, when $100,000 was to be raised, $12,500 of which was to 
go to academies and the remainder to common schools. Again in 
1801 an equal amount was raised, one-half of which went to common 
schools. 

On the 2d of April, 1805, an act was passed providing that the net 
proceeds of the sale of 500,000 acres of unappropriated State lands 
should be made a permanent fund for the support of schools, the avails 
to be invested until the interest amounted to $50,000, when an annual 
distribution of that amount should be made. By February, 1807, re- 
ceipts for the school fund in the treasury had reached $151,115.69. 

In 1811 a law was enacted authorizing the governor to appoint five 
commissioners to report a system for the organization of the common 
schools. The commission consisted of Jedediah Peck, John Murray, jr., 
Samuel Russell, Roger Skinner, and Samuel Macomb. Their report, 
made February 14, 1812, was accompanied by the draft of a bill em- 
bodying the main features of the common school system as it existed 
until 1838. One feature of the bill was, that each county should raise 
by tax an amount equal to that apportioned by the State. Following is 
a brief outline of the system: 

That the several towns in the State be divided into school districts, by three com- 
raissiouers elected by the citizens qualified to vote for town officer.s, that three trus- 
tees be elected in each district, to whom shall be confided the care and superintend- 
ence of the school to be established therein ; that the interest of the school fund be 
divided among the different counties and towns, according to their respective popu- 
lation, as ascertained by the successive censuses of the United States; that the 
proportions received by the respective towns be subdivided among the districts into 
which said towns shall be divided, according to the number of children in each, be- 
tween the ages of five and fifteen years; that each town raise by tax annually, as 
much money as it shall have received from the school fund ; that the gross amount 
of moneys received from the State and raised by the towns, be apportioned exclu- 
sively to the payment of wages of teachers; and that the whole system be placed 
under the superintendence of an officer appointed by the Council of Appointment. 

Gideon Hawley was made the first superintendent of common schools 
and held the office from 1813 to 1821. In the first report (1814) he 
called attention to the fifth section of the law under which it was a pos- 



424 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sibility that a single town in a county might receive the whole of the 
public money for that county; and toother provisions giving each town 
the choice of complying with the law and receiving its benefits and 
bearing its burdens, or of refusing such compliance. Under these pro- 
visions many towns had refused compliance with the act, to the great 
detriment of the system. The superintendent suggested that it be 
made obligatory upon the towns to comply with the act, and also on the 
Boards of Supervisors to levy on the respective towns a sum equal to 
the sum "which shall be apportioned to such towns out of the public 
money to be distributed." These suggestions were promptly carried 
out by amendments to the act. 

The founding of this school system was an educational movement of 
the greatest importance and its benefits became at once apparent. In 
his second report (1815) Mr. Hawley said: 

But the great benefit of the act does not lie in any pecuniary aid which it may 
afford. . . It consists in securing the establishment of common .schools wherever 
they are necessary; in organizing them on a suitable and permanent foundation; and 
in guarding them against the admission of unqualified teachers. 

In his sixth annual report the superintendent renewed his recom- 
mendations before made, for a revision and consolidation of the exist- 
ing school laws. On the 19th of April, 1819, accordingly, the Legisla- 
ture re enacted the "act for the support of Common Schools," making 
the various amendments stxggested by Mr. Hawley. To him is given 
the honor and credit of having done more than any one person in the 
founding of the common school system in this State. John Van Ness 
Yates was secretary of state and superintendent ex-officio of common 
schools from 1831 to 1826, the separate office of superintendent of 
schools having been abolished by the Constitution of 1821. The Con- 
stitution provided, also, that " the proceeds of all lands thereafter to be 
sold, belonging to the State, with the exception of such as might be re- 
served for public use or ceded to the United States, together with the 
existing school fund, were declared to constitute a perpetual fund, the 
interest of which Ghould be inviolably appropriated and applied to the 
support of the common schools." 

In 1816 the first appropriation of public school money was made to 
Madison county as follows: Brookfield, $217.84; Cazenovia, $193.56; 
De Ruyter, $46.50; Eaton, $139.25; Georgetown, $38.58; Lebanon, 
$98.34; Lenox, $136.09; Hamilton, $140.67; Madison, $137.49; Nel- 
son, $119.92; Smithfield, $151.37; Sullivan, $109.90. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 425 

Azariah C. Flagg held the office of secretary of state and superin- 
tendent of schools from 1836 to 1833, and was succeeded by John A. 
Dix (1833-39), during which period great improvements were made in 
the details of the school system. In 1827 the sum annually distributed 
to the various districts was increased to $100,000; in 1837 it was 
$110,000. On the 13th of April, 1835, an act was passed which laid the 
foundation of district school libraries; it authorized the taxable inhabit- 
ants of each district to impose a tax of not more than $30 the first year 
and $10 each succeeding year for the purchase of a district library. 
Under this act libraries were established in very many districts of the 
State and the resultant benefit is beyond estimate. 

In 1838 $160,000 were added from the annual revenue of the United 
States deposit fund to the amount to be apportioned among the various 
school districts. In the following year the number of districts in the 
State was 10,583. The increase in the number of districts from time to 
time is shown as follows: 1798, 1,352 districts; 1816, about 5,000; 1820, 
5,763; 1835, 7,643; 1830, 8,873; 1835, 9,865. 

On the 4th of February, 1839, John C. Spencer was appointed secre- 
tary of state and superintendent of common schools, and he continued 
in the ofBce until 1843. He advocated several changes in the system, 
the most important being, perhaps, the county supervision of schools 
by regular visitors. These visitors reported to the superintendent and 
one of the results of their early reports was the plan of appointing 
county superintendents, which went in effect in April, 1843, and re- 
sulted in a great improvement in the general character of the schools. 
The office was abolished March 13, 1847, during which period the fol- 
lowing held the office in Madison county: Edward Manchester, Thomas 
Barlow, of Canastota, and Marsena Temple, of Munnsville. 

In his annual message of 1844 Governor Bouck treated largely the 
school question, stating among other things the following: 

The substitution of a single officer, charged with the supervision of the schools of 
each town, for the board of commissioners and inspectors formerly existing, in con- 
nection with the supervisory and appellate powers of the several county superin- 
tendents, as defined by the law of the last session, seems to have met with the 
general approbation and concurrence of the people. 

Samuel S. Young was secretary of state and superintendent of schools 
from February, 1843, to February, 1845, when he was succeeded by 
Nathaniel S. Benton, who continued until 1847, when the new consti- 
tion was in effect. 



426 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The subject of Teachers' Institutes was first brought forward in the 
Tompkins County Teachers' Association in the fall of 1843, and the 
first institute was held in Ithaca April 4, 1843; they soon became a 
powerful auxiliary in elevating the teacher's profession. 

A persistent and nearly successful attempt was made to engraft upon 
the new Constitution of 1846 a free school system for the State. The 
section under which it was to be accomplished was the following: 

The Legislature shall provide for the free education and instruction of every child 
of the State in the common schools, now established, or which shall hereafter be 
established therein. 

This section was adopted by a vote of 57 to 53, and a provision was 
then added directing the Legislature to provide for raising the neces- 
sary taxes in the districts to carry out the plan. The convention then 
adjourned for dinner. After reassembling the school article was re- 
ferred, on resolution, to a committee of one with instructions to strike 
out the last two sections relating to free schools. This was done and 
the provision for the establishment of free schools was defeated. 

On the 13th of November, 1847, the Legislature passed an act abol- 
ishing the office of county superintendent of common schools, directing 
appeals authorized to be made by law to be made to the state superin- 
tendent, and the annual reports of the town superintendents to be made 
to the county clerk. This measure was adopted largely in response to 
popular clamor, and was in many respects temporarily disastrous to the 
schools. Reports of town superintendents were often superficial and 
incomplete, while they were " wholly incapable of supplying the place 
in the system which had been assigned to the higher class of officers." 

On the 15th of December, 1847, the various statutes relating to com- 
mon schools were consolidated into one act, with such amendments as 
seemed expedient; town superintendents were to hold their office two 
years; the library law was modified so that library money in any district 
might be used for teachers' wages, with the consent of the state super- 
intendent, provided the number of volumes in the library had reached 
a certain proportion to the number of children, etc. 

Christopher Morgan was state superintendent of schools and secre- 
tary of state from 1847 to 1851, when he was succeeded by Henry S. 
Randall, who held the office until 1853. In the message to the Legis- 
lature of 1849 Governor Fish expressed his belief "that the restoration 
of the office of county superintendent would be productive of good to 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 427 

the school system." He recommended two measures, either of which 
would improve the situation : 

First. The repeal of chap. 358, laws of 1847, restoring the office of 
county superintendent, and making it elective by the people. 

Second. The election of a superintendent in every Assembly district, 
except in the city of New York, and the cities which now have, or shall 
hereafter have, a city superintendent, or board of education, to manage 
their school affairs. 

The superintendent then reviewed the situation as to the problem of 
free schools which was before the people. On the 36th of March, 1849, 
the Legislature passed the " Act establishing Free Schools throughout 
the State." For its provisions in detail the reader must be referred to 
the statutes. Madison county gave a majority in favor of the act of 
1,644, with 3,268 voting against it. The practical application of this 
system met with wide spread and intense opposition from the first, and 
it soon became apparent that a demand for its repeal would have to be 
met. At the annual election in the fall of 1850, therefore, the people 
voted upon the question of its repeal, and the majority in favor of re- 
peal was 46,874, in forty-two of the fifty-nine counties of the State; in 
the remaining seventeen counties the majority against repeal was 
71,912, leaving a majority of 25,088 against repeal. Thus the benefi- 
cent free school system was permanently established. The majority in 
favor of repeal in Madison county was 643. 

The number of districts in the State reported in 1850 was 11,397, and 
and the number of children taught was 735,188. The number of dis- 
tricts in 1895 was 11,131. In July, 1897, the number was 10,965. 

In 1860 there was in Madison county 339 districts. There were in 
1895-6 309 districts, with school houses in each. 

In 1856 the provision of the law of 1851 appropriating annually $800, - 
000, was repealed and a tax of three-quarters of a mill on the dollar of 
real and personal property substituted for payment of teachers' wages, 
and the rate bill was continued; the school commissioners to be elected 
by the Boards of Supervisors. 

A law was passed in 1853 providing for union free schools, authoriz- 
ing the inhabitants of two or more districts to elect trustees and levy a 
tax on the property in the united districts for the payment of teachers' 
wages and other expenses. 

The general school law was revised in 1864, and in 1867 the rate bill 
was abolished and a tax of one and a quarter mills on the dollar of val- 
uation substituted. 



488 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

In 1847, coincident with the abolishment of the office of county super- 
intendent, teachers' institutes, which had previously existed as volun- 
tary associations, were legalized. These institutes have been held in 
every county in the State in different years since that time and have 
been in part sustained by the State, For the year ending July, 1897, 
they were held in fifty-eight counties and had an attendance of 16,273 
teachers. 

Madison county is divided into two districts the first including the 
towns of Brookfield, with 36 districts; De Ruyter, 10 districts; Eaton, 
18 districts; Georgetown, 11 districts; Hamilton, 15 districts; Lebanon, 
13 districts; Madison, 13 districts; Nelson, 14 districts. In this district 
were employed in the last two years 156 teachers and 3,654 pupils were 
instructed. The value of school buildings and sites in this district is a 
little more than $91,000 and the assessed valuation is nearly $8,000,000. 
The amount of public money received from the State was $17,833.35 
and the amount raised by public tax was $30,000.87. Fifty-eight schools 
in this district had less thin ten students each in attendance. 

The second commissioner district includes the towns of Cazenovia, 
with 15 districts; Fenner, 11 districts; Lenox, 10 districts; Lincoln, 6 
districts; Oneida, 7 districts; Smithfield, 7 districts; Stockbridge, 15 
districts; Sullivan, 19 districts. There were employed in this district 
in the last school year 157 teachers and the registration of pupils was 
4,949. The value of school buildings and sites is $129,993, and the as- 
sessed valuation is a little more than $11,000,000. The amount of pub- 
lic money received from the State was $18,751.59, aad the amount 
raised by local tax was $44,841.19. 

In the last report made to the State superintendent of public instruc- 
tion by L. A. Parkhurst, school commissioner of the second district of 
Madison county, it is shown that the registration for the last school 
year was 303 less than in 1S95 and 265 less than in 1896 Yet the ag- 
gregate days of attendance was considerably larger in the last year than 
in either of the other twf). The commissioner laments the fact that the 
rural schools are slowly but surely growing smaller. This is a condi- 
tion that must be credited to the growing desire on the part of the 
young men and women reared in the country districts to leave theii 
homes at the first opportunity and find occupation in cities and villages. 
The increase in attendance, before mentioned, has been largely credited 
to the compulsory education law passed by the Legislature, in 1874, but 
Commissioner Parkhurst believes that it is due, at least in part, to the 
greater efficiency and loyalty of teachers. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 429 

The early schools in Madison county were neither better nor worse 
than those in similar localities in other parts of the State. A large 
part of the pioneers were from New England States and were fully 
imbued with a belief in the great practical value of early education. 
The history of the towns of this county shows that in every community 
the establishment of schools and churches was one of the first measures 
adopted by early settlers. Log school houses were built in every neigh- 
borhood where there were children sufficient in numbers to make it 
desirable. The teachers of that day, as a class, were incompetent in 
comparison with those of recent years. At the same time the text 
books used were very deficient and imperfect. In the villages and 
hamlets were to be found a few well educated instructors under whose 
direction many brilliant scholars studied, but they were the exception. 
But as the various communities increased in population and wealth and 
general progress in educational facilities was made by the State, as 
shown in the foregoing pages, the old log school houses were displaced 
by frame structures, teachers possessed of higher attainments, and 
better text books, all contributed to give the people the best of modern 
free schools. Local academies were founded, many of which accom- 
plished a great deal of good during their existence ; but most of these 
declined as the common schools advanced and many have been absorbed 
in the union school districts of later days. Private educational institu- 
tions, too, so many of which were established in early years, lost their 
prestige as the common schools advanced in efficiency and most of them 
passed out of existence. 

A HISTORY OF COLGATE UNIVERSITY FROM ITS FOUNDA- 
TION TO THE YEAR 1900.' 

Colgate University is the present name of the school which was es- 
tablished at Hamilton, New York, in 1819, and called by its founders, 
The Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution. 

The influences which led to the founding of this institution had their 
origin in the religious movements of the first quarter of this century. 
In 1740 the Christian Church in America had experienced that wonder- 
ful revival of religion which is known in church history as the "Great 
Awakening;" but it was all over in a few years, and then followed a 
long period of reaction. In the year 1800, however, came another 

^Prepared by Professor Ralph Wilmer Thomas. 



430 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

great revival of religion, the effects of which were more lasting, and 
which proved to be the beginning of a long period of vigorous Christian 
life. The religious activity of these years immediately following the 
year 1800, found expression first in missionary enterprise, and afterward 
in educational effort. Indeed, as early as 1798, the Missionary Society 
of Connecticut was formed, whose object was, "to Christianize the 
heathen in North America, and to support Christian knowledge in the 
new settlements within the United States;" and this society employed 
its first missionary in August, 1800. Then followed that wonderful 
activity which marked the aggressive Christian spirit of the earlier 
years of this century. The message of the gospel was carried far and 
wide by the devoted missionaries tf the cross; many thousands turned 
to the light, and were received into the churches; and the whole land 
felt the glowing influence of this spiritual revival. 

During these years the Baptist Church in America increased in num- 
bers with great rapidity. Between 1800 and 1812, their numerical 
strength had more than doubled. The Lake Baptist Missionary Society 
was founded at Pompey, Onondaga county. New York, in 1807; and 
as the influence of the Baptists of Hamilton was strong and active in 
its councils, the name was changed in 1809 to The Hamilton Baptist 
Missionary Society. This society sent preachers throughout the des- 
titute regions of the Western States and Territories, calling together 
those who had been active Christians but were now scattered and 
inactive, gathering in new converts and organizing churches. It 
was the immediate predecessor of the Baptist Missionary Convention 
of the State of New York; and was one of those bodies whose ex- 
istence led to the organization of the American Baptist Home Mis- 
sion Society. With 1812 came the conversion of Adoniram Judson and 
Luther Rice to the Baptist faith, and then the return of Rice from India 
to arouse the Baptists of America to an appreciation of the responsibili- 
ties of the hour and to organize them that the missionary interests of 
the denomination might have more effective support. On May 18, 
1814, was held the first meeting of the ' ' General Missionary Convention 
of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America, for 
Foreign Missions." This meeting is popularly known as the First Tri- 
ennial Convention, and was an important event in the history of the 
Baptist Denomination in America. 

Meanwhile, accompanying this marked growth of missionary and 
religious activity, and doubtless, largely as a result of it, was a demand 
for wider and better educational facilities. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 431 

A feeling gradually arose among the churches that an educated min- 
istry was needed to cope with the many and pressing problems of the 
time. At Harvard University, Unitarianism had been making great ad- 
vances, much to the disturbance of the other denominations; and when 
the HoUis Chair of Theology, which had been founded by a Welsh Bap 
tist, was filled in 1805 by the election of a Unitarian, a schism was at 
once precipitated which resulted in the founding of the first Protestant 
Theological Seminary of America, at Andover, Massachusetts, in 1808. 

This was the beginning of an educational movement whose rapidity of 
achievement it seems difficult to comprehend. Within a period of 
twenty years seventeen theological seminaries were founded where none 
were before, marking what Dr. Bacon, in his History of American 
Christianity calls "a swift and wondrous revolution that has never gone 
backward." 

In New York State, the Baptist denomination had continued to in- 
crease rapidly in numbers and in strength until by 1817 there were about 
twenty-eight thousand Baptist church members, organized into 310 
churches, with 230 ministers West of the Hudson River there were 
but three Baptist ministers who had had the advantages of collegiate 
training; the rest were largely untrained, while some were absolutely 
illiterate. So that, among the Baptists, as in the other churches, there 
arose a demand for schools at which young men who were looking for- 
ward to the ministry could receive proper intellectual preparation. 
This demand was small and weak at first, and it had to meet the de- 
termined opposition of a very large body of sincere people who were 
conscientiously opposed to what they were pleased to call a "man- 
made " ministry. Nevertheless the feeling in favor of an educated 
ministry continued to grow until it became so strong that it could no 
longer be successfully opposed. This was shown by the action of the 
Second Triennial Convention in 1817 which adopted a resolution to 
establish, under Baptist auspices, "a classical and theological semi- 
nary. " 

On September 19, 1816, the Boston Baptist Association adopted a 
"Corresponding Letter," as such communications were then called, 
which was entirely devoted to the need of a better educated ministry. 
To this letter, the Boston Association requested the several associations 
with which it corresponded to afford particular attention, thus showing 
that the subject was one in which the Boston Baptists of that day had 
unusual interest; this letter was written by Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, 



432 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

D. D. The writer first proceeded to show the need of a ministry to 
" publish the good news of salvation," and that the number of men in 
the ministry was far from being proportionate to the wants of those at 
home, to whom the gospel should be preached; that foreign mission- 
aries were also to be desired ; that to supply this want the first duty of 
the church was prayer. The letter also went on to state that the min- 
istry should be educated, and that, in order that it might be educated, 
seminaries were necessary — seminaries not connected with one great 
central university, but located in different places; that four seminaries 
would be sufficient for all the United States; "one should be estab- 
lished in some part of New England, another in the Middle, a third in 
the Southern, and a fourth in the Western States; to these seminaries 
we should send all the youth of our denomination who appear to be 
called of God to preach the gospel and whose inclination prompts them 
to engage in a course of preparatory studies." An earnest appeal for 
the co-operation of the entire denomination in carrying out this plan 
brings this most earnest and interesting letter to a close. 

Now, it is impossible to say that any one influence was at the very 
beginning of the movement which brought into existence the " Hamil- 
ton Literary and Theological Institution." As already stated, it was 
an outgrowth of the general religious activity, missionary and educa- 
tional, which marked the opening years of this century. But if any 
one influence were to be selected as the dominant force that brought 
this institution into being, it must be that letter of Jeremiah Chaplin, 
an abstract of which has been given above. For in the course of its 
beneficent journeying it came into the hands of Rev. Daniel Hascall, 
then pastor of the Baptist Church at Hamilton, and to him seems to 
have come the first inspiration that the seminary " in the Middle States," 
as called for in the letter, should be located at Hamilton, N. Y. 

The place was not unworthy of such distinction. Already, before an in- 
stitution of learning was thought of, Hamilton was the centre from which 
radiated influences of great extent and of beneficent character. Samuel 
Payne and Elisha, his brother, had settled there as early as the year 
1794 and the place was then called " Payne's Settlement." They were 
soon joined by the Olmsteads, the Pierces, the Osgoods, and others. 
All these were godly men, and Baptists. Samuel Payne felled the first 
tree in the virgin forest, on the very spot, it is said, where now the 
structures of the university stand. When the tree had fallen, he con- 
secrated all that he possessed to the service of God. These settlers of 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 433 

Hamilton, men of unusual mental and spiritual endowment, had organ- 
ized the Hamilton Baptist Missionary Society and were spreading the 
gospel far and wide through the State. This society published a paper 
called the " Vehicle," of which Daniel Hascall, John Peck, and John 
Lawton were the editors, and which afterward took the more distinctive 
name of the Western Baptist Magazine, and was ultimately merged in 
the New York Baptist Register, the organ, for years, of the Baptist de- 
nomination of the vState. vSuch men as these could not fail to compre- 
hend and appreciate the wants of the ministry, and make adequate 
provision for them. 

Having become convinced of the importance of the suggestion con- 
tained in the letter of Dr. Chaplin, Daniel Hascall became an ardent 
advocate of the proposed school. In 1816, he suggested the idea of a 
literary and theological institution in central New York to Nathaniel 
Kendrick, who visited Hamilton in that year. The suggestion found 
favor with many prominent men in the denomination and became the 
subject of wide consideration. 

In May 1817, seven men met at the home of Samuel Payne to discuss 
the subject of the want of a more enlightened ministry. After care- 
ful consideration, the conference issued a circular calling for another 
meeting, and in response to this call, thirteen men appeared. They 
met at the home of Jonathan Olmstead, a deacon of the Baptist Church 
at Hamilton. The house is still standing, about one mile and a half 
south of the village, and is an object of interest to all friends of Chris- 
tian education, for here was founded on the 24th of September, 1817, 
the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York. 

The preamble of the constitution adopted is as follows: " Impressed 
with the vast importance of the Christian Ministry as connected with 
the conversion of sinners and the edification of the Church, and desirous 
to furnish young men of piety and gifts, the means of acquiring an 
education with a view to their public usefulness, we do hereby associate 
and adopt the following constitution. " The purpose of the society is 
set forth in the following article: "The object of this society shall be 
to afford means of instruction to such persons of the Baptist denomina- 
tion as shall furnish evidence to the churches of which they are mem- 
bers, and to the executive committee hereafter named, of their personal 
piety and call to the ministry." The object of these men in founding 
such an organization was the establishment of a separate school of its 
own to furnish means for the education of young men who should give 
28 



434 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

evidence of a call to the ministry. In its first address, issued in 1817, 
to the Baptist denomination throughout the State of New York, the 
society says: " Knowledge must not be withheld from those who are 
appointed to teach all men. But how is the necessary knowledge to be 
obtained ? We have well regulated schools, academies, and colleges, 
in which various sciences, highly useful, are taught. But they are far 
from offering all the advantages which are desirable, and which by our 
united exertions, may be obtained for those young men whom God calls 
to the Gospel ministry. We are fully of the opinion that a different 
institution may be established for them, better adapted to the little 
time many of them have to study, and the means of defraying their ex- 
penses, as well as to the preservation of their morals and the promotion 
of their piety; an institution in which they shall be assisted in the pur- 
suit both of literary and theological knowledge ; and in which they shall 
he directed to such a course of studies as shall be deemed most con- 
ducive to their usefulness. . . . The duty of establishing one in 
some more central place in the State, has, of late been strongly im- 
pressed, we believe, by the Divine vSpirit, upon the minds of many of 
our fathers and brethren. A society for this purpose has been formed, 
the constitution of which accompanies this." This address makes it 
plain that one of the original objects for which the Baptist Education 
Society was founded, was the establishment of a school in the central 
part of this State. 

The names of the thirteen men who founded the Baptist Education 
Society of the State of New York are as follows: Daniel Hascall, 
Nathaniel Kendrick, Peter P. Roots, John Bostwick, Joel W. Clark, 
Robert Powell, Jonathan Olmstead, Samuel Payne, Samuel Osgood, 
Thomas Cox, Elisha Payne, Charles W. Hull, Amos Kingsley. 

After completing their organization, each paid one dollar, the money 
consideration of membership; then all united in a prayer for the bless- 
ing of God upon their work. 

The society began its labors by sending broadcast over the State 
copies of its constitution and an appeal for funds to carry on its work. 
On February 12, 1818, Jonathan Wade was examined and received to 
the privileges of the institution. Very soon after, came Eugenio Kin- 
caid. They studied first under Professor Hascall. Hascall and Wade 
stand at the beginning of the list of instructors and students of the 
University. Under the name of the " Baptist Education Society of the 
State of New York," a charter was obtained from the Legislature, 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 435 

March 5, 1819. On the 3d of November, 1819, a committee of the 
society decided that the institution should be located at Hamilton,/ on 
the condition that six thousand dojlars should be paid to the society, in 
a specified way. These conditions were fulfilled by the people of Ham- 
ilton one year befure the time named, and on the 1st of May, 1830, the 
school was formally opened with some half dozen students in attend- 
ance, and Daniel Hascall as the teacher. 

Fgor nineteen years the institution was purely a ministerial school, ad- 
mitting only those who wished to enter the ministry and had been ap- 
proved by their respective churches. The students soon began to come 
in such numbers as to ta.x severely the limited resources of the young 
institution A larger building was occupied in 1823, but this soon 
proved too small, and the authorities began to look for a permanent 
home for "The School of the Prophets." On March 11, 1836, Deacon 
Samuel Payne gave his farm to the society, and here was erected in 
1837 the "Western Edifice," now known as West College. The 
school continued to grow, and in 1833, the "Eastern Edifice" was built — 
now known as East College. In 1838 a large boarding hall was erected 
on the plain below the hill, and between 1835 and 1838 three houses for 
professors had been added to the property of the institution.^"] 

While the school had enjoyed this material progress, the growth of 
the curriculum had been no less marked. It began with a three years' 
course, mostly theological ; in 1839 this course was extended to four 
years; in 1833 to six years, and in 1834 to eight years. This eight-year 
course covered the work in three departments, Academic, Collegiate, 
and Theological, so that in fourteen years from its foundation the school 
had expanded into an Academy, College and Theological Seminary. 
Able and progressive teachers had guided the institution through this 
intellectual growth. The first teacher in charge — or Principal as he 
would now be called — was Daniel Hascall, afterward formally appointed 
to the Chair of Ancient Languages in 1831, and in the same year Na- 
thaniel Kendrick was appointed Professor of Theology. Later Professor 
Hascall was transferred to the Department of Natural Philosophy, and 
Barnas Sears became Professor of the Ancient Languages. During 
this early period, also, there appear in the list of instructors the names 
of Seth S. Whitman, Joel S. Bacon, Asahel C. Kendrick, George W. 
Eaton, Stephen W. Taylor, Thomas J. Conant, and John S. Maginnis; 
there is also included the name of John H. Raymond, first President of 
Vassar College. 



436 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Many of these men achieved distinction in the teaching profession, 
and their names are an assurance of the high grade of work done dur- 
ing the early years of the institution. At this time, the school had no 
endowment, and was dependent entirely upon contributions from the 
churches and benevolent individuals. And it was only by the most 
strenuous exertions that the society was able to meet its yearly ex- 
penses. 

The year 1839 marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history 
of the institution. Up to this point, the original idea of a school for 
ministerial students only had been adhered to with singular tenacity. 
But there had been for some time an increasing desire that the institu- 
tion should be opened to young men of good moral character, not hav- 
ing the ministry in view. At length this demand became so urgent 
that its consideration could neither be evaded nor postponed, and the 
following resolution was offered at a meeting of the Board : 

Resolved, That the great object at which this Society is aiming will be promoted 
by allowing the Faculty, for the time being, to receive into the Collegiate Depart- 
ment of the institution a limited number of young men who have not the min- 
istry in view. 

Dr. Kendrick opposed the resolution with great earnestness, but it 
was carried by a good majority, and under many restrictions non-min- 
isterial students were thereupon admitted. The institution was now 
doing work as an institution for general education and it was desirable 
that it should be recognized as such by the State. Moreover, its graduates 
were desirous of receiving degrees at the conclusion of the course of study. 
But neither of these privileges were possible without a college charter. 
An application for a charter was made to the Legislature in 1840. The 
application was denied, as was also a second application in 1843. These 
applications were denied because the Education Society, being a popu- 
lar body, with an annually elected Board of Trustees, was not legally 
competent to receive such a charter. It was necessary, therefore, to 
organize a new corporation; this was done under the title of "The 
Madison University," and to this corporation a charter was granted 
March 26, 1846. The action of the Board of Trustees of Madison Uni- 
versity was directed and guarded by two specific regulations inserted in 
the charter. First, the University was to be located permanently at 
Hamilton. Second, The Baptist Education Society was authorized by 
a separate article to make such arrangements with the University for 
the transfer of the property of said society or any part thereof, either 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 437 

absolutely or conditionally, to the said university as the said society 
should deem proper. 

Further provision was made that a majority of the incorporators 
should also be members of the Board of Trustees of the Education So- 
ciety, and it was in the power of the society forever to secure this pro- 
portion. Under these restrictions the new charter was made available 
to the literary department of the " Hamilton Literary and Theological 
Institution;" but it was carefully stipulated that the Theological De- 
partment should remain exclusively under the control of the Baptist 
Education Society. The preservation of the original object of the in- 
stitution was secured in the "Terms of Compact" between the Baptist 
Education Society and the Board of Trustees of Madison University, 
which provided, in brief, that the University should ever sustain a course 
of secular education adapted to the proper training of the ministry; 
that the control of theological education proper should be reserved ex- 
clusively to the board of the society; and that in default of fulfilling 
these conditions, the University Board was subject to "a notice to 
quit" within two years. Thus at the time when the charter of Madi- 
son University went into operation there were two distinct institutions 
in Hamilton, a College (with an Academic Department), and a Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

The University had been thus organized but little more than a year, 
when a crisis in its existence was precipitated by the celebrated 

REMOVAL CONTROVERSY. 

This was an effort to remove the institution from Hamilton, to the 
city of Rochester, N. Y. This movement seems to have had its origin 
in a feeling aroused by an act of the Education Society Board in adjust- 
ing the relations between itself and the Board of the University. The 
action related to one of the most distinguished members of the Theo- 
logical Faculty, and provoked a storm of personal indignation which 
did not subside, even though the act, or vote, was rescinded at the same 
sitting. There seems to be little doubt that the thought of removal came 
into being in the institution at Hamilton. The proposition was as fol- 
lows: "The University was to be taken up bodily with its faculty, stu- 
dents, board, funds, movable property, history, associations, yea, even 
the remains of its sainted founders, and transferred unmutilated and to- 
tally in substance and form, to Rochester, with the addition of an en- 



438 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 

dowment of $100,000 or $150,000 and noble buildings of architectural 
grandeur and beauty * * * * *." This proposition proved very 
attractive to many friends of the institution and to the denomination at 
large. It was advocated by some of the ablest and most accomplished 
Baptists in the State, men of great influence, and honored and revered 
by the people. But the proposition was not unanimously favored. 
From its first announcement, some of the firmest friends of the Uni- 
versity viewed it with distrust and alarm, and among these were Dr. 
Kendrick, Professor Hascall, Dr. George W. Eaton, and Mr. William 
Colgate, of New York. These men, and many others, saw insuperable 
objections, both legal and moral, to the plan, and thus the issue was 
made up — for and against removal — with the friends of the institution 
ranged on either side. 

The struggle was at first mainly one of argument. Appeals and 
counter appeals were issued ; mass meetings were held at which the 
subject was eloquently discussed, and resolutions were formulated; the 
religious and secular papers took up the controversy; and finally the 
Legislatui^e was asked for an act permitting the removal of the Univer- 
sity to Rochester. At this point, a compromise was accepted by both 
parties by which it was agreed that in case $50,000 was raised by a spec- 
ified time, the institution should remain at Hamilton, and in case that 
amount was not raised, then the Board of the University should be at 
liberty to decide the question. The controversy finally developed into 
an intense struggle which had in it no element of compromise. 

In 1848, after a discussion lasting an entire day, the Board of Trustees 
of the University, and the Board of the Education Society passed condi- 
tional votes in favor of removal. The board of the University having 
rejected, on a technicality, the subscription and bond tendered by the 
opponents of removal, in fulfillment of the compromise, a new bond 
for $50,000 was drawn up, designed to meet the technical objection. 
This new bond was to have been presented to the Education Society at 
its final meeting during anniversary week, but before the opponents of 
removal appeared at the college chapel, the society had met, voted for 
removal, and adjourned. The opportunity to present the new bond to 
the society had been lost. Later the new bond was submitted to the 
board of the University who voted that it was too late to consider it. 
The cause of removal was won. Its opponents had been beaten at 
every point; its friends were enthusiastic and sincere in their rejoic- 
ings. But they reckoned without their host. It was no mere matter 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 439 

of judgment which had moved the strong opposition to the removal of 
the institution ; there was a principle at stake. All the early benefac- 
tions had been bestowed on the University upon the distinct under- 
standing that it was to be located permanently at Hamilton, and to 
many, removal seemed a breach of faith with these donors. Thus far, 
the controversy had been carried on by discussions, resolutions and 
votes in the two boards; moral suasion had been the only power used 
to gain the desired end. But against the resolution for removal passed 
by the Education Society at Hamilton, the opponents of the movement 
strongly protested on the ground that all the proceedings had been 
taken before the hour set for the meeting. The claim was made and 
substantiated that when the resolution had passed, and the meeting 
adjourned, the town clock had not yet struck the hour at which the 
meeting had been called. Feeling that they had not been treated 
justly, the friends of the institution at Hamilton appealed from the de- 
cision of the Education Society and asked the Supreme Court of the 
State for an injunction against the removal of the University. This 
step was taken only after the most careful consideration, for the ques- 
tion was now attracting widespread attention. The first petition for 
an injunction was denied on a legal technicality. The petition was 
immediately renewed by Daniel Hascall and M. Rogers, Esq., as rep- 
resenting those who had originally founded and endowed the institu- 
tion. The case was argued before Mr. Justice Philo W. Gridley, by 
able counsel on both sides, and on the 23rd of April, 1850, the injunc- 
tion against removal was made permanent. The long and acrimonious 
controversy was finally settled. It had lasted three years; had created 
serious dissension among the friends of the University, and had seriously 
interfered with its progress and prosperity. A meeting of the Board of 
Trustees was soon held at which all those in favor of removal resigned, 
and friends of Hamilton were elected to their places. The resignations 
of many of the faculty who had favored removal, were accepted, and 
new professors were appointed. The institution opened in the fall of 
1850 as usual with the number of students greatly decreased, but with 
every class organized, and it was felt that Madison University had 
safely passed the most critical period of her history. 

On the 11th day of September, 1848, Dr. Nathaniel Kendrick died. 
He had been the first president of the Hamilton Literary and Theo- 
logical Institution. He, himself, objected to the title, but he per- 
formed the duties of the office during some of the most important 



440 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

years of the institution's history. Joining Professor Hascall, almost 
at the origin of the school, he supplemented the activity of the 
founder by his scholarship and profound thought. To Dr. Ken- 
drick, more than to any other man was due the original form of the 
institution. For a quarter of a century, he was the corresponding 
secretary of the board of trustees of the Baptist Education Society, 
and wrote the annual reports of that body. These were always strong 
appeals to the denomination to support the institution. By these re- 
ports, by letters to the Baptist Register, by sermons before the churches, 
and by his personal attendance upon the conventions and associations. 
Dr. Kendrick made himself "the living bond" between the Baptist 
denomination of the State, and the Hamilton Literary and Theological 
Institution. 

The founder of the institutions at Hamilton was Daniel Hascall. He 
was rather the man of action, pre-eminently the man for the time. 
Having clearly comprehended the importance of a school at Hamilton, 
he stopped not with mere discussion of the subject. He himself acted. 
When Jonathan Wade came to Hascall for instruction, the Hamilton 
institution was begun. Think of the obstacles to overcome! No funds, 
no building, no students, and an active prejudice throughout the church 
against a " man-made " ministry! Yet in the face of all this, not for 
an hour do we find Hascall discouraged. He was ubiquitous, now in 
the study, solving some classical problem, now in the quarry, prying 
out with his own hands the material for West college, and again, " sit- 
ting on the sill of the raised window of his lecture room, giving in- 
struction to his class in one breath, and in the next giving orders to 
workmen outside." Having thus poured his very life into the Hamil- 
ton institution, it is not to be supposed that Professor Hascall looked, 
even at the first, with any particular favor on the proposition for re- 
moval. The evidence, however, all seems to show that he reserved his 
decision until he had carefully considered the whole matter. But — his 
mind made up — the announcement of his decision is one of the few 
dramatic incidents in the history of the university. After the death of 
Dr. Kendrick, Professor Hascall was the only person at Hamilton who 
could stand as the legal representative of the present location. He 
presented the most serious obstacle to removal, and those who advo- 
cated the plan, personally came to him with pressing appeals for sup- 
port. Every favorable consideration was urged ; all objections were 
considered; the utmost persuasion was used. Under it all, Hascall was 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 441 

silent. They finally told him that "his opposition would be unavail- 
ing," that removal was virtually accomplished, that the institution 
itself, if it could be legally retained at Hamilton, would be abandoned 
by the denomination and left to die, and that by opposition to the pro- 
posed plan he would bring himself into reproach and abandonment in 
his old age. Then, after a slight pause, he raised his eyes, and lifting 
up his right arm, with unfaltering voice and solemn emphasis, he de- 
clared: "It shall not be moved." This was his last great service to 
the university. " I shall live to see this conflict end, and the institution 
saved," he said, "then I shall die." He is at rest on the campus of 
the school that he loved, and so long as that school is the Alma Mater 
of grateful sons, so long will they recall with loving reverence the hon- 
ored name of Daniel Hascall, — honored for his early labor of love, 
for his self-sacrificing spirit, for his fidelity to God and truth! 

In February, 1851, Stephen W. Taylor, LL.D., became President of 
Madison University. As head of the University of Lewisburg, he had 
already gained a reputation as an educator, and the institution soon 
began to feel the good results of his work. Within three years, the 
number of students in attendance had increased to 216, and friends and 
resources had correspondingly increased. After nearly five years of 
vigorous administration, President Taylor died on the 6th of January, 
1856. He had devoted himself to the work of teaching and had risen 
to be Academic Principal and College President. He organized and 
put into operation the University of Lewisburg. He took charge of 
Madison University when it lay almost exhausted at the conclusion of 
the removal controversy, and left it rejuvenated and well on the way to 
its later successes. Dr. Taylor was a man of simplicity of character, 
and he has left an honorable record in the history of denominational 
education in this State. 

On the 19th of August, 1856, George W. Eaton, D.D., LL.D., was 
elected President of Madison University. He had been connected with 
the institution since 1833, and was thoroughly acquainted with its 
origin, history, and aims. Under his guidance, the progressive work 
of the institution was continued. A great advance in material equip- 
ment was secured when in 1860 the Hall of Alumni and Friends was 
erected. Then came 1861, when the young men of the land were sum- 
moned to the defense of the government and the flag. Nobly did Madi- 
son University respond to that call. One professor, one tutor, and 
thirty men went directly from the university into the army, and the 



443 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

total number of alumni and undergraduates who were in the army was 
something over one hundred and ten. In commemoration of this 
record, and of those who fell in the war for the Union, the class of 1894 
has placed on the walls of Colgate Library a bronze tablet, thus in- 
scribed: 

In Honor of Sons of Colgate University who fell in the War for the Union. 
George Arrowsmith, 
Arthur L. Brooks, William McIntyre, 

Simeon P. Brown, Albert A. Nichols, 

Henry P. Cohbin, John F. Oviatt, 

E. Macy Deming, Moses M. Randoli'h, 

Alexander Gamble, James B. Rogers, 

Truman Gregory, Charles F. Sunney, 

Arthur F. Hascall, Charles E. Tucker. 

Grata eorum virtutem memoria prosequi qui pro patria vitam profuderunt. 
A tribute from the Class of 1894. 

During President Eaton's administration, the institution was strength- 
ened in many ways. There was a large addition to the endowment; 
the faculty was increased, and the affairs of the University were placed 
in a satisfactory condition. On the 7th of August, 1868, Dr. Eaton re- 
signed the presidency of Madison University. He continued to act, 
however, as President of Hamilton Theological Seminary, and was also 
the Professor of Homiletics and Practical Theology. 

President Eaton died on the third day of August, 1872. George W. 
Eaton will always occupy an honored place in the history of the Uni- 
versity. He was the link between the earlier and the later days. He 
knew intimately Hascall and Kendrick; he was the colleague and friend 
of Dodge and Beebee and Andrews and Taylor, Throughout the re- 
moval controversy, he was the fotemost champion of the retention of 
the University at Hamilton. In the affections of his students he held a 
large place. They remember with pleasure the charity of his judg- 
ments, the genuineness of his interest in their lives, his gracious and 
dignified bearing. The cardinal principles of his character were rever- 
ence and truth, and he strongly impressed his elevating and ennobling 
influence upon the men who came to know him as teacher and friend. 

On the 7th of August, 1868, Ebenezer Dodge, D.D., LL.D., became 
president of Madison University. The era of expansion had come. The 
endowment had been increased $56,000 in 1865, and the Trevor Fund 
of $40,000 had been secured. Then came the Colgate Presidential Fund 
of $30,000, the Colgate Improvement Fund of $11,000, and in 1869 the 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 443 

Semi-Centennial Fund of $135,000. The college buildings — West Col- 
lege, which had been erected in 1827, East College, 1834, and the Alumni 
Hall, 1860 — were renovated and the old buildings materially improved, 
and the president's house was erected by friends of the institution. The 
material equipment of the university was showing continued and healthy 
growth. As a result of this the curriculum was greatly strengthened 
and developed, and Dr. Dodge called to the institution, Newton Lloyd 
Andrews, professor of the Greek language and literature, John James 
Lewis, professor of literature and oratory, and James Morford Taylor, 
professor of pure mathematics. There were already in the faculty 
Alexander McWhorter Beebee, and Lucien M. Osborn. These men. 
Dodge, Beebee, Osborn, Andrews, Lewis, and Taylor, profoundly influ- 
enced the life of the University, and will always be associated with much 
of its later progress. 

During the administration of President Dodge continuous additions 
were made to the endowments of the institution; and in 1871 there 
was reported an invested endowment of $266,620.36; in 1890, $560,000; 
in 1885, the chemical laboratory was added to the material equipment. 
In 1873, William Colgate Memorial Hall was erected by Mr. James B. 
Colgate in honor of his father and mother. This building was at once 
occupied by the grammar school of Madison University, the name of 
which was now changed to Colgate Academy. 

In 1886, the Theological Seminary withdrew from Alumni Hall and 
entered the building which it now occupies. This edifice has been 
named " Eaton Hall," in honor of President George W. Eaton. Largely 
the result of the efforts of the Baptist Education Society, this building 
stands on the beautiful site of President Eaton's former home. It was 
erected at a cost of about $65,000. 

On Wednesday, August 4th, 1869, the completion of the first half 
century of the Institution's existence was celebrated. The exercises 
were held in Alumni Hall; the presiding officer of the day was A. H. 
Burlingham, D. D., President of the Alumni Association. Prayer was 
offered by Rev. Francis W. Emmons of Massachusetts, class of 1824, 
the oldest alumnus present. The address of welcome was given by 
President Ebenezer Dodge. An ode was read by Rev. T. A. T. Hanna, 
class of 1864. Portions of an Historical Discourse were read by Presi- 
dent George W. Eaton of Hamilton Theological Seminary, and the Ju- 
bilee Poem was delivered by Rev. W. C. Richards, Ph. D. 

Alumni and friends in large numbers were present from all parts of 



444 . OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the world on this historic occasion, and the proceedings were rendered 
of permanent value by being preserved in a volume entitled "The 
First Half Century of Madison University." 

Throughout President Dodge's administration the University in 
creased in strength and standing, and in spite of financial limitations, 
the quality of its educational work was kept at a high standard. 

A good proportion of the students continued to enter the ministry, but 
an increasing number were seeking other fields of labor and the benefi- 
cent influence of the University was quietly making itself felt in ever 
widening circles. President Dodge brought much to Madison Univer- 
sity, but nothing finer than the rare prescience with which he discerned 
the possibilities that lay just ahead, and his skill in putting in motion 
the forces that were to make for the realization of his high ideals. 
The plan of the change of name to Colgate University was his, though 
he did not live to see it consummated. The foundations of the Colgate 
Library were laid, but the building itself was not completed during his 
life. And when, in June, 1891, there came to the trustees of the Uni- 
versity a gift of one million dollars from Mr. James B. Colgate, which 
the donor designated as the Dodge Memorial Fund, the title of the 
splendid testimonial was recognized by all as a fitting tribute to the 
character of the man who, though dead, was still the dominant influ- 
ence in the institution's progress. 

Ebenezer Dodge was a fine illustration of the truth that the most im- 
portant element in the college is — the man! He towered above the 
majority of men, not more in physical stature than in mental and moral 
character. His was an elevating and abiding influence; and his stu- 
dents came unconsciously to apply his standards to the problems that 
faced them in life. Professor William Hale Maynard, in his memorial 
address on President Dodge, says: "Were I called upon to mention 
the one trait which produced the greatest impression upon me I should 
unhesitatingly name disinterestedness. More nearly than any man I 
have known he was an example of absolute disinterestedness. It was 
this disinterestedness which gave him his great wisdom. His admin- 
istration was untainted with selfishness." "This disinterestedness 
was the source of the composure which characterized him." "His 
disinterestedness made him patient to opposition and kindly in his judg- 
ments of others." " The belief in his genuine disinterestedness gave 
him great power over his students. He might sometimes be criticised 
as lacking on the formal side of discipline. He knew that military dis- 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 445 

cipline was the easiest kind of discipline; it is harder to inspire men 
with those high motives, which render formal rules unnecessary. That 
was his purpose. To effect that he would consume days, where, through 
the other method, he could have settled a matter in an hour." " This 
is not to be interpreted as if President Dodge held the reins with nerve- 
less hands. Where occasion required — and the occasion came seldom 
— he put the law in the foreground and every student knew it would be 
executed to the last iota." 

And, of another side of his character. Professor William Newton 
Clarke has said: 

" As I have come to know him better, I have found him always aglow 
with devotion to intellectual freedom. Most fervently did he be- 
lieve in free thought. He held it to be an indispensable requisite to large 
discovery of truth. Fetters on the mind he utterly abhorred, and he 
would have cut off his own right hand before he would have helped to 
bind them upon any human being. He constitutionally shrank from 
strife, and I am not quite certain whether if worse had come to worst 
he would have fought for his own right of intellectual freedom ; but I 
have little doubt that he would have been willing to fight for another 
man's right to think for himself. His interest in liberty of the mind 
was not merely a desire to do his own thinking; he was one of the few 
who will give all they demand for themselves. He delighted in seeing 
all minds free, and would help another, even more eagerly than he 
would claim his own birthright. Repression of thought seemed to him 
fatal to the interests of truth. His own views were inexpressibly vital 
to him, but he had never the shadow of a desire to take them as the 
standard to which all minds must come. He had no desire that his 
personal views of truth should be the standard in the Seminary 
where he had influence. There was no need, to his mind, that his col- 
leagues should teach exactly as he taught. Many a time has he told 
me this, that he never inquired what his colleagues taught, or cared for 
uniformity. He believed in truth, and delighted in honest openness of 
soul; and he was sure that if men were honest, truth in the long run 
would win its way. He did not grudge its grain of truth to a system 
of error, but rather rejoiced to recognize truth wherever found, and in 
whatever uncongenial combinations. Therefore he was a wise guide, 
and a blessed comforter whenever a soul was perplexed and doubting. 
Many a time has he been able to speak a word in season to him that 
was weary, because he believed in truth, and the soul." 



446 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

With the new name — Colgate University — came anew era in the pro- 
gress of the institution. The history of the change of the name has 
been concisely written by Professor William Newton Clarke : 

" Within the first decade of the Hamilton Literary and Theological 
Institution, William Colgate, of New York, became warmly interested 
in its work. He gave it his heart, and was constant in prayer and 
effort for its success. He and his family made constant contributions 
for its support, even in the early days, and in the dark time that fol- 
lowed in its later history, he was one of the most earnest and steadfast 
of its friends. At his death, which occurred in 1857, his two sons felt 
that the interests of the institution that he and their mother had loved 
came to them as a sacred trust. They soon became members of the 
official boards, and entered upon a course of active helpfulness that has 
never since been interrupted for a day. In all respects Mr. James B. 
Colgate has been the largest contributor to its funds that the Univer- 
sity has ever known, and Mr. Samuel Colgate has been the steadfast 
and generous supporter of the Education Society, of which he has been 
the president for many years, and of the theological seminary. Presi- 
dent Dodge came to feel the need of a more distinctive name for the 
University, the name, " Madison " having never possessed anything 
more than an accidental appropriateness; and in view of this need, and 
of the long and invaluable services of the Colgate family, he proposed 
to substitute " Colgate " for " Madison " in the official name of the Uni- 
versity. The idea originated with him, and the movement for a 
change of name was his last great effort, into which his whole soul was 
thrown." 

This plan received the hearty support of the faculty and trustees of 
the University and also of the trustees of the Baptist Education Society, 
and on the 13th of March, 1890, the Regents of the University of the 
State of New York changed the name of Madison University to that 
by which this institution is at present known. 

President Dodge died on the 5th of January, 1890. From that time 
until 1898, with the exception of one period of two years, the Univer- 
sity was without a president; and while it doubtless suffered from this 
in some ways, yet under the administration of the Executive Commit- 
tee of the Board of Trustees there was substantial growth in many 
directions. Indeed, in some respects, the results of the years from 
1890 to 1899 may rank in importance with any in the history of the in- 
stitution. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 447 

With the addition to the endowment of the Dodge Memorial Fund 
came the opportunity to strengthen the work of the University in many 
ways. On the completion of the Library Building, the books were 
moved from Alumni Hall to their new quarters. Immediately after- 
ward the usefulness of the library was vastly increased by an exhaus- 
tive catalogue prepared in accordance with the Decimal System of 
Classification by cataloguers from the New York State Library School. 
A department which adds much to the value of the library is the Bap- 
tist Historical Collection. This was founded and endowed by Mr. 
Samuel Colgate and consists of books and pamphlets pertaining to Bap- 
tist history. The enthusiasm of Mr. Colgate while alive, and the con- 
tinuous effort of those now in charge of the work, have succeeded in 
making this one of the most complete and valuable collections of Bap- 
tist historical material in the world, 

A most important addition to the material equipment of the Univer- 
sity is the gymnasium, which was built in 1893. The building is 
thoroughly equipped with the most approved apparatus, and with its 
completion the Department of Physical Culture was added to the Uni- 
versity, and a Director of Physical Culture was placed in charge of the 
work. The addition of a new athletic field, with running track, diamond 
and gridiron, the welcome gift of Mr. T. O. Whitnall of Syracuse, N.Y., 
will give ample provision for the athletic interests of the University. 
In recognition of the generosity of the donor, the athletic field has been 
named by the trustees Whitnall Field. 

On the Campus continuous improvement has been the order of the 
day. In 1891, plans for permanent development were prepared by 
an eminent landscape gardener, and all work since that time has been 
in accordance with these plans. Macadamized roads have been con- 
structed, much grading has been done, an entire new sewerage system 
has taken the place of the old, and an adequate system of surface drain- 
age protects the hillside improvements. Furthermore, the system of 
water supply and electric lighting, constructed and owned by the village 
of Hamilton, has been extended to the hill, furnishing protection 
against fire, and making it possible now to construct a building with 
all modern improvements anywhere on the campus. 

The Greek Letter Fraternities have for many years held a prominent 
place in the University life. Prior to 1860 these organizations were 
not welcome at Colgate. There were two literary societies, Adelphia 
and yEonia, to which all students belonged. In 1855, however, the 



448 OUR COUNTY AND IT.S PEOPLE. 

question of the establishment of a Greek Letter Chapter was agitated 
by James Holland Browne, '54, a student in the Theological Seminary. 
This effort resulted in the organization of The Mu Chapter of Delta 
Kappa Epsilon. The charter was granted on March 1st, 1856. In 
1877 the Chapter entered its present hall on Broad street, which had 
been erected by the contributions of both active members and alumni. 
In 1892 Francis T. Pierce, a charter member, presented to the Chapter 
its present residence. This gift was in memory of the donor's son and 
is known as the Frank Burchard Pierce Memorial. 

Delta Upsilon was the second fraternity to establish a chapter at Col- 
gate. The charter was formally granted on November 21st, 1865. In 
1882 the chapter moved to its present commodious and beautiful chap- 
ter house which had been erected by the effort of both undergraduates 
and alumni. 

The records of the Colgate Chapter of Beta Theta Pi show direct de- 
scent from the Adelphia Literary Society, which was founded in 1840. 
On the second of December, 1880, the transfer of j roperty was made 
to the new chapter. Since that time this society has purchased a new 
home on Broad street opposite the university campus. 

The New York Epsilon Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi was established at 
Colgate in the spring of 1887. The ^onia Literary Society was 
transferred to this chapter and this gave to Phi Kappa Psi especial 
strength among the alumni. In the spring of 1892 the chapter erected 
its present home. 

The Theta Psi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta was organized October 
11, 1887. It was founded by Isaac D. Moore, who had joined Phi 
Gamma Delta while a student at Bucknell University. Later, on en- 
tering Colgate, he induced seven others to join him and these became 
the charter members of the newly formed organization. 

These are the fraternities at Colgate. They have fairly won their 
present honorable position. They have grown with the prosperity of 
the University, and all are to-day vigorous and strong. The college 
has long welcomed them to its organization, and they are now rightly 
considered as efificient aids to its order and to its intellectual life. 

While improvement has been made on the campus, and in the mate- 
rial equipment of the University, needed changes in the curriculum 
have not been overlooked. In the college, all the courses leading to 
degrees have been devoloped into four year courses with requirements 
for graduation substantially equivalent in value. The elective system 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 449 

has been almost entirely the growth of the last ten years. The former 
department of English literature, civil history, and oratory has now been 
developed into the three distinct departments of English literature, 
history, and rhetoric and public speaking. The former department of 
natural science has been developed into the departments of geology, 
and biology, and there have been added to the curriculum, the depart- 
ments of modern languages, philosophy, physical culture, and history 
of art. 

In the Theological Seminary, the system of electives has been intro- 
duced and developed to its present advanced condition. The two de- 
partments of Semitic languages and Old Testament interpretation have 
been developed from a single department, and the department of pas- 
toral theology has been separated from the department of New Testa- 
ment interpretation. 

On the l'2th of September, 1892, the Colgate Press Club was organ- 
ized. This was the result of a desire on the part of the newspaper 
correspondents at the University for an organization that should be of 
some assistance to them in the gathering of news, and that should pro- 
mote among them a helpful feeling of fellowship. The club prospered 
from the start; the first "Press Club List" contains the names of 
twenty-six newspapers, each with a representative in the club. Each 
year, so far as it can be gathered, the correspondence of the club is 
placed on file at the library, thus forming a continuous record of current 
university life. In 1896 the club instituted the custom of an annual 
address by a practical newspaper man. 

The continued interest and loyalty of the alumni is shown in many 
ways. The Junior Historical Oration Prizes have been established by 
Edward M. Grout, Esq., class of 1884; and the Eugene A. Rowland 
Oratorical Prize has been established by Eugene A. Rowland, Esq., 
class of 1884. The alumni of Albany, Troy and vicinity have organized 
a vigorous association, whose annual gatherings are the scenes of much 
loyalty and enthusiasm for Alma Mater. Like expression marks the 
large gathering of Colgate alumni, who meet every year at the Baptist 
State convention. Gradually the attendance of alumni and friends is 
increasing at Patron's Day and Commencement, while the unfailing 
supply of students sent through their efforts to all departments of the 
institution is significant of the fact that the long years of waiting for 
a president have not weakened the loyalty of the alumnus to his Alma 
Mater. 



450 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Three regular publications are sustained by the students of the insti- 
tution. The Academe is published weekly by the students of Colgate 
Academy ; the Madisonensi's is published bi-weekly by the students of 
the college, and The Salinagiindi, or college annual, is published by 
the junior class of the college. 

Closely connected with the university life and history and profoundly 
influencing it in some ways, have been the publications of Colgate pro- 
fessors during the last ten years. The series of mathematical text 
books by Professor James Morford Taylor, LL.D. , has been received 
with words of cordial appreciation in mathematical circles, both in this 
country and in Europe. The significant word in the estimates of these 
books is that the author has not followed the methods of previous 
writers, but has struck out a new and original path for himself. 

Of the Calculus, C. O. Mailloux, editor of the Engineering World. 
says: " The work marks an epoch in the literature of the Calculus, for 
the reason that, in demonstrating the unity of the fundamental prin- 
ciples, it sets forever at rest those controversies which have made 
strife and contention among mathematicians, and which have made 
doubt and suspicion among students." 

The Interpretation of Literature, by Professor William Henry Craw- 
shaw, has been widely reviewed both in the United States and Great 
Britain, and has everywhere created a most favorable impression. 
Scholars generally have commended the clear and forceful style in 
which the book is written, and the logical arrangement and striking 
presentation of the subject-matter. 

An Outline of Theology, by Professor William Newton Clarke, was 
first printed privately, mainly for use in the author's classes. But the 
demand for copies became so large that, later, it was published, and 
was immediately recognized as a work of unusual force. Aside from 
the interesting way in which the subject is developed, the book " strik- 
ingly exhibits the change that is passing over the style of treatment 
given to theological topics." It has profoundly influenced the religious 
thought of the time. Within the last quarter of a century no book has 
aroused more widespread discussion in intellectual circles. 

It was of this book that Marcus Dod.s, of Edinburgh, one of the lead- 
ing theological critics in Great Britain, said in the British Weekly : " It 
is not, then, so much new beliefs that characterize this new theology, as 
a new freshness, truth to life and reality, and unconventionality. There 
is also a felicitous lightness of touch combined with the most powerful 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 451 

grasp. He never presses his point too far, never overlabours an argu- 
ment, never obscures the essential features by introducing a crowd of 
non-essentials. There is no polemic, no overt reference to other men's 
opinions, no reference to books and authorities; all is clarified to abso- 
lute lucidity. We have received from America many useful contribu- 
tions to theological literature, but few that surpass this either as the- 
ology, or as literature." 

These publications, adding as they have done, to the prestige of the 
University, emphasize not a little the progressive character which has 
marked the institution durmg these recent years. 

No review of the record of the last ten years would be complete 
without a proper reference to the government of the University during 
that period. In the absence of a president, the responsibility for the 
proper conduct of the institution has rested, very largely, with the Exec- 
utive Committee of the Board of Trustees. This committee has con- 
sisted of Rev. Edward Lathrop, Professor Albert S. Bickmore, James 
C. Colgate, Esq , Rev. Henry M. Sanders, and Mr. Gardner Colby. To 
their wise and faithful oversight, has been due much of the progress 
which the institution has recently made. It would not be in place here 
to make more than a passing reference to the many matters of detail in 
the various departments to which the helpful attention of the Execu- 
tive Committee has been given ; but some of their more important 
achievements it will not be out of place to mention. 

Prior to June 1893, the control of the University was vested in two 
Boards of Trustees. The College and Academy were controlled by the 
University Board; the Theological Seminary, by that of the Baptist 
Education Society. This dual responsibility, as might be expected, 
gave rise to much inconvenience, and there had been for a long time, a 
general desire to unify the governing power of the institution. It was 
not, however, an easy thing to do. Both bodies were the trustees of 
vested interests which they were bound to guard; the Education So- 
ciety was particularly solicitous for the welfare of the Theological In- 
stitution. But after some concessions on both sides, the new compact 
was finally consummated, and all departments of the institution were 
united under the University Board in June 1893. 

Another significant change which has been made in the governing 
body of the University during the administration of the Executive 
Committee is the admission of representatives of the Alumni to the 
Board of Trustees. This action was taken in 1894, and under it the 



452 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Alumni of the University now have four representatives on the Board 
of Trustees. 

During- the first half of the last decade, Professor N. Lloyd Andrews 
discharged the duties of the president's office as Dean of the College 
Faculty. With indefatigable industry, under circumstances which, at 
times, added materially to the ordinary difficulties of the situation, Dr. 
Andrews performed well the arduous duties of this office; and his 
services were highly appreciated by the authorities of the University. 

On July 2d, 1895, George William Smith LL D., was elected president 
of Colgate University. He was a graduate of Colby University, had been 
a graduate student at Johns Hopkins, and as Professor of History at Col- 
gate, had made a marked success. His administration opened with 
promise. But within a year after his inauguration, his health having 
already been impaired, the duties of the position began to wear upon 
him until at last, unable longer, from physical disability, to perform the 
duties of his office. President Smith tendered his resignation which was 
accepted in June, 1897. During the last year of President Smith's term 
of office, much valuable work was done by Professor Albert Perry Brig- 
ham, and Professor William Henry Crawshaw, upon whom devolved 
the duties of the president's office. 

During the fall term commencing in September, 1897, Professor 
William Henry Crawshaw served as Acting Dean of the College Faculty, 
at the same time discharging the duties of the president's office, and on 
December 31st, 1897, he was appointed permanently by the Board of 
Trustees, Dean of the College Faculty. 

The administration of Dean Crawshaw has been one of quiet but 
continuous progress; careful attention has been given to the work of 
the individual student with the result that the general standard of 
scholarship has not been higher in recent years than it is to-day; and 
the marked feeling of good will now prevalent throughout college 
circles is perhaps the most significant testimony to the general accepta- 
bility with which this work has been performed. 

On December 20th, 1898, Rev. George Edmands Merrill, D. D., of 
Newton, Mass., was elected president of Colgate University. 

President Merrill was born in Charlestown, Mass., December 19th, 
1846. He is a graduate of Harvard University and of the Newton 
Theological Institution. In October, 1872, he became the pastor of the 
First Baptist Church of Springfield, Mass., and in 1877 removed to Sa- 
lem, Mass., to accept the pastorate of the First Baptist Church in that 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 453 

place. Here he remained for eight years and then removed to Colo- 
rado Springs in the hope of re-establishing his health. At Colorado 
Springs two years were spent as pastor of the Baptist Church and two 
more in a successful business career. At the end of this period, having 
regained health, he became pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church of 
Newton, Mass., May 1st, 1890. Here he remained until he became 
president of Colgate University. 

President Merrill's administration opens with great promise. A new 
President's House, the gift of Mr. James B. Colgate, is in process of 
erection; old buildings are being renovated and new ones planned; a 
large gift for an athletic track has been secured and the Whitnall Field 
is being pushed to completion ; the scholarship of the University is 
being maintained at its high standard; the moral and religious tone of 
the student body was never higher; and in many and valuable ways 
the entire institution is feeling the impulse of the new administration. 

Inspiration for the future is found in the loyal response, instant and 
universal, when President Merrill, on the Day of Prayer for Colleges, 
laid down this guiding principle for his administration, and appealed to 
the University for its support: " I want to beseech all of you gentle- 
men, with patience, with consideration, with sympathy, with a common 
love for our common University, with absolute loyalty to its interests, 
and with the desire that each one of us may get the most out of it for 
ourselves and for God, to take hold and do everything that can be done 
together in this University, for life and for God." 



Hamilton Female Seminary. — In order to meet an apparent demand 
for the higher education of young women this institution was estab- 
lished in 1856 by Clinton C. Buell and incorporated by the Regents on 
the 17th of January, of that year. After about three years of mod- 
erately successful management of the Seminary Mr. Buell was suc- 
ceeded by the Misses Wallace and Fields who conducted it for a short 
period, when it was abandoned for want of patronage. At about the 
time the academy was discontinued in the year 1861 the Seminary 
was revived by Rev. Charles A. Raymond who continued it two years, 
when it was again closed. In the fall of 1866 the institution was re- 
opened by M. M. Goodenough, A. M., principal, and his wife precep- 
tress, who successfully conducted it as a boarding and day school. 

Hamilton Union School. — The village of Hamilton previous to 1853 
included three common school districts. Educational facilities in that 



454 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

place prior to that year, as far as the common schools were concerned, 
were entirely inadequate to the needs of the community. This was 
due, to some extent at least, to the existence of the several higher edu- 
cational institutions that have just been described. In the latter part 
of the year 1853 measures were adopted to consolidate the three dis- 
tricts into one and establish a Union Free School. For this purpose a 
number of persons from each of the three districts united in a call for a 
meeting to vote upon the project. The meeting was held in the base- 
ment of the Baptist church and was largely attended. The proceedings 
were characterized by earnest argument and controversy which con- 
tinued until about midnight, when a vote was taken upon the main 
question resulting in the negative. A motion to reconsider was imme- 
diately made and the contest continued until about two o'clock a. m., 
when a second vote was taken resulting in the affirmative. It is diffi- 
cult at this day to fully understand and appreciate the spirit of opposi- 
tion in the community to this desirable change in the educational sys- 
tem of the village. After the affirmative vote was recorded a Board 
of Education was elected, consisting of the following persons: Charles 
Payne, Charles Gardiner, Abram Sanford, Samuel S. Abbott, Mulford 
Roger, James L. Fay, Horace B. Burchard, Alonzo Thurston and Al- 
bert N. Sheldon. Mr. Payne was chosen president of the board. The 
opposing element continued its campaign insisting that the preliminary 
proceedings for the meeting, as well as the proceedings themselves, 
were invalid. Another meeting was held at which the inhabitants 
voted a tax for the purchase of a site for the new Union free school 
house. This tax was levied by the Board of Education, the rolls placed 
in the hands of the collector who made a consistent efiiort to collect the 
funds; but the opposition was so widespread and persistent that he 
finally became discouraged and refused to enforce the tax against de- 
linquents. In this emergency an arrangement was made by the Board 
of Education with Eli Buell, jr., who, though not unfriendly to the new 
school, had declined to pay his tax, under which it was agreed to sub- 
mit the case to the General Term of the Supreme Court for decision. 
Early in the summer of 1854, the court having the entire matter before 
it, decided in favor of the board. The tax was then collected, the site 
for the school house purchased and the building erected. The first 
principal of the school was Henry I. Sherrill, a very efficient and ener- 
getic instructor, under whose management the school became noted 
throughout central New York for its thorough course of instruction and 
the rapid advancement of its pupils. 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 455 

Cazenovia Seminar5^ — The first " Conference Seminary in the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church " was established at Newmarket, N. H., in 1817. 
It continued in existence only to 1825. As early as 1819 the Methodists 
in the central part of this State discussed the subject of founding a sec- 
tarian educational institution. Cazenovia and Ithaca became competi- 
tors for the site of the proposed seminary, and at first the conference 
favored the latter village; but it failed to reap the benefits of the ad- 
vantage thus gained and on the recommendation of a conference com- 
mittee, appointed July 15, 1823, it was decided to locate the institution 
at Cazenovia. The Methodists had previously purchased the old court 
house building and were at that time embarrassed through their inabil- 
ity to pay for it. It was therefore decided by the conference to take 
this building and fit it up for occupancy by the school. Revs. Charles 
Giles, George Gar}^ and Elias Bowen and Messrs. Solomon Root, Luther 
Buell, John Peck, Jacob Ten Eyck, David B. Johnson and Charles Steb- 
bins were appointed to carry out this purpose. The transfer of the 
building was efliected and the institution opened on December 1, 1824, 
with eight pupils, under the name. The Seminary of the Genesee Con- 
ference, and with Rev. Nathaniel Porter principal. 

The Seminary promptly gained repute and patronage and in 1825 the 
number of students registered was 121 and in 1836 it increased to 145. 
The institution was incorporated April 6, 1825, and the following per- 
sons were chosen as the first trustees: George Gary, Elias Bowen, 
Henry Wells, Charles Stebbins, Jacob Ten Eyck, Charles Giles, John 
W. Peck, Luther Buell and David B. Johnson. Need of increased ac- 
commodations was felt almost from the first and in September, 1826, it 
was " resolved to build larger." An addition was accordingly made to 
the west end of what ultimately became the chapel of the Seminary 
and occupied as a boarding hall. On the division of the Genesee Con- 
ference, in 1828, the name of the institution was changed by an act of 
the Legislature to the Seminary of Genesee and Oneida Conferences. 
Two years later, in December, 1830, when the founding of the Semi- 
nary within the Genesee Conference was contemplated the name was 
again changed to the Oneida Conference Seminary. 

The Seminary library was founded in 1831 under the direction of 
Professors Tyler, Larrabee and George G. Peck. At a little later date, 
in order to increase the library fund, students were charged 12J^c. each 
per quarter for the use of the books. In the same year also, in order to 
extend the benefits of the institution to persons of limited means, the 



450 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

policy of granting free tuition under certain limitations was inaugu- 
rated. 

With the rapidly increasing attendance larger accommodations were 
imperatively demanded and in 1832 two additional buildings were 
erected, one of which was of brick thirty-six by fifty feet, three stories 
high, and one of wood, one hundred by twenty-two feet, two stories 
high. The former occupied the ground afterwards covered by the front 
hall and the latter, the site of the later dining hall. In 1839, after fif- 
teen years of existence, this Seminary had become one of the widest 
known and most successful in the State. In that year a three years' 
course of study was adopted upon the completion of which diplomas 
were conferred upon graduates. This, it is believed, was the first grad- 
uating course adopted by any seminary in the State. In January, 1846, 
the system of giving free tuition to the children of those members of 
the Oneida Conference whose fields of labor lay within the district from 
which the Seminary drew its patronage was adopted ; this privilege was 
subsequently extended to all ministers of the gospel. In 1847, in com- 
pliance with a change in the charter, the policy of having non-resident 
trustees was inaugurated, under which it became customary to hold 
what are known as local and full Board meetings. The first full Board 
meeting under the new charter of conditions was held May 11, 1847, 
and a plan of organization was adopted to meet the conditions of the 
increased number of members, six having been added. The resident 
trustees were constituted a prudential committee to transact the busi- 
ness of the Board under certain conditions; they were to have no power 
to hire teachers or to make any change in the faculty excepting in in- 
tervals between the full Board meetings; they could not expend to 
exceed $200 except for the payment of the faculty and the steward ; 
and they were required to make a full report of their proceedings from 
term to term to the full Board. 

The Seminary was now in the full tide of success and in 1853, after a 
successful existence of thirty years, still larger accommodations were 
needed; an additional building was erected and about the same time 
the chapel was converted into its present use. In the same year a 
prize system was instituted by Benjamin Rush Wendell, of Cazenovia, 
who established a gold medal scholarship prize. As the years passed 
attendance further increased and various plans were discussed to meet 
the necessity for further accommodations. These were not completed 
until 1870, when the buildings were brought substantially into their 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 457 

present condition. Meanwhile, in 1868, in consonance with certain 
changes in the Conference the name of the institution was changed to 
The Central New York Conference Seminary. Again, in 1873, under 
a statute, the name was changed to The Cazenovia Seminary, its pres- 
ent form. 

The year 1875 was the semi-centennial anniversary of the incorpora- 
tion of the Seminary and the event was appropriately celebrated. A 
large assemblage of alumni, former teachers and friends of the institu- 
tion gathered to do honor to the event, and congratulate themselves 
upon the close of fifty years of successful existence of the institution. 

Although this old Seminary has always been more or less embar- 
rassed in a pecuniary sense, its management has been vigorous and 
efficient and its high reputation has never waned. In 1839 it ranked as 
tenth in the State, as determined by the number of students and the 
apportionment of public money; in 1843 it had risen to third; a few 
years later it was second and in 1873 it became first. In the semi-cen- 
tennial year so numerous were the applicants for admission that the 
trustees were compelled to refuse many seekers for education. 

Rev. Nathaniel Porter, the first principal of the Seminary, was one 
of the brightest of the younger lights of the Methodist ministry. He 
labored incessantly and with the most gratifying .success to place the 
institution upon an enduring foundation. Toiling unceasingly and 
bearing heavy burdens of responsibility, his energies were early ex- 
hausted and in 1830 he went to New Jersey in hopes of renewing his 
health. These hopes were blasted and he died in Newark, August 11, 
1831, aged thirty-one years. 

A new gymnasium was opened in 1898 largely through the generos- 
ity of the alumni and the efforts of Dr. Wilbor. The institution has 
been greatly indebted to Hon. James Callanan, of Des Moines, Iowa, 
who purchased the bonds when a large debt had accumulated Mr. 
Callanan is honored in the name of Callanan Hall. Late improvements 
are found in the leasing of an athletic field, a new oak entrance to Eddy 
Hall, a gift from Mrs. F. F. Wendell, of Fort Plain; a new bath room 
in Eddy Hall; a steam heating plant in Williams Hall; cement walks 
through the campus, etc. The venerable old buildings still stand, at 
the close of three quarters of a century of educational usefulness, but 
greatly improved in various respects. The Seminary property now has 
a value of about $75,000. 

Rev. Carlton C. Wilbor, D. D., Ph. D., president of the Seminary, 



458 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

has served as Presiding Elder of the Elmira District, as pastor of Uni- 
versity Avenue church in Syracuse, and in several other prominent 
pastorates. He is a distinguished educator and is ably supported by an 
excellent faculty. Professor Isaac N. Clements was connected with 
the Seminary actively for a period of twenty-three years, the last twelve 
of which he served as principal, retiring in 1896. 

Union Free School District No. 10, Cazenovia. — Two unsuccessful 
attempts were made previous to 1874 to unite districts Nos. 10, 17 and 
31 in the village of Cazenovia in a Union Free School District. The 
undertaking was finally accomplished in October of the year 1875 Com- 
mittees had been appointed from districts No. 10 and 17 to consult with 
another from district 21 in October of the previous year. For some 
reason in the last named district it was not appointed and the matter 
was necessarily postponed. At the annual district meetings held on the 
second Tuesday in October, 1875, the following committees were ap- 
pointed: A. Dardis, D. W. Cameron, and J. C. Tillotson, from district 
No. 10; J. C. Dean, H. M. Cashing, and W. L. Storke, from No. 17; 
and A. P. Clarke, J. A. Curtiss and D. R. Dean from No. 31. The pro- 
ceedings of a joint meeting of these committees resulted in a call for a 
public meeting to be held for the purpose of determing whether a Un- 
ion free school should be established under the »State laws of 1864. The 
meeting was held on the 29th of November, 1875. Of the 373 voters in 
the three districts there were present 211. The vote resulted as follows: 
Affirmative, district No. 21, 65; district No. 10, 37; district No. 17, 60, 
a total of 163 votes. The total of the negative votes was 37. It was 
also voted that the Board of Education to be elected should consist of 
seven members — two to serve one year, two to serve two years and 
three to serve three years. A. P. Clarke and P. H. Donnelly were 
elected for one year; J. A. Curtiss and J. W. Howson, for two years; 
G. L. Rouse, D. W. Cameron and W. M. Burr, for three years. The 
first meeting of the board was held December 6, 1875, and G. L. 
Rouse was elected president ; A. P. Clarke, clerk ; Francis C. Phelps, 
treasurer; James Dodge, collector. On the 10th of the following Jan- 
uary the site of the school house in district No. 21 was chosen for the 
new building for the Union School. A small tract was added to this by 
purchase. The school houses and lots in the other two districts were 
ordered to be sold. December, 1876, Miss Ellen F. Beebe was chosen 
principal and was succeeded in the following summer by Prof. W. W. 
Bass. In 1878 the school building in district No. 10 was removed to a 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 459 

lot in rear of the Sullivan street school house and fitted for use on ac- 
count of the necessity for increased accommodations. 

The De Ruyter Institute. — This institution was founded by the Sev- 
enth Day Baptist religious sect and was largely due to the efforts of 
Elder Alexander Campbell. A large stone structure, four stories high, 
plain in exterior, was erected in 1836, costing with its site, furnishing, 
etc., about $23,000. It was opened as a select school in the summer of 
18.37, with Solomon Carpenter, principal, and Sarah A. Robinson, pre- 
ceptress. In the fall of the same year it was opened as an academy 
with Eber Rollo, A. M., principal, and Miss Robinson, preceptress. 
About 130 scholars were in attendance. The institution was incorpo- 
rated by the Regents December 3, 1847. This school was liberally pat- 
ronized during a number of years by the Baptist denomination in that 
vicinity; but the founding of other schools drawing their patronage 
from the same source diminished its foreign patronage and embarrassed 
its financial condition. The school continued with varying fortunes 
until 1870, when it was abandoned. The building was sold in 1874 to 
the " redemption stockholders " and was bid off by George Greenman as 
their agent. It soon passed into possession of the Union Free School 
of De Ruyter and Cuyler No. 1. 

On the 1st of January, 1874, certain electors of school district No. 11, 
of De Ruyter petitioned the trustees to call a meeting at which it should 
be determined whether a Union free school should be established under 
the provisions of the law of 1864. On January 10 of that year similar 
measures were adopted in district No. 1, of De Ruyter and Cuyler. On 
the 26th of February a joint call was made by the trustees of the two 
districts for a meeting to be held for that purpose on March 7, 1874. 
After two adjournments for want of sufficient attendance the meeting 
was held March 24, when forty-four of the eighty voters in district No. 
1 and thirty-five of the seventy-eight in district No. 11 were present. 
L. B. Kern was chairman of the meeting and J. B. Wells secretary. It 
was decided by a vote of 71 to 7 to consolidate the two districts by the 
establishment of a Union free school, with a Board of Education con- 
sisting of five members, one of whom should be elected for one year, 
two for two years, and two for three years from the second Tuesday of 
October, 1874. Jason B. Wells was elected for one year; Gilbert Ta- 
ber and Barton G. Stillman for two years and Horace Benjamin and 
Joseph H. Crumb for three years. Mr. Stillman was chosen president 
of the board; J. B. Wells, secretary; E. B. Parsons, treasurer. The 



460 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Board of Education purchased the De Ruyter Institute building in the 
spring of 1874 for $3,035. Nearly $3,000 had previously been sub- 
scribed by eighty-eight persons for the purchase of this property. The 
Union school began May 11, 1874, with Miss E. Reynolds, a graduate 
of the Normal School of Oswego, principal, and Miss Sarah E. White, 
teacher. An academical department was established in the school in 
1876. On the 26th of June, 1874, the school house in the old district 
No. 1 was sold for $.500 and on July 31, 1876, the school property in the 
north district was sold for $350. In October, 1877, the name " De Ruy- 
ter Union Graded School, with Academic Department " was adopted. 
In June of that year E. C. Wheeler was appointed principal. On June 
29, 1897, the Board of Education granted $150 for books and apparatus 
and were given a charter for the present high school. In this institu- 
tion Irving Smith Sears is principal, with five assistants. 

Peterboro Academy. — Among the earliest, if not the very earliest 
schools in Peterboro, in the town of Smithfield, were several of a select 
character, the first of which was one taught by Miss Tabitha Havens, 
about 1800. Her pupils numbered sixty-seven. She subsequently 
married James Tucker, who settled in the western part of the county. 
In the early years also a Miss Ambler taught a small school and a little 
later Miss Webster, a cousin of Noah Webster, was a teacher here in a 
private school. Another was taught in 1815 by Elizabeth Kelly and in 
1823 a Mr. Johnson taught a select school. The first district school 
house in the village was built about 1807; it was a small structure and 
was occupied until 1836, when a larger house was needed and the pres- 
ent school house site was selected. 

In 1853 a subscription was circulated for the purpose of raising funds 
with which to build an academical educational institution in Peterboro. 
A sum of about $2,500 was raised and the building subsequently occu- 
pied as the Orphan Home was erected in that year. The charter bears 
date January 23, 1853, and under its provision the following board of 
trustees was elected: James Johnson, Gerrit Smith, Caleb Calkins, 
James Barnett, Samuel Wells, W. C. Powers, Nehemiah Huntington, 
Albert E. Coe, R. Northrup, A. C. Stone, Joseph Sims. The first 
academic year began in November, 1853, and the school opened with 
forty-two students. In 1864 the academy received an endowment of 
more than $15,000, the income of which, less a reseivation of $300 an- 
nually given to the poor, was available for the institution. At the time 
of receiving the endowment the name of the institution was changed to 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 461 

Evans Academy in honor of its benefactor. In 1871 Gerrit Smith pur- 
chased the stock of the academy at twenty-nine per cent., transferred 
the lot and building to the Orphan Home, then being organized, bought 
the unused Presbyterian church building and by the expenditure of 
about $7,000, converted it into a cmvenient school building with a 
public hall above. This property he deeded to the trustees of the acad- 
emy with the provision that it should revert to his estate whenever it 
should be used for other than academy purposes. This old institution 
finally followed the fate of most other early academies, until finally its 
period of usefulness ended and its place was taken by the present Union 
school, which was incorporated in 1896. The first Board of Trustees 
were Garrett G. Miller, W. C. Dorrance, I. O. Wright, W. E. Coe, and 
John N. Woodbury. This board remains the same, excepting the sub- 
stitution of A. M. Bump for John Woodbury. The school is held in 
the old building, and is under the principalship of Arthur H. Jackson. 

The generally inefficient character of public schools in early years in 
all parts of the country lead to the establishment of an almost un- 
limited number of private schools of all descriptions and degrees of 
merit. Some of these have been mentioned a few pages back In the 
town of Eaton and particularly in the village of Morrisville, were in 
early years a number of good private schools, in which were taught 
branches somewhat higher than the English element. Among these is 
remembered an infant school kept by Miss Emily Chubback (Fannie 
Forester), previous to her period of study in a Utica Seminary. None 
of the private schools in this place, however, attained much prominence 
or permanence. The village was included in districts Nos. 8 and 17 of 
the public school system. The early school house in No. 8 was subse- 
quently used by the fire department, while that in No. 17, at the lower 
end of the town, was absorbed in a dwelling house. 

To improve the educational facilities of the village a subscription 
paper was circulated, for the purpose of raising funds to build an 
academy. Judge William W. Farwell donated a site for the building 
and when the subscriptions reached about f3,000 the academy was 
erected. The first board of trustees was as follows: O. P. Granger, 
Benjamin Coman, J. F. Chamberlin, W. T. Curtiss, Epenetus Holmes, 
Bennett Bicknell, Uriah Leland, Amzi Williams, J. Payne, Clark Til- 
Hnghast, J. W. Avery, A. Cornell, J. G. Curtiss. The school opened 
with Rev. Eli Burchard, of Marshall, Oneida county, principal; he was 
succeeded a few years later by his brother Nathan. The records of this 



462. OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

academy are lost and all that can be said of succeeding principals is 
that among them were Samuel Stebbins, Mr. Dinsmore, William W. 
Farwell, and Nathan K. Shephard. The academy building- was of 
wood and three stories high. While this school rapidly gained in popu- 
larity, its students at one time numbering about 200, the later improve- 
ment in the public schools and the competition of many other academies 
lessened the patronage and within about ten years the attendance de- 
clined to an unprofitable point. Finally, in 1848, the two districts, 8 
and 17, were consolidated into a new district No. 8, which acquired the 
property of the academy company and devoted it to the uses of a union 
school. In 1867 the building was cut down to two stories in height, in 
the second of which, a public hall, known as Union Hall, was provided 
and supplied with scenery and stage for dramatic and concert entertain- 
ments. At the same time an addition for school purposes was erected 
on the west end. The cost of making these changes was about $3,000. 

Schools and Academy of Brookfield. — The public school system of 
the town of Brookfield was supplemented by the establishment of the 
Brookfield Academy in the village of Clarkville in the spring of 1847. 
The incorporating act bears date of April 17 of that year. The first 
board of trustees were as follows: Wait Clarke, president; Dr. Eli S. 
Bailey, Benjamin Gorton, Ethan Stillman, William Greene, 2d, and 
Hosea B. Clarke. A suitable building was erected and the school opened 
with Lodowick York, A. M., principal, and Philander Wood assistant. 
The institution had a fairly prosperous career for many years and in 
1871 reported to the Regents fifty-five students. The lot and building 
at that time were valued at $3,000; the library at $215, and apparatus 
$237. The academy was merged in the Union free school and its prop- 
erty transferred to that district on the 23d of November, 1875. 

A meeting of the voters of district No. 32 at Brookfield was held in 
the school house November 9, 1875, pursuant to a call of trustees A. D. 
Fitch, E. Russell and H. A. Hill. At that meeting it was decided by 
a vote of 76 to 33 to establish a Union free school according to the law 
in the district. At a meeting held November 23, 1875, the following 
persons were elected trustees: A. J. Stillman and Thomas A. Crandall 
for one year, Samuel Jordan and Enos Russell for two years, and John 
P. Stillman for three years. This Board of Education was given 
authority to adopt the academy as the academical department of the 
Union free school. On the 21st of December, 1875, the board was in- 
structed to sell the district school house and apply the proceeds to re- 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 463 

pairing the academy building. Enos Russell was chosen president of 
the board; Arthur J. Stillman, clerk; Charles Lamb, treasurer; Her- 
man A. Hill, collector. Mr. Lamb declined to serve as treasurer and 
Calvin Whitford was chosen. On December 20, 1875, James H. Mes- 
senger was employed as principal, his terra of service beginning Janu- 
ary 3, 1876. Miss L. J. Craine was employed as his assistant. In the 
fall of 1876 the academ}- building was sold to the Catholics, the district 
school house was disposed of, and it was resolved to build a new school 
house on the site of the former, at an expense of not exceeding $2,000. 
In 1894 an addition was built costing about $600. In January, 1877, L. 
B. Blakeman succeeded to the principalship, and in July of that year 
Miss E. Sophia Saunders was employed as preceptress. The school 
now has an academic department, making it a high school, with a Board 
of Education consisting of H. E. Kingsley, president; J. L. Stillman, 
secretary; C. C. Chandler, M. L. Fisk, A. C. Miller. 

Union Free School in Joint District No. 12, Brookfield and Plainfield, 
was established at a meeting held in the school house October 16, 1875, 
by a vote of 46 to 20i Edwin Whitford, Charles H. Williamson, Daniel 
Hardin, Henry M. Aylesworth and Luke Hoxie were elected a Board of 
Education and §1,000 was voted to build a new school house or repair 
the old one for the use of the new Union school. On October 26, 1875, 
Edwin Whitford was chosen president of the board; H. M. Aylesworth, 
secretary; John O. Wheeler, treasurer; Zadoc Main, collector. W. H. 
Southworth was engaged as principal and Miss R. B. Todd to teach 
the primary department. The new school house was built in the course 
of the year 1876. The present principal is Arthur T. Hamilton, and 
the Board of Education is composed of Irving A. Crandall, Almeron M. 
Coon, E. Frank Champlin, H. M. Aylesworth, Dr. O. L. Southworth, 
Arthur S. Hoxie. 

The Union school in North Brookfield was organized in 1881, under 
the following Board of Education: Thomas R. Gorton, Allen Risley, 
A. J. Marsh, O. M. Gorton. W. E. Phillips was chosen principal and in 
the following year a special building was erected for the school, which 
is still in use. The present principal is Homer T. Case. 

Uni6n Free School District No. 1 of Madison village was organized 
December 7, 1878, at a meeting over which Benjamin B. Mereness pre- 
sided as chairman; Russell Hazzard, secretary; and George W. Baker, 
assistant secretary. The proposition was put to vote and sixty six of 
the one hundred and two votes cast were in favor of the project. A 



464 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Board of Education was elected consisting of the following: Harrison 
C. Bicknell and E. B. Hopkins to serve one year, John E. Barbour and 
Orlando L. Brigham two years, and George Hardy three years, the 
period of service to begin on the second Tuesday in October, 1879. At 
a meeting held December 9, 1879, E. B. Hopkins was chosen president 
of the board; George Hardy, clerk; Russell Hazzard, treasurer; Sam- 
uel R. Brownell, collector. The school was opened in a building 
erected in Morrisville by the Madison County Agricultural Society and 
was removed to Madison village just before the Civil war and used for 
a few years as an armory. It was subsequently purchased by the 
school district for $500 and was first occupied for school purposes in the 
fall of 1871. The first principal of the Union School was George E. 
Satchwell, who had previously taught in the district. His assistant 
was Miss Fannie J. Hale, and in April, 1879, Miss Mary E. Pearl, who 
had been added to the corps of teachers, as first assistant, succeeded 
Mr. Satchwell as principal. The school has ever since been efficiently 
maintained and such improvements made as needed to keep it abreast 
of modern methods in education. The faculty is headed by William D. 
Mills. The Board of Education is composed of the following: Louis 
Fuess, president; G. H. Barker, clerk; O. C. Bicknell, A. J. Cushman, 
F. S. CoUister. 

The record of schools in the town of Eaton is traceable back to about 
the beginning of the century, when a Miss Osmond taught on the site 
of Eaton village, in 1804. That was the first school at that point. The 
house stood upon the Cemetery grounds and was burned about 1800. 
The next school was kept in a private house a mile below the village by 
a Mr. Roberts. It is remembered that one of the early pupils in that 
school was Charles Finney, who became a noted ministerial revivalist 
and president of Oberlin College, Ohio. The early school house that 
was burned was succeeded by a two story brick building, which was the 
first brick structure in the town. The ground on which it stood was do- 
nated by Esquire Eldred and it was believed by some, who objected to 
the proximity of the school to their property, that if it could be removed 
elsewhere the site would be turned into a public square. During a num- 
ber of years various pretexts were advanced for the removal of the school 
and finally the building was taken down, about 1835. The ground did 
not revert to the village for public purposes and the folly of removing 
the school was soon generally acknowledged. After the demolition of 
the brick school house a frame structure was erected, in 183G, which 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 465 

building was in use forty years later as a blacksmith shop by W. L. Clark. 
Among the teachers in this school building were Ralph Thompson and 
Henry I. Sherrill. The building at present in use by the school was 
erected in 1852 at a cost of $1,800. In early years there was a good select 
school taught in this village and later, in 1836, Ellis Morse establisheda 
private academy. This institution continued ten years with a fair degree 
of prosperity and employed among its teachers Dr. James Eels, after- 
wards of Lane Theological Seminary; Rev. Dr. Kendall, subsequently 
of New York city ; Rev. Henry Nelson, D. D. , and Benjamin F. Taylor, 
the well known poet. 

The village of West Eaton in this town comprises the district No. 3. 
This was organized as a Union free school under the general law and an 
attractive and convenient building erected at a cost of $3,600. The 
building committee were Ira B. Tayntor, J. J. Darrow, and Joshua 
Wells. The first school house in this district was built probably as 
early as 1810 and the first teacher was Thomas Hubbard. 

The Yates Polytechnic Institute, town of Sullivan, Chittenango vil- 
lage, was, many years ago, a somewhat noted institution, which was 
founded in 1824 by Hon. John B. Yates, who purchased for its accom- 
modation a large and handsome building erected in 1814-15 by a stock 
company for a tavern. Under the presidency of his brother. Rev. An- 
drew Yates, and at great pecuniary loss, John B. Yates sustained the 
school during eight years with a corps of six teachers. It was then 
closed for want of adequate support. In 1837 and 1838 the building 
was again used as a hotel. On the death of Mr. Yates, in 1836, the 
building became the property of Henry Yates, who deeded it to trustees 
for educational purposes and changed the name from its original style, 
"The Polytechny" to the Yates Polytechnic Institute. In 1837 an 
acedemic school was opened in the building by Rev. George W. Thomp- 
son, who continued it five years. William Velasko, now of Syracuse, 
succeeded as principal in 1843 and successfully directed the institution 
until 1861. During the succeeding ten years the school was continued 
with gradually diminishing success under four different principals and 
in 1877 was merged in the Union free school of Chittenango. 

The Yates Union Free School District No. 2 of Sullivan was organ- 
ized August 14, 1871, by a union of districts Nos. 2 and 17, in accord- 
ance with a vote of 101 to 8 in favor of the measure. On the 18th of 
August, 1871, the following nine trustees were elected members of a 
Board of Education: Robert Kennedy, P. J. Flaherty, C. V. Har- 

30 



466 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

bottle, James S. Atwell, J. Hobart, H. French, Charles Kellogg, Ly- 
man Gay, J. J. L. Baker and Albert H. Downer. This board was 
authorized to adopt the Yates Polytechnic Institute as the academic 
department of the union school, which they did August 35, 1871. On 
the 21st of August, 1871, Charles Kellogg was elected president of the 
board and J. J. L. Baker, clerk; they were re-elected in the fall of the 
following year. The old institute was formally delivered to the Board 
of Education on September 2, 1871. On the 13th of that month dis- 
trict No. 6 and part of district No. 15 were annexed to the union school 
district. On September 31, 1871, the Board of Education was author- 
ized to sell the school house sites and buildings thereon in former dis- 
tricts to 6 and 17, and the old Polytechnic building was adopted for 
union school purposes. The sum of $6,000, was voted for the purpose 
of repairing and fitting the structure for the reception of the school and 
on November 23 the further sum of $3,000 was added to complete the 
repairs. The building was accepted as finished February 27, 1872. On 
October 11, 1871, Prof. Milton J. Griffin was chosen principal; Mrs. 
Annie Jones, preceptress; Mrs. Helen C. Loomis, second assistant. On 
October 24, 1871, Miss Minnie L Barnes was chosen teacher of the 
primary department. On November fl, 1871, Miss Ella Carroll was 
added to the corps of teachers to give instruction in French, German, 
Latin and higher mathematics. 

The subject of organizing a Union school district in Georgetown vil- 
lage was discussed in the fall of 1897, and through the advice of C. J. 
Coletnan, then school commissioner, district No. 1, including the village 
territory, voted to establish such a school. At a special meeting held 
shortly afterward it was decided to expend about $1,500 in raising the 
school building and fitting it for an academic department. The school 
is now under the Regents and the first examinations were held in Jan- 
uary, 1898. The first Board of Education consisted of B. Fred Saun- 
ders, president; J. F. Stoddard, secretary; E. M. Perry, Eugene Turner, 
Dr. E. F. Lamb. 

The Union school in Perryville was incorporated in 1897 and consol- 
idated districts in the towns of Fenner, Lenox and Sullivan into district 
No. 1. The old Episcopal church was given to the Board of Education 
for the new school and was extensively improved and refitted for the 
purpose. The first and present Board of Education is as follows: 
Henry Hakes, Frank Blakeslee, Henry Stafford, John Hill, Edward 
Ransom, John Armstrong, Charles Cooper, Jefferson Howard, and 
Willis J. Huyck. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 467 

In the town of Stockbridge, at the village of Munnsville, a Union 
school was organized in 1894, and the present handsome school build- 
ing erected in the same year. The school opened with Frank M. Wig- 
gins, principal, a position which he efficiently fills at the present time; 
he has three assistants. In March, 1896, the school passed under care 
of the Regents. There was an old academy in Stockbridge, founded 
in 1829 by Asa Munn and Thaddeus Muzzy, which was successfully 
conducted a short time. With its decline the building was demolished. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR OF MADISON COUNTY. 

In the earliest years of the Dutch and English settlements in Amer- 
ica, the constituted authorities were invested with broad powers; but 
these could be exercised only within the restrictions of the laws of the 
mother country. By the terms of its charter the West India Company 
was supreme in the territory now included in this State, and all power 
was vested in the Director-General and Council, who were to be gov- 
erned by the Dutch (Roman) law, the imperial statutes of Charles V, 
and the edicts, resolutions and customs of the United Netherlands, in 
all cases not otherwise provided for. The Dutch at home were gov- 
erned by a league of commercial guilds, represented in the States- 
General, that the organized interests of each class of people might be 
protected. The principle of conserving the ancient and vested rights 
of all the people as against any portion thereof, even a majority, and 
as against a government itself, was the foundation principle of the 
Dutch provincial authority on this side of the water, as well as in the 
mother country, and distinguished it from any of the English colonies. 

It was not until 16^4, a year before the accession of Charles I and the 
beginning of the second period of the Thirty Years war, that govern- 
ment was actually established in New Netherland. In 1629 the man- 
orial system was introduced, under which Patroons were invested with 
the powers and privileges of feudal barons, but no political or judicial 
changes could be introduced without consent of the home government. 
In Massachusetts the Puritans were then just beginning to organize a 



468 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

government having in view as a principal object "the propagation of 
the Gospel." This was the parent colony of New England. The colo- 
nists on the Connecticut River were first governed by commissioners 
appointed by the General Court of Massachusetts. In 1637 delegates 
from the three towns of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield were asso- 
ciated with the commissioners, and in 1639 a written constitution was 
adopted under which all freemen of the three towns were made equal 
before the law. In June, 1639, the government of the colony of New 
Haven was organized, the Bible was declared to be the constitution and 
none but church members were admitted to citizenship, the government 
being vested in seven men called Pillars. 

In 1638 and 1640 the privileges of the Patroons (before mentioned) 
were considerably abridged, while those of the free settlers were cor- 
respondingly extended. Wherever the people settled in sufficient num- 
bers the West India Company was bound to give them a local govern- 
ment, the officers to be appointed by the Director-General and Council, 
as in the Netherlands. 

Upon the breaking out of the Indian war in 1641 Director Kieft was 
seriously alarmed and invited all masters and heads of families residing 
in New Amsterdam and its vicinity to assemble in the fort on August 
28th. That was the first official recognition of the existence of "the 
people" in New Netherland. The freemen assembled and obtained 
something of the right,s enjoyed by other colonists around them. They 
expressed themselves on the questions submitted to them and then ap- 
pointed Twelve Men to represent them. These were as follows: 

David Pietersen de Vries, president; Jacques Bentyn, Jan Jansen 
Dam, Hendrick Jansen, Maryn Andriaensen, Abram Pietersen (the 
miller), Frederick Lubbersten, Jochim Pietersen Kuyler, Gerrit Dirck- 
sen, George Rapalje, Abram Planck, Jacob Stoffelsen, Jan Evertsen 
Bout, Jacob Walingen." 

They complained to Kieft of the arbitrary constitution of the gov- 
ernment and asked that such reforms be introduced as should prevent 
taxation of the country in the absence of the Twelve; also that four 
men be chosen from the Twelve each year who should have access to 
the council. Thus they sought representation by the people. Kieft 
promised these reforms, and then reminded them that they were called 
together simply to consider how to escape the vengeance of the In- 
dians. 

* The fourteen names found in the records include, doubtless, appointees after the first 
Twelve, 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 469 

The issue thus raised was a natural one. These men were asking 
only for the Dutch system, which had been perfectly satisfactory to 
them at home. When, in 1643, the Indian troubles and complications 
with the English had reached ominous proportions, Kieft again called 
the freemen together and requested them "to elect five or six persons 
from among themselves" to consider propositions to be made by the 
Director and Council; a representative body for the enactment of laws 
was thus instituted. The people preferred to leave the selection of the 
representatives to the director, asking only the right to reject an unde- 
sirable nomination. The eight men were then elected. The certificate 
of the election is on record signed by twenty-eight freemen. The eight 
men were as follows: 

Cornelis Melyn, president; Jochim Pietersen Kuyter, Jan Jansen 
Dam, Barent Dircksen, Abram Pietersen (the miller), Isaac Allerton, 
Thomas Hall, Gerrit Wolphertson (van Couwenhoven), Jan Evertsen 
Bout, 1643, Jacob Stoffelsen, John Underbill, Francis Douty, George 
Baxter, Richard Smith, Gysbert Opdyck, Jan Evertsen Bout, Oloff 
Stevensen van Cortlandt, 1645. 

This body of men assembled September 15 and passed upon im- 
portant questions of war and performed other legislative acts. Com- 
plaints from the colonists continued and were finally referred to the 
home Chamber of Accounts, which reported in March, 1645, sustaining 
the complainants, and approving the organization of villages after the 
manner of the English. 

The Patroon's charter of 1629, extended in 1640, authorized the colony 
to appoint deputies to inform the Director and Council of their condi- 
tion when necessary. It was now suggested that these deputies should, 
at the summons of the Director-General, hold an assembly every six 
months for the general welfare and to deliberate on important affairs. 
Kieft was recalled in December, 1644. The Commissioners of the As- 
sembly of the XIX of the General Privileged West India Company 
acted on the report alluded to in their instructions to the Director and 
Council of July 7, 1645. The council was to consist of "the Director 
and president, his vice-president and the Fiscal." In cases in which 
the advocate-fiscal appeared as attorney-general, civil or criminal, the 
military commandant was to sit in his stead. If the charge was crim- 
inal, three persons were to be associated from the commonalty of the 
district where the crime was committed. The Supreme Council was 
the sole body " by whom all occurring affairs relating to police, justice, 



470 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

militia, the dignity and just rights of the Company " were to be de- 
cided; it was an executive, administrative, and also a judicial body. 

When Petrus Stuyvesant arrived (May 27, 1647), he set about restor- 
ing the disordered government with vigor. Besides inaugurating new 
and stringent regulations in many directions, he ordered an election of 
eighteen men from whom he selected Nine as "Interlocutors and 
Trustees of the Commonalty," or "Tribunes" of the people. These 
Nine Men were to hold Courts of Arbitration weekly and to give ad- 
vice to the Director and Council. They were appointed September 23, 
1647, and were as follows: 

1647, Augustine Heerman, Arnoldus van Hardenburgh, Govert 
Loockermans, merchants; Jan Jansen Dam, Hendrick Hindricksen 
Kip, Jacob Wolphertsen Van Couwenhoven, burghers; Michael Jansen, 
Jan Evertsen Bout, Thomas Hall, farmers. 

1649, Adriaen van der Donch, president; Augustine Heerman, Ar- 
noldus van Hardenburgh, Govert Loockermans, Elbert Elbertsen 
(Stooyof), Jacob Wolphertsen van Couwenhoven. 

1650, ClofE Stevensen van Cortland, president; Augustine Heerman, 
Jacob van Couwenhoven, Elbert Elbertsen, Hendrick Hendricksen Kip, 
Michael Jansen, Thomas Hall, Govert Loockermans, J. Evertsen Bout. 

1652, David Provost, William Beeckman, Jacobus van Curler, AUard 
Anthony, Isaac de Forest, Arent van Hattem, Jochim Pietersen Kuy- 
ter, Paulus Leenderman van der Grist, Peter Cornelissen, miller. 

Three of the Nine in each year were taken from merchants, three 
from the burghers, and three from the farmers, thus continuing the 
old Netherland system. 

The colony now became the scene of a prolonged contest and numer- 
ous lengthy petitions went from the colonists to the States-General for 
a burgher government and other changes. The burgher government 
was finallv granted in 1653. Burgomasters had been in power in Hol- 
land since the fourteenth century, and it was contemplated by the 
States- General that they should be elected by the burghers in New 
Amsterdam. But the Director and Council assumed the right to ap- 
point them and exercised it until 1658, when a double number was 
nominated, from whom the Director and Council selected the members 
for the ensuing year. 

Local officers or inferior courts, with limited jurisdiction, were au 
thorized in various villages from time to time. The Patroons of the 
great manors were invested with power to administer civil and criminal 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 471 

justice in person or by deputy; to appoint local officers and magis- 
trates; to erect courts and take cognizance of all crimes committed 
within their separate domains; to keep a gallows,' if required, for the 
execution of criminals. One of the lesser degrees of punishment was 
"banishment from the colonie;" another was corporal punishment. In 
civil cases of all kinds between the Patroon and his tenants, these 
courts had jurisdiction, and from their judgments in matters affecting 
life and limb and in suits where more than ^^20 was involved, appeal 
could be taken to the Director-General and Council. 

The government itself was invested in a General Court which exer- 
cised executive, legislative, or municipal and judicial functions, and 
which was composed of two commissaries and two councilors, who were 
a colonial secretary, a sheriff (schout- fiscal), and a court messenger or 
constable. Each of these received a small salary. The magistrates of 
the colony held office one year, the court appointing their successors or 
continuing those already in office. 

The most important of these officials was the schout-fiscal, who was 
bound by instructions received from the Patroon. No man in the 
colony was subject to loss of life or property unless under sentence of 
a court composed of five persons, and all persons accused were entitled 
to a speedy trial. The public prosecutor was especially warned not to 
receive presents or bribes, nor to be interested in trade or commerce, 
directly or indirectly. He was paid a fixed salary, with a dwelling free, 
and given all fines up to ten guilders and a third of all forfeitures over 
that sum. 

Governor Dongan, in his report to the Committee on Trade, dated 
February 22, 1687, gave the following information regarding the early 
courts of New York and Albany: 

There is likewise in New York and Albany a Court of Mayor and Aldermen held 
once in every fortnight, from whence their can bee noe appeal unless the cause of 
action bee above the value of Twenty Pounds, who have likewise priviledges to make 
bylaws for ye regulation of their own affairs as they think fitt soe as the same be ap- 
proved of by ye Gov'r and Council. 

The mayor, recorder and aldermen of the city of Albany, or any 
three of them, were, in 1686, ex-officio inembers of the old Court of 
Common Pleas, acting when there was no judge present. The colonial 

* There was a curious restriction connected with the gallows, to the effect that if it fell pend- 
ing an execution, a new one could not be built, except for hanging another criminal. 



473 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Court of Common Pleas held regular terms until 1776, when it was dis- 
solved under the influence of the animating spirit of independence. 

With the accession of the English a new order of judicial administra- 
tion came into existence. There was the Court of Assizes, which was 
established under the Duke's Laws at Hempstead, L. I., in 1665. This 
court was composed of the governor, members of the council, high 
sheriff, and such justices of the peace as might attend. It sat in New 
York and only once a year, but special terms could be called. Its ju- 
risdiction extended over all criminal matters, and in civil cases where the 
value of ^20 or more was involved. This court was abolished in 1683. 

In 1683 an act was passed " to settle Courts of Justice," which or- 
dered the holding of a Court of Oyer and Terminer m the respective 
counties of the province, composed of one judge, assisted by four jus- 
tices of the peace in each county. In New York city and the city of 
Albany, the mayor, recorder and four aldermen were associated with 
the judge. The court had jurisdiction over all capital causes, and ap- 
pellate jurisdiction where ^5 or more was involved. The authority for 
holding the court was derived from the governor; the court was abol- 
ished in 1691. Courts of Sessions and Justices' Courts were also con- 
tinued and a Court of Chancery established. The Court of Sessions 
was ordered to be held in New York four times, in Albany three times 
and in the other ten counties then in existence, twice in each year. All 
cases civil and criminal were determined by it, with a jury. 

The Court of Chancery was founded, with the governor or his ap- 
pointee as chancellor, assisted by the council. This court expired by 
limitation in 1698, but was revived by ordinance August 28, 1701; it 
was suspended June 13, 1703, and finally re-established November 7, 
1704. It ceased its existence in July, 1847, under the new constitution. 
It was an equity court and by the second constitution equity powers 
were vested in the circuit judge, subject to the appellate jurisdiction of 
the chancellor. 

The Court of Admiralty, which was a civil law court, extended 
through most of the colonial regime and for a short time under the 
State government. Under the Dutch, the Governor and Council acted 
as judges of this court. Under the Duke of York commissions were 
issued by the governor to determine cases, until 1678, when authority 
was given to appoint judges and other officers of the courts which was 
at first established by warrant, but later came from the Lords of the 
Admiralty in England. In November, 1775, Congress recommended 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 473 

the colonies to establish courts to adjudicate matters relative to cap- 
tures on the sea in the war. Accordingly the High Court of Admiralty 
of the State of New York was authorized. Pursuant to an act of Con- 
gress passed October 13, 1777, appeals could be had from the court to 
a committee of congressmen. Under the Articles of Confederation an 
act was passed establishing a court to hear such appeals. The United 
States constitution vested admiralty jurisdiction exclusively in the Fed- 
eral courts, and consequently the State court ceased in 1789, and its 
powers were vested in the U. S. District Court. 

The third judicial system was organized in 1691 and continued 
through the colonial period. Ih that year the Court for the Correction 
of Errors and Appeals was founded, consisting of the Governor and 
Council. Appeals lay to this court from any judgment exceeding in 
value ^100, which amount was increased in 1753 to ^300. 

It is a fact that reflects credit xipon the early colonists of New York 
that they invariably evinced respect for the law and upheld measures 
for the protection and honor of their judiciary. For example, in the 
year that Governor De Lancey died (1760) George III ascended the 
English throne. De Lancey was a lawyer of ability and labored assid- 
uously m the development of the civil polity of the province. Upon 
the accession of George III anew conflict arose. AH commissions term- 
inated upon the death of a sovereign, and the differences which had 
theretofore existed as to scope of judicial powers became a prominent 
issue. The Assembly proposed to pass an act establishing Courts of 
Judicature by law, instead of by prerogative, as before. Judges were 
to be removed by the governor on appeal from the Assembl}', or by ad- 
vice of at least seven members of the council. Thereupon Cadwallader 
Colden, the obsequious lieutenant-governor, suggested that the king 
also be empowered to remove, which would thus preserve the preroga- 
tive of the crown. An active discussion ensued among the lawyers and 
others. An act was now passed that judges should hold office during 
good behavior, instead of during the pleasure of the governor. The 
Lords of Trade, on November 21, 1761, held that this action was " sub- 
versive of that policy by which those colonies can be kept in a just de- 
pendence upon the government of the mother country," and that "it 
is difficult to conceive a state of government more dangerous to the 
rights and liberties of the subject, aggravated as the evil would be by 
making the judges' commissions during good behavior, without render- 
ing them at the same time independent of the factious will and caprice 



474 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of an Assembly," by providing permanently for their support. In 
accordance with this position instructions were issued to the governors 
on the 3d of December, " that you do not upon any pretense whatever, 
upon the pain of being removed from your government, give your assent 
to any act by which the tenure of the commissions to be granted to the 
chief judge or other justices of the several courts of judicature shall be 
regulated or ascertained in any manner whatever, and you are to take 
particular care in all commissions to be by you granted that they be 
during pleasure only, agreeable to ancient practice." That was the 
British view of the situation. The records of the General Assembly on 
nearly every page, express the high regard of the colonists for the law, 
and the lawyers of the province were a unit in their construction of the 
law. Bench and bar stood united in defense of the liberties of the peo- 
ple in this respect. 

Under the system of 1691 were established also the Court of Common 
Pleas and the Supreme Court. The criminal side of the latter was what 
constituted the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The Supreme Court ex- 
pired by limitation in 1698, was continued by proclamation January 19, 
1699, and finally again by ordinance May 15, 1699. Its powers and 
jurisdiction were broad, but it was without equity jurisdiction. Any 
case involving ^20 or more could be commenced in, or returned to it, 
and it could correct errors and revise the judgments of the lower 
courts. Appeals lay from it to the Governor and Council in cases in- 
volving ;^100 or more, which amount was, as before stated, increased 
to ;^300 in 1753. The court held four terms annually, sitting in New 
York only, Persons who had served seven years under an attorney or 
had taken a collegiate course and served three years' apprenticeship 
were granted license to practice in this court by the governor. 

The first constitution recognized the Supreme Court as it then existed. 
It was reorganized May 3, 1777, but with only slight changes. In 1785 
two terms were directed to be held in Albany and two in New York 
each year, and the clerk's office was directed to be kept in New York 
and that of his deputy in Albany. 

By an act passed April 19, 178G, one or more of the justices of the 
Supreme Court was required to hold during the vacations, and oftener if 
necessary, Circuit Courts in each of the counties of the State for the trial 
of all issues triable in the respective counties. The proceedings were 
to be returned to the Supreme Court, where they were to be recorded 
and judgment given according to law. Upon the formation of Ontario 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 475 

county in 1789, which included the territory of Madison county, this 
court extended its jurisdiction over that territory. On March 10, 17!t7, 
the judges were authorized to appoint an additional clerk with an office 
in Albany. In 1807 another clerk's office was established in Utica 
The first rules of the court were adopted at the April term in 1796. In 
the same year a law was passed directing this court to designate at its 
April term one of their number to hold a Circuit Court in the Western, 
one in the Eastern and one in the Southern District. An act of Feb- 
ruary, 1788, provided for holding a Court of Oyer and Terminer by the 
justices at the same time with the Circuit. Two or more of the judges 
and assistant judges of the Court of Common Pleas were to sit in the 
Oyer and Terminer with the justices. 

The constitution of 1821 made several important changes in this 
court. For example, it was to sit four times a year in review of its own 
decisions and to determine questions of law; each justice, however, 
could hold Circuit Courts, as well as the circuit court judges, and any 
justice of the Supreme Court could preside at the Oyer and Terminer. 
The court had power to amend its practice in cases not covered by 
statute, and was directed to revise the rules every seven years, to sim- 
plify proceedings, expedite decisions, diminish costs and remedy abuses. 
The judges were appointed by the governor with consent of the Senate, 
and held office during good behavior or until sixty years of age. Their 
number was reduced to three, and from 1833 they were allowed |2,000 
each annually; this sum was increased to $3,500 in 1835 and in 1859 to 
$3,000. Two of the terms were held at the Capitol in Albany. The 
act of 1691 gave this court cognizance of matters of exchequer, thus re- 
moving the necessity for the Court of Exchequer, which was established 
by Governor Dongan in 1685. 

The constitution of 1846 abolished the Supreme Court as it then 
existed and established a new one with general jurisdiction in law 
and equity. The State was divided into eight judicial districts, in each 
of which four justices were elected, except in the first (New York 
city), where five were elected. The term of office was made eight 
years, but the amended judiciary article made the term as at present, 
fourteen years. This court possesses the power and exercises the juris- 
diction of the preceding Supreme Court under the constitution of 1846 
and the judiciary act of May 13, 1847. On April 27, 1870, the Legis- 
lature abolished the general terms as then existing and divided the 
State into four departments, providing for general terms to be held in 



476 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

each. The governor was to designate a presiding justice and two as- 
sociate justices for each department to compose the general term. At 
least two terms of Circuit Court and Court of Oyer and Terminer were 
to beheld annually in each county and as many special terms as the 
justices in each department deemed necessary. The boundaries of the 
eight districts were somewhat changed by subsequent legislation. 
Madison, Otsego, Delaware, Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Chemung, 
Tompkins, Cortland and Schuyler now constitute the Sixth District; 
this county was formerly in the Fifth District. The State was divided 
by the laws of 1883 into Five Judicial Departments, with the Fourth 
constituted of the Fifth and Sixth Districts; this continued until 1894, 
when the Third, Fourth, and part of the Sixth Districts were consti- 
tuted the Third Department, including, of course, Madison county. 
There are now only four Departments. 

By the act of June 3, 1876, entitled the Code of Remedial Justice, and 
amended June 5, 1877, with the title of The Code of Civil Procedure, 
the General Term justices of the Supreme Court and chief judges of 
the Superior City Courts were required to meet in convention every two 
years to revise and establish general rules of practice for all courts of 
record in the State, excepting the Court for the Trial of Impeachments 
and the Court of Appeals. 

The Legislature of 1883 directed the submission to the people of the 
question of amending the constitution so as to provide for the organ- 
ization of the Supreme Court, with not more than five General Terms, 
and for the election of two additional justices thereof in the First, Fifth, 
Seventh and Eighth Judicial Districts, and one additional justice in the 
Second, Third, Fourth and Sixth Districts, the justices so elected to be 
invested with office on the first Monday in June, 1884. The amend- 
ments were so adopted, and by the laws of 1883 (chapter 329) provision 
was made for the election of the twelve additional justices authorized. 

The constitution of 1894 continued the Supreme Court as it then ex- 
isted, with general jurisdiction in law and equity, and also vested in the 
court the jurisdiction previously exercised by the Superior Court of 
Buffalo and New York city, the Court of Common Pleas of the city and 
county of New York, and the City Court of Brooklyn. These courts 
were abolished on January 1, 1896, the judges thereof becoming justices 
of the Supreme Court. There is an Appellate Division of the Supreme 
Court in each of the four Judicial Departments, consisting of seven jus- 
tices in the First Department and five in each of the other departments. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 477 

No more than five justices sit in any case and the governor designates 
the presiding justice and other justices who shall constitute the Appel- 
late Division in each department. 

Charles Mason of Hamilton, of whom a sketch is given later on in 
this chapter, was elected to the Supreme Court in 1847 and re-elected 
in 1851, and in 1868 was appointed judge of the Court of Appeals in 
place of William B. Wright, deceased. 

Gerrit A. Forbes of Canastota was elected justice of the Supreme 
Court in 1887 and is still in that office. 

The Court of Common Pleas, before mentioned, was first established 
in New York and Albany by the charters of 1686, and in 1691, and 
was extended to all counties. The Common Pleas for the City and 
County of New York was the oldest judicial tribunal in the State; it 
was a continuation of the former Mayor's Court, and after the year 
1688 its criminal branch was called the Court of Sessions. At the first 
this court was composed of one judge and three justices, but in 1702 it 
was ordered that the judge should be assisted by two or more justices; 
they were all appointed by the governor and held office only during his 
pleasure. The court had cognizance of all actions where the sum in- 
volved exceeded _^5 in value. Its errors were corrected in the first in- 
stance by writs of error brought in the Supreme Court; appeals were 
allowed to the latter court in cases where the sum involved exceeded 
;^20. In more remote counties the court was authorized to take proof 
of wills and transmit its proceedings to the record office in New York. 
The Court of Common Pleas was continued from the colonial period, 
as noticed further on. 

The constitution of 1831 provided that the State should be divided 
into not less than four nor more than eight circuits, for each of which 
a circuit judge should be appointed, who should hold office by the same 
tenure as the justices of the Supreme Court, and who should possess 
the powers of a justice of the Supreme Court at Chambers and in the 
trial of issues joined in the Supreme Court; and in Courts of Oyer and 
Terminer and Jail Delivery. In pursuance of these provisions a law 
was passed April 17, 1823, dividing the State into eight circuits, cor- 
responding with the Senatorial districts. No change was made in these 
districts during the continuance of the court. At least two Circuit 
Courts were held annually in each county, except in the county of New 
York, in which four were held. The circuit judge also held a Court of 
Oyer and Terminer at the same time and place with the circuit, or 



478 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

otherwise if they so appointed. This court possessed a seal. After 
the adoption of the constitution of 1846 Circuit Courts were held in 
each county by a iustice of the Supreme Court. This court is a court 
of record and the clerk of the county is its clerk. 

By the third article of the constitution of 1777 a Court for the Trial 
of Impeachments and Correction of Errors was provided for, to con- 
sist of the president of the Senate for the time being, the senators, 
chancellor and judges of the Supreme Court, or a majority of them. 
The impeachment functions of this court were directed against corrupt 
conduct by State ofHcials. In the correction of errors appeals were 
allowed to it from the Court of Chancery, Supreme Court and Court of 
Probate. This court was continued under the constitution of 1821, 
with slight change, but was abolished by the constitution of 1846. Its 
powers and duties were then conferred upon a new court, the Court for 
the Trial of Impeachments, as far as that feature of the former court 
was concerned. The new court was composed of the president of the 
Senate, the senators, or a majority of them, and the judges of the Court 
of Appeals, or a majority of them. The Court for the Trial of Im- 
peachments and the Correction of Errors, as far as the correction of 
errors is concerned, was succeeded by our Court of Appeals, which was 
organized under the constitution of 1846. As first formed it consisted 
of eight judges, four of whom were chosen by the electors for a term 
of eight years, and four were selected from the class of the Supreme 
Court justices having the shortest time to serve. The judge elected 
who had the shortest time to serve acted as chief judge. This court 
was recognized by the constitutional convention of 1867-68, the article 
referring to the judiciary being ratified by the people in 1869. By that 
article this court consisted of a chief judge and six associate judges, 
who held office for terms of fourteen years. The new article also pro- 
vided for a Commission of Appeals, composed of four judges of this 
court in office when the article went into effect, and a fifth commis- 
sioner. Their term was three years and they selected their chief. This 
commission served until 1875, for the relief of the Court of Appeals. 

In 1888 the Legislature passed a concurrent resolution that section 
6 of article 6 of the constitution be amended so that upon the certificate 
of the Court of Appeals to the governor of such an accumulation of 
causes on the calendar of the Court of Appeals that the public inter- 
ests required a more speedy disposition thereof, the governor may 
desiignate seven justices of the Supreme Court to act as associate judges 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 479 

for the time being of the Court of Appeals, and to form a second divis- 
ion of that court, and to be dissolved by the governor when said causes 
are substantially disposed of. This amendment was submitted to the 
people of the State at the general election of that year and was rati- 
fied, and in accordance therewith the governor selected seven Supreme 
Court justices, who were constituted the Second Division of the Court 
of Appeals. 

No resident of Madison county has been honored with the high office 
of judge of the Court of Appeals of this State. 

County Court. — The act of 1683 directed that a Court of Sessions be 
held by three justices of the peace in each of the twelve counties of 
the province, four times annually in New York, three times annually in 
Albany, and twice in each of the other counties. By the act of 1691 
and ordinances of 1699, the functions of this court were confined to 
criminal matters, while civil cases were transferred to the Court of 
Common Pleas. The latter court was established in New York and 
Albany by the charters of 1686 and a Court of Common Pleas was 
erected for each county by the act of 1691. Composed at first of one 
judge and three justices, it was ordered in 1702 that the judge be as- 
sisted by two or more justices, all to be appointed by the governor. Its 
jurisdiction embraced all actions, real, personal and mixed where more 
than ^5 were involved. It was based upon the practice of the King's 
Bench and Common Pleas at Westminster, England. Appeals were 
allowed to the Supreme Court where the amount involved exceeded 
^20. This court continued through the colonial period. Under the 
first constitution the number of judges and assistant justices varied 
greatly in the diffierent counties, reaching in some counties as many as 
twelve. On March 27, 1718, the office of assistant justice was abolished 
and the number of judges limited to five, inclusive of the first judge. 
The constitution of 1821 continued this court with little change. The 
judges were appointed by the Governor and the Council of Appointment 
down to 1821, after which they were appointed by the Governor and 
Senate down to 1846, when the office was made elective. The consti- 
tution of 1846 abolished the Court of Common Pleas and created the 
County Court, providing for the election in each county, except in the 
city of New York, of one county judge, who should hold a court and 
have jurisdiction in cases arising in Justice's Court and in such special 
cases as the Legislature might order. Upon this court the Legislature 
afterward conferred jurisdiction in actions to recover money only in 



480 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sums not exceeding $2,000; in replevin suits for $1,000; in cases of 
trespass and personal injury not exceeding $500; also equity jurisdiction 
in mortgage foreclosures, sale of infant's real estate, partition of lands, 
admeasurement of dower, satisfaction of certain judgments, etc. The 
tenure of office of county judge was extended from four to six years. 
Associated with the county judge were two justices of the peace to be 
designated by law to hold Courts of Sessions, with such criminal juris- 
diction as the Legislature might prescribe. The constitution of 1894 
changed somewhat the powers and forms of this court, principally on 
the criminal side. These recent changes are familiar to the bar. 

The first judge of Chenango county and who had jurisdiction over 
the territory of Madison county until 1806, was Isaac Foote, ap- 
pointed October 30, 1800; the first judge of Madison county was Peter 
Smith, of Peterboro, appointed June 10, 1807. His successors were as 
follows: 

Justin Dwindle, of Cazenovia, appointed February 7, 1833; James B. 
Eldridge, of Hamilton, March 16, 1833; John B. Yates, of Chittenango, 
Mfirch 16, 1837; Thomas Barlow, of Canastota, January 24, 1843. The 
county judges since this office was made elective have been as follows: 
James W. Nye, of Hamilton, elected in June, 1847; Sidney T. Holmes, 
of Morrisville, elected in November, 1851; Joseph Mason, of Hamilton, 
elected 1863; Charles L. Kennedy, of Morrisville, elected 1867, and 
twice re-elected; B. Franklin Chapman, appointed by the governor vice 
Kennedy, deceased, January 24, 1883; Alfred D. Kennedy, elected No- 
vember 6, 1883, died 1899; John E. Smith, Morrisville, appointed to 
fill vacancy, and nominated and elected in November, 1899. 

Surrogates. — Courts for the care and administration of estates have 
come down from the first Orphan's Court. Originally the Director- 
General and Council of New Netherland were guardians of widows and 
orphans It was the duty of church deacons to attend personally to 
these interests and to notify the Director of the death of parents. In 
New Amsterdam the Burgomasters became ex-officio Orphan Masters 
in 1653, but at their own request they were soon relieved of the duty 
and two special Orphan Masters were appointed. At Fort Orange (Al- 
bany) in 1652 the Vice- Director was appointed and in 1657 Jan Verbeck 
and Evert Wendell . By the Duke's laws authority to grant probate of 
wills was vested in the Court of Assizes and Court of Sessions. This 
duty being a part of the royal prerogative, was subsequently reserved 
to the governor, and the Legislature accordingly, on November 11, 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 481 

1692, passed a law directing that all probates and letters of administra- 
tion be thereafter granted by the governor or his delegate and that 
two freeholders be appointed in each town to have charge of the es- 
tates of intestates. This constituted the Prerogative Court. In 1778 
the Legislature passed a law taking from the governor the powers de- 
scribed above and transferring them to the judge of the Court of Pro- 
bates. In 1787 the appointment of a surrogate in each county was 
authorized, while the judge of the Court of Probates continued to hold 
jurisdiction in cases out of the State and of non-residents within the 
State. Under the first constitution surrogates were appointed for an 
unlimited period by the Council of Appointment. Under the second 
constitution they were appointed by the governor and Senate for four 
years, and appeals went up to the chancellor. The constitution of 184(5 
abolished the separate office excepting in counties having 40,000 or 
more population, and transferred its duties to the county judge. In 
counties with more than 40,000 population the Legislature may provide 
for the election of a separate officer to be Surrogate for six years. 

The surrogates of Madison county have been as follows: Thomas 
H. Hubbard, of Hamilton, appointed March 2(j, 1806; Dr. Asa B. 
Sizer, of Madison, February 26, 1816; John B. Stower, of Hamilton, 
February 19, 1821; Otis P. Granger, of Morrisville, April 13, 1827; 
James B. Eldridge, of Hamilton, February 18, 1840; James W. Nye, of 
Hamilton, February, 1844. Since June, 1847, the duties of this office 
have been vested in the county judge. 

District Attorneys. — Under the legislative act of February 12, 1796, 
this State was divided into seven districts, over which an assistant at- 
torney-general was appointed by the Governor and Council to serve 
during their pleasure. The office of district attorney was created on 
April 4, 1801, the State then being divided into five districts, which was 
subsequently and gradually increased to thirteen. Chenango, Her- 
kimer, Lewis, Oneida, Otsego, Madison, from 1806, and Jefferson, from 
1805 to 1808 constituted the sixth district. From 1809 to 1817 Madi- 
son, Cayuga, Chenango, Onondaga and Cortland counties constituted 
the ninth district. Since the year 1818 each county in the State has 
had its own district attorney. During the life of the second constitu- 
tion district attorneys were appointed by the Court of General Sessions 
in each county. The following persons held this office in Madison 
county : 

Daniel Kellogg, of Sullivan, appointed February 30, 1809; Thomas 

31 



482 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

H. Hubbard, of Hamilton, appointed February 36, 1816, and again 
June 11, 1818; William K. Fuller, of Chittenango, appointed March 26, 
1821; Philo Gridley, of Hamilton, appointed 1829; Justin Dwindle, 
of Cazenovia, appointed 1837; Charles Mason, of Hamilton, appointed 
1845; (the three names just preceding and the dates of their appoint- 
ment are obtained from unofficial data and possibly may be incorrect); 
Henry C. Goodwin, of Hamilton, elected June, 1847; William E. Lan- 
sing, of Chittenango, elected November, 1850; David J. Mitchell, of 
Hamilton, November, 1853; Asahel C. Stone, of Peterboro, November, 
1856; Albert N. Sheldon, of Hamilton, November, 1859; Delos W. 
Cameron, of Cazenovia, November, 1862; Lambert B. Kern, of De 
Ruyter, November, 1865; Alexander Cramphin, of Morrisville, Novem- 
ber, 1868; Gerrit A. Forbes, of Canastota, November, 1871; Sherman 
B. Daboll, of Brookfield, November, 1874; John E. Smith, of Morris- 
ville, November, 1877; Henry Barclay, of Morrisville, November, 1880 
John E. Smith, appointed vice Barclay resigned, December 28, 1882 
Edgar N. Wilson, of Cazenovia, November, 1883, and re-elected 
Henry M. Aylesworth, of Leonardsville, November, 1889; Joseph D. 
Senn, of Morrisville, 1893; Michael H. Kiley, of Cazenovia, elected 
November, 1894. 

Sheriffs. — During the colonial period sheriffs were appointed annu- 
ally in the month of October, unless otherwise noticed. Under the first 
constitution they were appointed annually by the Council of Appoint- 
ment, and no person could hold the office more than four successive 
years; neither could a sheriff hold any other office, and he must be a 
freeholder in the county where appointed. Since the adoption of the 
constitution of 1821, sheriffs have been elected for a term of three 
years, and are ineligible to re election for the next succeeding term. 
The following persons have held this office for Madison county: 

Judge Peter Smith, who a few years later became a settler and 
prominent citizen in this county, was the second sheriff of Herkimer 
county, succeeding William Colbraith, February 18, 1795. In Madison 
county Jeremiah Whipple, of Cazenovia, the first sheriff, was appointed 
March 26, 1806; William Hatch, of Cazenovia, March 5, 1810; Jeremiah 
Whipple, February 5, 1811; Elijah Pratt, of Smithfield, March 25, 
1814; John Matteson, of Nelson, February 28, 1815; Moses Maynard, 
of Madison, March 2, 1819; Ezra Cloyes, of Morrisville, February 19, 
1821, and elected in November, 1823. After this date the office was 
elective. Ezekiel Carpenter, of Cazenovia, November, 1825; Pardon 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 483 

Barnard, of Lenox, 1828; Joseph S. Palmer, of Lenox, 1831; Thomas 
Wylie, of Lebanon, 1834; John M. Messenger, of Smithfield, 1837; 
Isaac Brown, of Brookfield, 1840; Samuel French, of Sullivan, 1843; 
William B. Brand, of Brookfield, 1846; Francis F. Stevens, of Eaton, 
1849; Stephen M. Potter, of Cazenovia, 1852; Milton Barnett, of Smith- 
field, 1855; Sanford P. Chapman, of Lenox, 1858; William F. Bonney, 
of Eaton, 1861; Asahel Stone, of Smithfield, 18 i4; Andrew J. French, 
of Sullivan, 18G6; Edwin R. Barker, of Madison, 1869; Milton De 
Lano, of Canastota, 1872; Wilber M. Henderson, of Madison, 1875; 
Milton De Lano, 1878: Putnam C. Brownell, of Hamilton, 1881; 
Charles K. Underwood, of Cazenovia, 1884; Leander W. Burroughs, of 
Morrisville, 1887; Charles E. Remick, of Oneida, 1890; Eugene M. 
Perry, of Georgetown, 1893 ; Austin M. Carpenter, of Cazenovia, 
1896-1899. 

County Clerks. — During the colonial period the county clerk was 
clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, clerk of the peace, and clerk of 
the Sessions of Peace, in his own county. Under the first constitution 
it was his duty to keep the county records and act as clerk of the Infe- 
rior Court of Common Pleas, and clerk of the Oyer and Terminer. These 
last named duties were conferred by the act of February 13, 1796. The 
seals of the county clerks were the seals of the Court of Common Pleas 
in their respective counties. County clerks are now clerks of the Su- 
preme Court and County Court, Since the adoption of the constitution 
of 1821 the term of office has been three years. Following are the names 
of those who have held this office in Madison county: 

Dr. Asa B. Sizer of Madison, appointed March 26, 1806; Samuel S. 
Forman of Cazenovia, appointed March 5, 1814; J. N. M. Hurd of Caz- 
enovia, February 28, 1815; Bennett M. Bicknell of Morrisville, ap- 
pointed February 19, 1821, and elected in November, 1822; John G. 
Curtis of Eaton, 1825; Andrew Scott Sloan of Eaton, 1831: Alexander 
Donaldson, jr., of Nelson, 1837; Lewison Fairchild of Cazenovia, 1840; 
Zadock T. Bentley of De Ruyter, 1843; Andrew Scott Sloan, 1846; 
Lorenzo D. Dana of Fenner, 1849; Lucius P. Clark of Brookfield, 1852; 
William E. Lansing of Sullivan, 1855; Charles L. Kennedy of Eaton, 
1858; Loring Fowler of Lenox, 1861; Calvin Whitford of Brookfield, 
1864; Nathan Brownell of Hamilton, 1867; Alfred D. Kennedy of Can- 
astota, 1870; Lucius P. Clark of Eaton, 1873; John N. Woodbury of 
Smithfield, 1876; James S. Stewart of Eaton, 1879; Walter H. Stewart 
of Sullivan, 1882; Charles W. Stapleton of Hamilton, 1885, and re- 



484 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

elected; W. Emmett Coe of Smithfield, 1891, and re-elected; Paul S. 
Main, 1897. 

It will be borne in mind by the reader that at this time there were 
only five towns in Madison county — Brookfield, Cazenovia, De Ruyter, 
Hamilton and Sullivan. In this connection it is worth while to leave 
on record the following list of the first justices of the peace chosen in 
1806 in each of the five towns named. They are as follows: Oliver 
Brown, Daniel Maine, Henry Clark, jr., Jonathan Morgan, Samuel 
Marsh and Edward Green, Brookfield; David Tuthill, Samuel S. Breese, 
Phineas Southwell, Perry G. Childs, Elisha Williams, Daniel Petrie, 
William Powers and Joshua Hamlin, Cazenovia; Eli Gage, Hubbard 
Smith and Eleazer Hunt, De Ruyter; Joseph Morse, Simeon Gillett, 
Benjamin Pierce, Erastus Cleveland, Elisha Payne, Amos Maynard, 
Russell Barker, George Crane, Windsor Coman, Hamilton; Gilbert 
Caswell, vSamuel Foster, Walter Beecher, Joseph Frost, Sylvanus Smal- 
ley, Peter Smith, David Cook, William Hallock, James Campbell and 
Joseph Yaw, Sullivan. 

There was an active struggle in the year 1807 between the two great 
political parties of Federalists and Republicans (or Democrats); the 
strife in Madison county was particularly earnest, as it was believed 
the election would establish the future political complexion of the 
county. Sylvanus Smalley, Democrat, and John W. Bulkley, Federal- 
ist, were elected to the Assembly, leaving the actual results of the 
struggle in doubt. Peter Smith was appointed first judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas and Oliver Babcock was appointed judge in theplace 
of David Cook of Sullivan. Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown were de- 
cided Federalists. For the year 1807 the following were appointed 
justices of the peace: 

Henry Clark, jr., Brookfield; Elisha Williams, Cazenovia; Robert 
Avery, Eaton; John Hall, Hamilton; John W. Bulkley, Lebanon; 
Amos W. Fuller and Stephen F. Blackstone, Madison; John Dorrance, 
Asa Dana and Sanford G. Calvin, Smithfield; and Jacob Patrick, Sul- 
livan. 

Previous to the erection of Chenango county in 1796 its northern tier 
of towns and all of Madison county were included in Herkimer county; 
the remainder of Chenango county was included in Tioga county. The 
courts of Herkimer county were held at the meetinghouse in Herkimer 
village until 1793, when one term was directed to be held at Whites- 
town. Col. Henry Staring was appointed first judge February 17, 1791. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 485 

The first court at Whitestown, mentioned above, was held in 1793, in 
Jedediah Sanger's barn, Judge Staring presiding, assisted by Judge 
White. The late Judge Jonas Pratt was then clerk of Herkimer county 
and Col. William Colbraith sheriff, both of whom were appointed in 
1791. The subsequent courts of Herkimer county down to 1798 were 
held at Whitestown. The jail at Whitesboro at that time was used for 
the confinement of prisoners from Chenango county until 1808 and 
from Madison county until 1812. When Chenango county was erected 
Hamilton (now in Madison county) and Oxford were each constituted 
half-shire towns and so continued until the formation of Madison coun- 
ty, in 180G, when North Norwich and Oxford were made the shire 
towns for Chenango county and Hamilton and Sullivan for Madison 
county. 

The law erecting Chenango county provided that the first Court of 
Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace should be held at the 
log school house hear the house of Elisha Payne, in the town of Ham- 
ilton, in June, 1798. It was so held and the first business transacted 
was the admission to practice of eight attorneys, none of whom was 
from the territory of Madison county. The second term was held at 
Oxford in October of the same year. Subsequently court was held 
alternatel}' at these two places three times each year. The judges had 
authority to open the court on Tuesday, to adjourn it at any time, but 
not to continue it beyond Saturday of the same week. Under the act 
the first Circuit Court was held July 10, 1798, at the Academy in Ox- 
ford with Justice (afterwards Chancellor) James Kent presiding. The 
second term was held in Hamilton in July, 1799, Justice Jacob Radcliff 
presiding. No business was transacted at either of these terms. Of 
the subsequent terms held down to the year 1809 the third was held in 
the school house at Hamilton, June 30, 1800, Morgan Lewis presiding; 
the fourth June 39, 1801, Judge John Lansing, jr., presiding; the fifth 
in June, 1803, Judge Kent presiding; the eighth at Hamilton in May, 

1805, Daniel D. Tompkins presiding; the ninth at Hamilton in May, 

1806, Brockholst Livingston presiding. The other terms held previous 
to that year were in either Oxford or North Norwich. 

After the erection of Madison county in 1806 the courts were held 
alternately in the school house in Hamilton village and the school house 
near David Barnard's in Sullivan (now Lenox) until 1812. Hamilton 
and Sullivan were the half-shire towns of the county. In 1807, in pur- 
suance of an act of the Legislature, the county was divided into two 



4S6 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

jury districts by the judges and assistant judges " as nearly equal as 
may be convenient." 

By an act of the Legislature passed April 2, 1810, Cazenovia was 
made the county seat and Col. John Lincklaen and Capt. Eliphalet 
Jackson were appointed to superintend the erection of a court house. 

In pursuance of this act a brick building was erected for a court house 
in which the first court was held in January, 1812. This building sub- 
sequently became the eastern central part of Cazenovia Seminary, as at 
present. The selection of Cazenovia as a county seat, situated as it is 
near the western boundary, created a good deal of dissatisfaction in 
other parts of the county on account of its inaccessibility to the distant 
re.sidents. This feeling finally culminated in 1817 in the removal of the 
county seat to the more central location of Morrisville. The old court 
house was sold for $1,810, in 1818, to the Methodist society by whom it 
was used for a time for church purposes and was subsequently incor- 
porated in the Seminary as above stated. The commissioners appointed 
to superintend the erection of a new court house in Morrisville were 
Joseph Morse, Capt. Eliphalet Jackson and Elisha Carrington. The 
building was soon completed and the first court was held there October 
7, 1817. This court house was occupied until 1847, when a new one 
was erected under the superintendence of Ellis Morse, Samuel White 
and Oliver Pool. This building was burned during the session of the 
court in October, 1865, and was superseded by the two story wooden 
structure in the following year, which is still occupied. An addition 
was made to the building in 1877 to accommodate the increase of county 
business. 

The county clerk's office, in use at the present time, is a brick struc- 
ture built in 182-t by Andrew P. Lord, at a cost of $674.00. The first 
jail for the county was built of wood, in 1817 at a cost of $4,523.51. 
This old building became historic by the confinement within its walls of 
the famous Abram Antoine, whose trial is noticed a little further on. 
The old jail was occupied until 1872 when the present handsome brick 
jail and residence was erected at a cost of about $10,000. These public 
buildings are pleasantly situated on the main street of Morrisville, 
fronting on a small public park. 

The first court of record held in Madison county was a Court of 
Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, of which the follow- 
ing is a record: 

" Holden at the School House near David Barnard's in Sullivan, on Tuesday the 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 487 

3rd day of June, 1806. Present— The Honorabje Sylvanus Smalley, Peter Smith, 
Edward Green, Elisha Payne and David Cook, Esquires and Judges. 

"Grand Jurors:— Lemuel Kingsbury, gentleman, foreman; Samuel Thomas, 
Elisha Carey, Oreb Montague, Joshua Harrington, Rufus Pierson, John Needhara, 
William Whitman, Joel Doolittle, George Ballou, Ebenezer Johnson, Abner Badger, 
Aaron Putney, .Samuel Griggs, Phineas Dodge, David Barnard, Jacob Patrick, 
Elisha Starr, David Woodworth. 

"John Matteson and Daniel Barber, constables to wait on the Grand Jury. 

"The Grand Jury, after retiring and finding no presentments, returned and were 
discharged by the Court. 

"The Court adjourned without day. A. B. Sizer, Clerk." 

The October term of this court for the same year was held " at the 
School House near the house of Elisha Payne in Hamilton." Present — 
The Honorable Peter Smith, Elisha Payne, Edward Green and David 
Cook, Esquires and Justices of the Peace. William Hatch was ap- 
pointed crier of the court. It was " Ordered that this court adjourn to 
the meeting house and convened forthwith." 

The grand jurors of this term were as follows: Stephen F. Black- 
stone, foreman; John Hoxie, Stephen Crumb, Daniel H. Coon, Paul 
Palmer, Seth Holmes, Thomas Leach, David Walters, Edward New- 
ton, Samuel McClure, Levi Mantor, David Peebles, Ezra Fuller, Rich- 
ard Butler, Oliver S. Wilcoxon, John Shapley, William McClenathan, 
Archibald Bates, Isaac Warren, Caleb Allen, Joseph Cooley, Ebenezer 
Corbin, Samuel Howard and David Barber. 

There was no important business before this court other than the 
approval of the seal which had been procured by the clerk, "with the 
device of suspended scales, beneath which a scepter lying horizontally, 
entwined by a serpent, a star in the center of the whole, and the whole 
encircled with 'Madison County, incorporated 1806.'" 

The first term of the Madison county Oyer and Terminer was held 
Julys, 1807, in the school house in Sullivan, before mentioned. Pres- 
sent — Honorable William W. Van Ness, judge of the Supreine Court; 
Peter Smith, judge of Madison county, Elisha Payne and David Cook, 
assistant justices. 

The grand jurors at this term were as follows: Jonathan Morgan, 
foreman; Timothy Gillett, jr., Isaac Ingersoll, Isaac Morse, Samuel 
Thomas, Jabez Abel, Elisha Starr, Timothy Brown, Elisha Farnham, 
Allen Dryer, jr., Elisha Severance, Dennison Palmer, Samuel Marsh, 
George Dalrymple, Erastus Cleveland, Wright Brigham, Daniel Pe- 
trie, Abraham Mattoon, Ephraim Bliss, Robert Avery, Barry Carter, 
James D. Cooledge, John Marble. 



488 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

An adjournment of this court was ordered to the barn of Sylvanus 
Smalley for the trial of the celebrated Hitchcock murder case. Griffin 
Watkins and John Leet, constables, were fined $2 each for non-attend- 
ance and Eli F. Hill, juror, was fined a like sum for the same cause. 
The first indictment was against Daniel R. Baxter, for assault and bat- 
tery; it was speedily disposed of by the discharge of the prisoner. 

There have been several legal cases in Madison county of more than 
ordinary importance and interest, of which the one above referred to 
was the earliest. In that case Alpheus Hitchcock was charged with 
poisoning his wife on the 6th day of April, 1807. It was proven on the 
trial that on that day the inhabitants had turned out to clear the road of 
the very heavy fall of snow of a few days previous. Hitchcock lived at 
" the center " and helped the party to clear the road between that point 
and Madison village . Before going home, Hitchcock called at the vil- 
lage drug store and purchased a quantity of arsenic. This in some 
manner was administered to his wife and at ten o'clock the same night 
she was a corpse. Hitchcock was a singing school teacher and, having 
become enamored with one of his pupils, took this means of ridding 
himself of his wife. Fourteen witnesses were sworn for the people and 
only three for the prisoner. The evidence of guilt was clear and the 
verdict was in accordance therewith. Hitchcock was sentenced to be 
hung on Friday, the 11th of the following September, between one and 
three o'clock. A gallows was erected in the east part of Cazenovia vil- 
lage, which was then the county seat, and there the prisoner was pub- 
licly executed by Jeremiah Whipple, sheriff, in accordance with the 
sentence. The execution was tragic and sensational, as such proceed- 
ings, when carried out before the public, have always been. While 
Hitchcock stood upon the scaffold awaiting the final acts he made a re- 
quest that the hymn, " Show Pity Lord, O Lord Forgive " be sung in 
his favorite tune of " Brookfield." This was done, adding intense im- 
pressiveness to the scene. The noose was adjusted and Hitchcock paid 
the penalty of his crime. 

The second capital case in this county was that of Mary Antone, or 
Mary Anthony, as the name is given in the record, for the murder of an 
Indian girl. The trial took place on the 27th day of June, 1814, before 
Honorable Jonas Piatt, justice of the Supreme Court; Peter Smith, first 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas; William Hopkins and Jonas Fay, 
assistant judges. Five witnesses were sworn for the people and two for 
the prisoner. The trial continued less than two days and the prisoner 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 489 

was found guilty and sentenced to be hung on the 30th of September 
at ten o'clock in the forenoon. She was duly executed at Peterboro. 

The somewhat celebrated Antone case, before referred to, was one in 
which Abram Antone was charged with the murder of John Jacobs; he 
was indicted in 1815. Judge Jonas Piatt and Gen. Joseph Kirkland 
were appointed by the court as counsel for the prisoner, who was ably 
defended. The plea of not guilty was entered, but the evidence to the 
contrary was clear and decisive. The defence rested their case wholly 
upon the theory that the State of New York had no jurisdiction over the 
Indian tribes within her boundaries. This objection was overruled by 
the court. This Antone appears to have possessed a revengeful disposi- 
tion. His father was a Stockbridge Indian and his mother the daughter 
of an Oneida chief. He was born in the year 1750 and served the cause 
of the colonists in the Revolution. It was well known that he commit- 
ted a murder at Chenango Point, killing an Indian in about the year 
1798, who, he claimed, had defrauded him out of money distributed to 
the different Indian tribes by the government. Later, while under the 
influence of liquor, he returned to his wigwam one evening and found 
his infant of four or five months crying loudly. Snatching the child 
from its mother's arms he raked open a bed of hot coals and buried the 
little one beneath them. The immediate cause of Antone's latest crime 
was the fact that John Jacobs had given the principal evidence against 
Mary Antone, who was the daughter of Abram, in the murder trial be- 
fore described. When Jacobs became aware of Antone's enmity heleft 
that region and did not return until Antone sent him word that he would 
not molest him. Jacobs came back and while hoeing corn with a num- 
ber of others, Antone came up, shook hands with each one and while 
grasping the hand of Jacobs, quickly drew a knife from his sleeve and 
stabbed him three times in the side. Antone's fleetness of foot and 
thorough knowledge of the surrounding country enabled him to evade 
the officers of the law until he was finally betrayed by a man who 
gained his confidence by professions of friendship. Petitions were sent 
to the authorities by several of the Indian tribes for Antone's relief, but 
they were not heeded, and after having been found guilty he was sen- 
tenced to be executed in Morrisville on the 13th day of September, 
1823. The execution was in public and witnessed by a vast crowd of 
people. 

Lewis Wilber was indicted for the murder of Robert Barber on the 
30th day of August, 1837. In the prosecution of the case Justin Dwi- 



490 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

nelle, district attorney, was assisted by B. Davis Noxon, of Syracuse 
and Timothy Jenkins. Wilber was convicted of the crime and executed 
at Morrisville October 3rd, 1839. 

In the fall of 1853 John Hadcock was tried for the murder of Mrs. 
Mary Gregg, was found guilty and sentenced to be hung December 21, 
1853. Subsequent efforts were made through the medium of a petition 
signed by man)' reputable persons, including the court which sen- 
tenced him, to have his punishment commuted to imprisonment for life. 
It was contended that Hadcock was insane or at least not responsible 
for his acts at the time the crime was committed and the case was car- 
ried before Governor Seymour, who granted a month's stay for the 
purpose of investigating the matter. A jury of inquisition was ap- 
pointed and met on the 13th of February, 1854. After the examination 
of a number of witnesses the case was submitted to the jury, who 
failed to agree and were discharged. The governor offered to grant a 
further respite if the district judge desired to order another jury. This 
was not done and the sheriff proceeded to carry out the sentence of the 
court. Hadcock was executed on the 24th day of February, 1854, in 
the old jail. 

One of the most noticeable features of those early capital trials is, 
perhaps, the brief period required between the indictment of a prisoner 
and his execution, as compared with similar cases in recent years. The 
man who committed murder in those times, if arrested for the crime, 
was given little time by the swiftly moving wheels of justice to prepare 
for his inevitable doom. In these later days it is too often the case that 
through the ingenious efforts of the attorneys in procuring various 
postponements and raising new questions, a prisoner is given years of 
life after his first conviction and frequently escapes with light punish- 
ment or none at all. 

The bar of Madison county have access to a good law library, as a 
result of the action of the Board of Supervisors of 1866, who, at their 
annual meeting adopted a resolution that a special committee consisting 
of Charles L. Kennedy and Lambert B. Kern be appointed to purchase 
a law library for the county at a sum not exceeding $1,000, and ap- 
pointing the county clerk to act as librarian. In the following year 
about $900 were expended for books, and other additions have since 
been made. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 491 

PERSONAL NOTES. 

Although Madison county is without large municipal corporations 
and to a great extent is situated away from the great central lines of 
travel, and has, therefore, failed to attract from elsewhere men of na- 
tional reputation who nearly always drift towards the populous centers 
of the country, it has still given to the world a number of men whose 
names and deeds are familiar over a wide extent of territory. Some 
of these were born and reared in the county and passed their lives amid 
its familiar scenes, while others were called by their public services to 
other homes ; none of these ever lost his pride in his birthplace. One 
town alone in Madison county, and it may almost be said one village — 
Peterboro in Smithfield — is the birthplace and former home of a num- 
ber of men who were known throughout the country and who attained 
very high station before the public eye. Some of these were lawyers 
and were elevated to the bench or were elected to political office which 
made them distinguished, and it is fitting that they receive brief notice 
in this chapter of Madison county history. The bar of the county, past 
and present, in the high character and attainments of its members, 
compares favorably with those of other counties of the State. We are 
able to here preserve some brief personal notes of many who long ago 
practiced here and filled the measure of good citizenship. 

Among the prominent lawyers whose life records constitute a part of 
the history of Madison county, stood conspicuously John B. Yates, 
though he won fully as high repute in business affairs as he did in his 
profession. He was a native of Schenectady and graduated from Union 
College in 1803, when he was eighteen years of age. He read law 
with his brother, Hon. Henry Yates, and was admitted to the bar in 
1805. He successfully practiced his profession until 1813, when he re- 
ceived a military commission as captain and raised a company of artil- 
lery at the head of which he participated in the disastrous winter cam- 
paign on the northern New York frontier. After his return from the 
war his time was largely taken up with general business affairs and as 
a servant of the people in public office. In 1816 he settled in the vil- 
lage of Chittenango, where he established a mercantile business and 
engaged in various other undertakings for the development of the 
place. In 1818 he built a plaster mill, adjoining the grist mill, which 
he had acquired, and after the discovery of water lime, was largely 
interested in its manufacture. He was the principal active factor 



492 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in the construction of the lateral canal connecting Chittenango with 
the Erie Canal, and also ran a line of packets between the village 
and Utica. He maintained the Polytechnic school a number of years 
at his own expense, and in many other ways was the special mainspring 
of progress in the village. He was elected to Congress before leaving 
Schenectady, serving from 1815 to 1817. In the latter year he was ap- 
pointed to supervise the State lotteries for the promotion of literature. 
In 1835 he was elected to the Assembly from Madison county and in 
1837 was chosen county judge of the Court of Common Pleas, which 
office he held until January, 1843. He was holding both of these offices 
at the time of his death. 

This is, perhaps, the proper place to mention another pioneer lawyer 
of Chittenango, William K. Fuller, who was born in Schenectady, 
November 24, 1792, and graduated from Union College. He studied 
law with Henry and John B. Yates, was admitted to the bar in 1814 
and thereupon formed a partnership with John B. Yates. With him he 
went first to Utica in the summer of 1814, and thence to Chittenango in 
the spring of 1816. He at once opened an office, but in succeeding 
years his practice was largely given up for other pursuits. He was an 
able and well-read attorney, and also an excellent surveyor. He was 
appointed district attorney of Madison county in March, 1821, and ad- 
jutant general on the staff of Governor Yates in 1823. He was mem- 
ber of assembly from this county in 1829-30, and representative in 
Congress from 1833 to 1837. General Fuller subsequently returned to 
the family homestead in Schenectady, where he died. 

Judge Joseph Clark was a promment citizen in early years and was 
honored with several public offices. He was a son of Captain Samuel 
Clark, who was an early settler at Clarkville. When the post-office was 
established at that point, about the year 1820, he was appointed post- 
master, an office which he held more than thirty years, and the name 
of the place was changed from Bailey's Corners to Clarkville in his 
honor. Judge Clark also held the office of town clerk about twenty 
years, was supervisor fifteen years, and justice of the peace more than 
twenty years. He was elected a judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
and served with great acceptability for ten years. He was twice elected 
to the Assembly, in 1824 and 1828, and again in 1835. In 1839 he was 
elected to the State Senate for four years. In both of these legislative 
bodies he left a record for faithfulness to his duties and integrity in 
their performance. Judge Clark died May 11, 1873. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 493 

Daniel Cady, who had studied law and begun practice in Johnstown, 
Fulton county, removed to Chittenango in 1828, and continued his pro- 
fession until about 1835, when he removed to Columbia county. He 
was a man of large attainments and in that county was honored with 
appointment to the office of judge of the County Court in 18-tO. Judge 
Cady was a brother of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 

Other early lawyers of Chittenango were R. John Everett, who came 
soon after Judge Cad}' left, and remained a year or two; Horatio Gates 
Warner, Hiram Cummings, Duane Brown, who practiced about ten 
years, and removed to Morrisville; Lorenzo B. Dana, who practiced a 
short time before his election to the office of county clerk, when he re- 
moved permanently to Morrisville ; William E. Lansing, born in Sulli- 
van in 1823, read law with Judge Joshua Spencer, in Utica, began 
practice in 1845, was elected district attorney in 1850, county clerk in 
1855, and member of congress 1861-63 and 1871-75. Charles L. Ken- 
nedy practiced a number of years in company with Mr. Lansing, re- 
moved to Morrisville when the latter was elected county clerk to per- 
form the duties of that office, and remained there; he succeeded Lan- 
sing as clerk in 1858 and was elected county judge in 1867. 

Many of the particulars of the life of Peter Smith, outside of his 
career as a judge, have been given in an earlier chapter, which includes 
a part of the history of the town of Smithfield. Born in Rockland 
county, N.Y., in 1768, he obtained such education as his circumstances 
permitted before he was sixteen years old, when he began clerking in 
a New York store. After three years of this experience he took a 
small stock of goods and opened a store about two miles from Little 
Falls. One year later he began mercantile business in Utica. He was 
successful in winning the confidence of the Indians and carried on a 
large fur trade, in which John Jacob Astor had an interest at one 
period. In 1794: he acquired the New Petersburgh tract of land, of 
which an account has been given and which took its name from him. 
In 1806 he removed to the town of Smithfield and built the family 
homestead which, with its many alterations, subsequently became the 
home of his distinguished son, Gerrit Smith. When Madison county 
was organized in 1806 Mr. Smith was chosen one of the judges and in 
in 1807 was made first judge, a position which he held until 1820, ad- 
ministering its duties with signal success considering his limited oppor- 
tunities for obtaining an education. His knowledge of human nature 
was profound and his mental characteristics were such as to enable him 



494 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

to judge clearly of the right and wrong of cases. His integrity was un- 
questioned and his decisions generally satisfactory. In 1819 he con- 
veyed his estate to his son and passed much of his time thereafter in 
traveling. Finally settling in Schenectady he died there April 13, 1837. 

Gerrit Smith, son of Peter Smith, was born in Utica March 6, 1797. 
His life as a citizen of Madison county has been described at length in 
the preceding history of Smithfield, and his name is placed in this 
chapter only because he was admitted to practice in the State and Fed- 
eral courts in 1853. Although he never regularly studied law, he had 
made himself familiar with its main principles and " became a lawyer 
through a steady, healthy growth of intellect." As a philanthropist of 
broad views, as a gifted and persistent opponent of slavery, sectarian- 
ism and all forms of wrong, and as an advocate of the broadest liberty 
of mind and conscience, Mr. Smith's reputation was co-extensive with 
the country. 

The distinguished jurist, Greene Carrier Bronson, was for a time a 
resident of Peterboro, Madison county. He was born in Simsbury, 
Conn., in November, 1789. His educational opportunities were limited, 
but he richly endowed himself by reading and study in after life. He 
removed to Peterboro and studied law with John P. Sherwood in Ver- 
non, Oneida county. In due time he was admitted to practice and be- 
came a worthy associate of the great lawyers and jurists of his time. 
In 1819 he was appointed surrogate of Oneida county, and in 1824 he 
settled in Utica, after which his connection with Madison county ceased. 
He was elected attorney- general of the State in 1839, was elevated to 
the supreme bench in 1836, and in 1847 to the bench of the Court of 
Appeals. After his resignation in 1851, he removed to New York city, 
where he was further honored with official station. It was written of 
Judge Bronson that " In the department of judicial duty he was justly 
pre-eminent and his opinions are models of excellence. In conciseness 
and perspicuity of expression, in terseness and directness of style, in 
compactness and force of logic, in sturdy vigor of intellect, and in the 
stern sense of justice," he was unsurpassed. He died in New York 
September 3, 1863. 

One of the foremost of the many eminent lawyers who have shed 
lustre upon the bar of this State was Joshua Austin Spencer, who 
though not a native of this county and residing here during the most 
conspicuous part of his career, is nevertheless entitled to this reference. 
He was born in Great Barrington, Mass., May 13, 1790, and in 1808, 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 495 

when he was eighteen years old, he removed to Lenox. His oppor- 
tunities for obtaining education were Hmited, but his energy and 
strength of intellect enabled him to rise above all obstacles. After 
working as a clerk and as a carpenter's apprentice he took up the study 
of law with his elder brother. Soon afterward he served a term in the 
army in the war of 1813. In 1814 he married Clarissa Phelps of Lenox. 
After his admission to the bar he practiced for a time with his brother, 
but in 1820 formed a partnership with William H. Maynard and settled 
in Utica. In 1841 he was appointed U. S. attorney for the Northern 
District of New York, and in 1845 was elected State senator, where he 
performed most efficient service on the judiciary committee. He also 
held the office of mayor of Utica. He died in that city April 25, 1857. 

Elisha Payne of Hamilton was one of the earliest judges of the Court 
of Common Pleas in this county, receiving his appointment from Gov. 
Morgan Lewis March 31, 1806. He held the office with honor and 
ability nine years. Judge Payne was a son of Abram Payne, who died 
in Hamilton in 1801. In 1795 Elisha bought lot No. 2, which included 
half the site of Hamilton village, and gave the name to the place in 
honor of Alexander Hamilton. Mr. Payne's useful life was character- 
ized by earnest and unselfish efforts for the advancement of education 
and morality, and it was largely due to him that the Seminary was 
located in Hamilton. Other details of his life are given in the history 
of that town in earlier chapters. 

Judge John McLean was once a resident in Eaton, this county. He 
was a native of New Jersey and was a brother of the late Noah McLean 
of Eaton. He went with his parents to Virginia, later to Kentucky, 
and finally to Ohio, where he was admitted to the bar in 1807. He be- 
gan practice in Lebanon in that State and in 1812 was elected to Con- 
gress; in 1816 he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and 
in 1823 was postmaster-general. In 1829 he was appointed by Presi- 
dent Jackson a justice of the United States Supreme Court. He died 
in Cincinnati in 1861. 

Judge Samuel Nelson was a law student in Madison county, town of 
Madison, and married the daughter of his preceptor. Judge David 
Woods, an early attorney of that town. Judge Nelson was born in 
Hebron, Washington county, N. Y., in 1793, and graduated from Mid- 
dlebury College, Vermont, in 1813; he was admitted to the bar in 1817, 
and settled in Cortland, where he was a successful practitioner. After 
holding several minor offices he was appointed a Circuit Court judge in 



496 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1823, judge of the State Supretrii Court in 1831, and was made chief 
justice in 1837. In 1845 he was appointed by President Tyler a justice 
of the United States Supreme Court. 

The town and village of Hamilton has given to the bar of the county 
a number of prominent lawyers. Among the earliest as well as the 
ablest of these were Nathaniel King and Thomas H. Hubbard, both of 
whom were highly respected and honored by their fellow citizens. 
Nathaniel King was born in Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., Decem- 
ber 26, 1767, and graduated from Yale College in 1792. He at once 
studied and passed through a law course and in February, 1797, settled 
in Hamilton and began practice. Upon the erection of Chenango 
county in 1788 he was elected one of the first assemblymen from that 
county, and again represented the county in 1800 and 1802. He had a 
taste for military affairs and early received the appointment of colonel 
in the militia, subsequently rising to the rank of major-general, in 
which capacity he served at Sackett's Harbor in the war of 1812. In 
1809 he was appointed district attorney of the Ninth district, which in- 
cluded Madison, Cayuga, Chenango, Onondaga, and Cortland counties. 
He was one of the board of trustees that founded Hamilton Academy 
in 1818, and the first teacher in that institution, for which vocation he 
was thoroughly adapted. He died in Hamilton July 25, 1848. 

Thomas Hill Hubbard was born in New Haven, Conn., December 6, 
1781. He was a son of Rev. Bela Hubbard, D. D., a distinguished 
Episcopal divine of that city and graduated from Yale in 1799. He 
immediately began the study of law in Troy, and after his admission to 
the bar in 1804 .or 1805, he settled in Hamilton and began practice, 
remaining there about twenty years and until 1824, when he removed 
to Utica and continued practice there until his death. He was the first 
surrogate of Madison county, holding that office from March 26, 1806, 
to February 26, 1816. At that time he was appointed district attorney 
of the Sixth district, which included seven counties; when each county 
was made a separate district in 1818 he continued as the first district 
attorney of Madison county. He was presidential elector in 1812, in 
1844, and again in 1852. Upon his removal to Utica he formed a part- 
nership with Greene C. Bronson and was honored with other offices in 
that county. He died May 21, 1857. 

Another early lawyer of Hamilton was John G. Stower, who was a 
student with Mr. Hubbard, and after his admission to the bar formed 
a partnership with his preceptor, which continued until Mr. Hubbard 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 497 

removed to Utica. Mr. Stower was surrogate of Madison county from 
February 9, 1831, to April 13, 1837 ; representative in Congress from 
1837 to 1839, and in April of the latter year was appointed United 
States attorney for the Southern District of Florida. He was elected 
State senator in 1833 and held the office continuously until his resigna- 
tion in September, 1835. Mr. Stower was an able and conscientious 
lawyer. His death took place December 30, 1850. 

Philo Gridley was for a short period associated with Mr. Stower as a 
partner in law practice and held the office of district attorney of Madi- 
son county for a term after 1839. He subsequently removed to Utica 
and was appointed circuit judge of the Fifth Circuit July 17, 1838, and 
was elected Supreme Court judge June 7, 1847. 

One of the most prominent jurists of this State was for a number of 
years a member of the bar of Madison county and a resident of Hamil- 
ton village. Charles Mason was born in Plattsburg, N. Y., July 18, 
1810, and after obtaining an academical education, studied law with 
Hon. William Ruger, of Watertown. Upon the appointment of Philo 
Gridley as circuit judge in 1838, calling him from Hamilton, Mr. Mason 
removed to that village and took his place. In 1845 he was appointed 
district attorney of Madison county and relinquished the office to accept 
that of justice of the Supreme Court for the Sixth Judicial District, to 
which he was elected in June, 1847. By two re-elections he was 
retained in this high office twenty-two years. In January, 1868, he 
was appointed to fill a vacancy in the Court of Appeals occasioned by 
the death of Judge Wright. In 1870 he was appointed clerk of the 
United States Circuit Court, removing to Utica to perform the duties 
of the office. He died in that city while still filling the position on 
May 31, 1879. 

John Foote was a son of Isaac Foote, a leading citizen of the town of 
Smyrna, Chenango county, where he settled in 1795, was born in Col- 
chester, Conn., April 30, 1786, and studied law in the office of Thomas 
H. Hubbard in Hamilton, and began practice about the year 1813. He 
continued in business more than half a century. He was the father of 
John J. Foote, a successful merchant of Hamilton, who held the offices 
of State senator and presidential elector. 

Lorenzo Sherwood, who removed to De Ruyter from Hoosick, N, Y., 
and practiced there a few years, took up his residence in Hamilton in 
the winter of 1839-40 and began business in company with James W- 
Nye, who had studied with him in De Ruyter. After about ten years 



498 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of business association, Mr. Sherwood removed to Texas on account of 
fear of consumption. Mr. Nye continued in practice until his election 
to the office of surrogate in 1844. In 1847 he was elected county judge. 
Soon after the close of his term in this office he removed to Syracuse 
and subsequently to New York city. 

In 1845 Albert N. vSheldon and James E. Eldredge formed a partner- 
ship for the practice of law in Hamilton, which was dissolved three 
years later. Mr. Sheldon was elected district attorney in 1859 and held 
the office one term only, and is still in practice in Hamilton. Mr. 
Eldredge was elected to the Assembly in 1816, 1827, and 1829, and in 
1833 was elected county judge, holding the office one term only. He 
died September 15, 1864. 

Henry C. Goodwin was born in De Ruyter June 25, 1824, received an 
academical education and was admitted to the bar in 1846. He was the 
first district attorney under the constitution of 1846, elected in June, 
1847, and lield the office one term. He was elected to Congress in 
November 1854, upon the resignation of Gerrit Smith, ^nd was re- 
elected for the next term. His promising life was cut short by death 
November 12, 1864, at thirty- six years of age. 

David J. Mitchell was for a time a partner with Mr. Goodwin in Ham- 
ilton and early evinced the possession of legal talent of the highest 
order. He soon removed to Syracuse and became a partner with Judge 
Daniel Pratt and Wilber M. Brown, a firm which gained wide celebrity. 
Mr. Mitchell was noted for his effective eloquence before juries. He 
died September 22, 1874, when only forty-seven years of age. 

John Adams Smith was an early practitioner in Hamilton and for a 
time in company with Thomas H. Hubbard. 

Joseph Mason, born in Plattsburg March 31, 1828, settled in Hamil- 
ton to study law with his eminent brother, Charles Mason, and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1849. He began practice there the same year, was 
elected justice of the peace in 1849, at the age of twenty-one years and 
held the office two or three terms. He was elected county judge in 
1863, held the office one term, and in 1878 was elected to Congress. 

David G. Wellington, who was for a number of years a partner with 
Mr. Mason, was born in Cazenovia January 8, 1838, and graduated from 
the seminary in that village. After his admission to the bar he was 
elected justice in 1866 and held the office until his election to the As- 
sembly in 1867; to the latter office he was again chosen in 1874. His 
partnership with Mr. Mason began in 1876. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 499 

After the village of Morrisville was made the county seat in 1817 the 
natural tendency of many of the prominent lawyers of the county was 
towards that place for the practice of their profession. The first law- 
yer to settle in the village was Andrew S. Sloan, who came from Mans- 
field, Conn. He graduated from Williams College in 1813, studied law 
in Waterford, Conn., and settled in Morrisville in 1819, where he re- 
sided until his death in 1857. He held the office of county clerk six 
years, and was first judge of the county. Associated with him several 
years was Hugh Halsey, who came from Long Island ; he returned 
thither after a few years and subsequently held the office of surrogate, 
and died there. 

Epenetus Holmes settled in Morrisville as a contemporary with Mr. 
Sloan. He was born at Amenia, Dutchess county, N. Y., December 1, 
1784. With limited educational opportunities he studied law and 
was admitted to the bar at Schaghticoke, N. Y. , and there practiced 
until his removal to Morrisville. He served as justice of the peace, and 
for several years was clerk of the Board of Supervisors. Chosen a 
judge of the Court of Common Pleas, he sat about ten years on the 
bench. He died in 1861. He was father of Sidney T. Holmes, who 
was one of the strongest men professionally of the Madison county bar. 
Enthusiastic in study, with a quick and active mental equipment, he 
rapidly advanced to the front rank among the lawyers of this vicinity. 
He was elected county judge in 1851 and served twelve years with rare 
ability. In 1865 he was elected to Congress from this district and was 
no less successful as a legislator than as a lawyer and jurist. Later in 
his life he removed to Bay City, Michigan, where he continued the suc- 
cess attained here. 

A. Lawrence Foster studied law in Vernon and settled in Morrisville 
about 1827, where he was successful in his profession. Active in poli- 
tics in the Whig party, they elected him to Congress in 1840. At the 
close of his term he settled permanently in Virginia. 

Otis P. Granger was born in Suffield, Conn., in February, 1796, and 
graduated from Williams College in 1816. He studied law, was ad- 
mitted to the bar and in 1821 settled in Morrisville, where he continued 
in active practice until 1845. He was an able counselor and enjoyed 
the full confidence of the community. He was appointed surrogate of 
the county in 1827 and held the office until 1840. After his retirement 
from practice before 1850 he was frequently consulted in cases of im- 
portance. 



500 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Duane Brown removed from Brookfield about 1845 and bought out 
A. Lawrence Foster in Morrisville, continuing in successful practice 
until his death in March, 1857. Among his professional brethren he 
was considered one of the ablest lawyers of his time. He took little 
interest in politics and held no public office of importance. 

William W. Farwell, who was a son-in-law of Judge Otis P. Granger, 
practiced in Morrisville about four years from 1854, when he removed 
to Chicago, where he was elected circuit judge. His business associate 
was Z. T. Bentley, who removed to Oneida and died there. 

Alexander Cramphin, born in Maryland in 1828, studied law with 
Timothy Jenkins, at Oneida Castle, and with Duane Brown, in Morris- 
ville. After his admission to the bar he was elected justice of the 
peace and in 1868 was chosen district attorney. He died February 2, 
1874. 

Isaac Newton Messinger, who died in Oneida, March 11, 1895, in the 
seventy fifth year of his age, was for many years an honored member 
of the Madison county bar, and a valued citizen of Oneida. He was 
born in the town of Smithfield, this county, February 28, 1831, the 
only child of Gen. John M. Messinger, one of the earliest settlers of the 
town of Lenox. The General was a native of Barre, Mass., and in the 
year 1808, removed to the town of Smithfield. He was a man of im- 
portance in his time, being actively interested in military affairs. He 
was one of the early sheriffs of Madison county; represented his dis- 
trict in the State Legislature, and occupied a prominent position in the 
county both politically and socially. L Newton Messinger was a grad- 
uate of Hamilton College in the class of 1839, being a classmate of the 
late Judge Benjamin F. Chapman. He studied law and in July, 1843, 
was admitted to the bar. He opened the first law office in Oneida 
shortly after his admission, taking as partner Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, 
a brilliant practitioner of wide reputation. In 1863 he formed a part- 
nership with James B. Jenkins, which was harmoniously and success- 
fully maintained for a period of ten years, when Mr. Messinger retired 
from active practice (1873). Mr. Messinger was for some time chief 
of the village fire department, and was much esteemed for his bravery 
in the face of danger and disaster. He was also one of the early village 
presidents, and during the Civil war gave valuable aid to the Union 
cause by raising troops. Prior to the birth of the Republican party he 
was a Democrat. He was Oneida's fourth postmaster, his commission 
bearing the signature of President Buchanan; he was also one of the 




GERRIT A. FORBES. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 501 

earliest ticket agents and operators at the New York Central station. 

Edward Frost Haskell, who died in Oneida November 2, 1892, in the 
thirty-ninth year of his age, was an honored member of the Madison 
county bar. He was born at Orange, N. J., October 21, 1853, a son 
of Llewellyn and Marianna (Frost) Haskell. His father was a New 
York merchant of large interests, and the owner and founder of Llew- 
ellyn Park in Orange. His mother was a native of Charleston, N. C. , 
and came of the old Southern family of Frost. Mr. Haskell was pre- 
pared at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, and entered the University 
of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He began the study of law in the office of 
Hon. John E. Smith of Morri-sville, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. 
Following his admission he formed a partnership with Judge Smith 
which continued five years, or until Mr. Haskell's election to the State 
Legislature in 1883. During their association Mr. Haskell acted as 
assistant district attorney, Mr. Smith being then the prosecuting officer. 
Mr, Haskell served two consecutive years in the Assembly, and was 
chairman of the Committee on Railroads. After his retirement from 
the Legislature he settled in Oneida where he en j oyed a large and lucra- 
tive practice until his untimely death. Mr. Haskell married in 1873, 
Mary E. Howe. Three children were born to them : Edna Rutledge, 
Florence, and Edward Llewellyn. 

Hon. Gerrit A. Forbes, justice of the Supreme Court, was born near 
Clockville, in the town of Lenox, May 30, 1836, a son of Isaac J. and 
Abigail (Sayles) Forbes, the former of whom was a son of Jacob, a 
farmer of Lenox, who reared a family of ten sons and three daughters, 
of whom Isaac J. was one of the youngest. The father of Jacob was 
of Scotch descent, and an early settler in the Mohawk Valley, where 
the family name, although Forbes in Scotland, took the form of For- 
bush. Isaac J. Forbes was born at Clockville, and died at Lafayette, 
Ind,, in the forty-seventh year of his age. His wife was a daughter 
of Silas Sayles, once postmaster at Peterboro, and a granddaughter of 
William Sayles, a native of Connecticut, who came early to this region. 
Of the union of Isaac J. and Abigail (Sayles) Forbes eleven children 
were born, of whom Gernt A. Forbes was the sixth in order of birth. 
His mother had been a schoolmate of the famous American philan- 
thropist, Gerrit Smith, and in his honor Judge Forbes was named. He 
was reared on his father's farm and in his youth received but a com- 
mon school education. In 1860, however, having a strong desire to 
embrace the legal profession, he began to read in the office of Hon. B. 
F. Chapman of Clockville, and was admitted in May, 1863. He formed 



502 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

a partnership with Judge Chapman in August of the same year. Judge 
Forbes served as district attorney from 1871 to 1874, and was elected 
justice of the Supreme Court in November, 1887. In 188-t he had be- 
come the head of the law firm of Forbes, Brown & Tracy at Syracuse, 
taking the place of Hon. George N. Kennedy in the firm of Kennedy 
& Tracy. Since 1868 he has resided in Canastota, and during his long 
residence in that village has been prominently associated with many 
public spirited enterprises, and in all movements having for their aim 
the material prosperity and moral advancement of the community; he 
has served as president of the Board of Education twelve consecutive 
years. Judge Forbes married, July 10, 1862, Ellen Brooks, daughter 
of Colon and Matilda (Hills) Brooks of Clockville; of their union are 
two children: Maude I., wife of D. Fiske Kellogg, New York, and 
Claude L., a practicing attorney of Syracuse. 

S. Perry Smith, long a well known and successful member of the bar 
of the county, was born in Nelson and a son of James and Sally Smith. 
Until he reached middle life he remained on the home farm of his father 
to care for his younger brothers, James W. and John E. Smith, after 
which he read law and practiced in Morrisville many years and until 
his death April 3, 1896. He was a Democrat and supported his party 
both at the polls and as a public speaker on many occasions. During 
the war of the Rebellion he was repeatedly elected supervisor of his 
native town, which was strongly Republican, and performed very effi- 
cient service in promoting enlistments for the Union armies. He was 
thrice married — first to Miranda Spencer, by whom there survived him 
a daughter, Mrs. George C. Wilbur, of Detroit; second to Sophia Pow- 
ers, and third to Ella Goodfellow, who now survives him and by whom 
he had three children : Samuel, Bertha and Paul, who reside with their 
mother in Oneida. 

Nathaniel Foote settled in Morrisville in 18-15, removing from Che- 
nango county. He continued in practice throughout his long life. 

Joseph Clark, who is elsewhere mentioned as the founder of Clark- 
ville, in Brookfield, and who was county clerk twenty years, justice of 
the peace twenty-five years, supervisor fifteen years, and judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas more than ten years, was father of Lucius P. 
Clark, who was born in Clarkville, January 27, 1822. He received a 
part of his liberal education in the Pearl Street Academy in Albany, 
after which he returned to Clarkville, married and learned the carriage 
maker's trade, which he followed about eight years. He was then ap- 




PERRY G. CHILDS. 



The judiciary and bar. b03 

pointed deputy county clerk and i-emoved to Morrisville in 1850. Three 
years later he was elected county clerk and held the office three years. 
During this period of six years in the office he had given all spare 
time to the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He was 
nominated in 1856 by the Democrats for Congress and frequently nom- 
inated for the assembly. In 1873 he was again elected county clerk. 

The village of Cazenovia was the county seat from 1810 to 1817 and 
during that period attracted thither a number of able lawyers, while in 
more recent years other have found remunerative practice in that sec- 
tion. Schuyler Van Rensselaer and Samuel Sidney Breese settled 
there before the close of the last century and were professionally en- 
gaged. Van Rensselaer remained only a short time. Mr. Breese was 
the first clerk of Chenango county, receiving his appointment in the 
year of the erection of the county, 1798. He remained in Cazenovia in 
practice to about 1808, when he removed to Oneida county and was 
there honored as a representative in the Constitutional Convention of 
1821, and with election to the Assembly of 1828. 

David Dearborn, David B. Johnson, and possibly other attorneys, 
settled there during the first decade of the present century. Mr. Dear- 
born and Mr. Johnson practiced many years and both their names ap- 
pear in the tax list of the place in 1811. Mr. Dearborn remained in the 
village until his death, July 22, 1847. 

Perry G. Childs was one of Cazenovia's most distinguished early law- 
yers. He was a graduate of Williams College, married Catharine Led- 
yard in 1807, in which year he settled in the village; was admitted to 
the bar in 1813, and continued in active practice until his death, March 
27, 1835. He was appointed a member of the Council of Appoint- 
ment January 10, 1822, and was elected to the State Senate in 1819. 
He served on the staff of General Hurd in the war of 1812, and on 
January 9, 1830, he was appointed bank commissioner, which office he 
held ten years. He was father of five children. He died in 1835. 

Justin Dwindle was another prominent lawyer of Cazenovia, who 
graduated at Yale in 1805 and settled in the village before 1815, and 
continued until his death, September 15, 1850, aged sixty-six years. He 
was in the Assembly in 1821-22; was appointed county judge February 
7, 1833; served in Congress in 1833-35, and was appointed district at- 
torney in 1837. 

Charles Stebbins was born in Williamstown, Mass., in May, 1789. 
He graduated at Williams College in 1808, at the age of nineteen, and 



504 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in 1810 removed to Cazenovia. He was admitted in 1813. He died 
here March 23, 1873. He served in the war of 1812 as aide-de camp to 
General Hurd. He was elected State senator in opposition to Gerrit 
Smith in 1835, and served four years. January 9, 1830, he was ap- 
pointed bank commissioner, and held that office till 1840. In 1819 he 
he married Eunice, daughter of Josiah Masters, of Schaghticoke, N.Y., 
who was born in 1794, and died in Cazenovia, May 5, 1871. They had 
five children. 

Jonathan Denise Ledyard, son of Benjamin, was born at Middletown 
Point, N. J., June 10, 1793, and died in Cazenovia, January 7, 1874. 
His father served with credit as an officer in the Revolutionary army 
and in 1794 settled at Aurora, now in Cayuga county. His mother was 
sister to Gen. Jonathan Forman and to Maj. Samuel S. Forman, who 
accompanied Col. John Lincklaen in the settlement of Cazenovia in 
1793. After the death of his mother in 1798, Jonathan D. Ledyard was 
adopted by his sister Helen, wife of Col. John Lincklaen, and given ex- 
ception educational opportunities, which he fully employed, and gradu- 
ated from LTnion College in 1812. He read law in the office of Childs 
& Stebbins in Cazenovia, and in Utica and was admitted to the bar in 
1815. Soon after attaining his majority he entered the land office of 
Colonel Lincklaen, whom he succeeded in the management of the Hol- 
land Land Company's business in this vicinity, and in 1823 he pur- 
chased the remaining lands. These affairs prevented him from engag- 
ing to any important extent in the practice of law. Throughout his life 
he was a broad-minded and public spirited citizen. 

The first regular attorney in the town of De Ruyter .was Abraham 
Payne, son of Elisha Payne, of Hamilton, whence he removed about 
1834. After practicing about ten years he removed to Seneca Falls, 
where he extensively engaged in the milling business. Martin P. 
Sweet, of Onondaga county, settled in De Ruyter in 1833 and practiced 
about four years, when he removed to the vicinity of Auburn. In his 
office as a student was Lorenzo Sherwood, of Hoosick, N. Y., who com- 
pleted his studies and practiced in De Ruyter from 1834 to about 1839, 
when he went to Hamilton, taking with him James W. Nye, then a 
student in his office. With Mr. Sherwood, while in De Ruyter, was 
his brother, Luman, then recently admitted, who practiced with him 
until 1839, went he went to Auburn. 

Zadock T. Bentley was a son of Jonathan Bentley, a pioneer of De 
Ruyter, and was born in Washington county, August 8, 1807. After 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 505 

graduating from the Hamilton Academy he began the study of law at 
Berlin, N. Y. , and was admitted to the bar in Madison county in 1833. 
In that year he formed a partnership with Martin P. Sweet which con- 
tinued three years, when Mr. Sweet left the town. Mr. Bentley con- 
tinued in practice until 184:4, when he removed to Morrisville to assume 
the office of county clerk to which he had been elected. He remained 
at the county seat after his term expired, practicing until about 1862 
when he removed to Oneida and died there July 4, 1870. George W. 
Stone, a young lawyer from Cortland county, formed a partnership with 
Mr. Bentley about 1836, which continued until 1839, when ill health 
compelled Mr. Stone to go south. He died in Homer. Artemas V. 
Bentley was a brother of Zadock T. and read law with him. He was 
admitted in 1841, began practice in De Ruyter which he continued un- 
til 1861, when he was appointed postmaster, an office which he held 
many years. 

Andrew Scott Sloan, born in Morrisville, son of Judge Andrew S. 
Sloan, before mentioned, studied law in that village and in 1844 settled 
in De Ruyter, where he continued in practice ten years and removed to 
Beaver Dam, Wis. His younger brother, Ithamar C. Sloan, studied 
with him in De Ruyter, was admitted about 1846, and practiced till 
1854, when he removed to Janesville Wis. 

Among the leading lawyers of Madison county for many years, was 
Harris Coats Miner, who was born in Pharsalia, N. Y., August 31, 
1817. In 1838 he went to De Ruyter to attend school. Being offered 
a position as head clerk in a store there, he took it and remained in the 
business several years. On January 1, 1844, he removed to Morrisville 
to accept the office of deputy county clerk, to which he was appointed 
by Zadock T. Bentley. During his three years of service in this posi- 
tion he devoted his energies and spare hours to the study of law, and 
his strength of intellect and perseverance enabled him to so master the 
subject that he was admitted in December, 1849. Forming a partner- 
ship with Andrew S. Sloan, they practiced together until Mr. Sloan re- 
moved west, after which Mr. Miner was associated with his brother, R. 
L. Miner, and with Lambert B. Kern. 

Lambert B. Kern was born in Eaton, Madison county, November 28, 
1833. He obtained an academical education and studied law in the of- 
fice of Sidney T. Holmes in Morrisville, and was admitted to the bar in 
1858. In 1865 he was elected district attorney and served one term. In 
1878 he was elected to the Assembly. Daniel Q. Mitchell, a brother of 



506 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

David J. Mitchell, before mentioned, was born in De Ruyter September 
16, 1823, and was admitted to the bar in 18(50, from which time he 
practiced successfull)' in De Ruyter many years. 

The town and village of Madison had an early and reputable attor- 
ney in the person of Phineas L. Tracy, who was born before the close of 
the last century in Norwich, Conn., graduated from Yale in 1806 and 
engaged in practice in 1811. His brother, Albert, born June 17, 
1793, came to Madison county at the same time. He had studied med- 
icine with his father, took up the legal profession and was admitted in 
1815 Thsir practice in Madison continued only a few years, when 
Phineas removed to Batavia and Albert H. to Buffalo. 

Edward Rogers, a graduate of Yale College and a man of superior 
mental qualifications, was born in Cornwall, Conn., May 30, 1787, re- 
moved to Madison about the close of the war of 1812 and continued 
prominent in his profession during about thirty years. He was a mem- 
ber of the Constitutional Convention in 1831 and represented the 23d 
District in Congress in 1839—41. He also served several years as a judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas. David Woods and his son Jonathan 
were contemporary practitioners with Judge Rogers, coming originally 
from Vermont. They did not long remain in tliis county. 

Thomas J. Yaw practiced law in Brookfield (Clarkville) from about 
1830 until his death in 1863. In that village also Pardon Davis was in 
practice in the 30's. George W. Gray settled there about 1845 and 
practiced a few years. Henrj' M. Aylesworth, who afterwards removed 
to Leonardsville, practiced in Clarkville a part of the year 1867. Sam- 
uel D. White, who removed to Hamilton, was in practice in Clarkville 
from 1857 to 1866. George M. Havens also practiced there about a 
year before his removal to New York about 1845. Sherman Daboll, 
who came into Brookfield with his parents when young, studied law at 
New Berlin, practiced in Clarkville several years, and removed to ^lich- 
igan. Barna J. Stimson practiced there from 1867 to 1874, and removed 
to Hamilton. Frederick Clarke, a native of the town of Brookfield, 
studied law with Sherman Daboll, began practice about 1876 and soon 
afterward removed to Cazenovia. In Leonardsville, in this town, Anson 
Harder, from Little Falls, settled about 1853, practiced about three 
years and removed to Jefferson county. 

The first lawyer in Earlville, town of Lebanon, was probably Joseph 
Whitmore, who removed there from Rome in 1843, and continued in 
practice five or six years, when he removed to Michigan. Alfred 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 507 

Nichols settled there in 1851 and practiced until 1859, when he re- 
moved to Sherburne. 

The pioneer attorney in the town of Lenox was George Ager, but it 
is not known in just what year he settled there. The next one was 
Ichabod S. Spencer, who moved from Massachusetts to the town of 
Madison in 1802. He began law practice in 1808 and attained unusual 
success. He was the first postmaster in Canastota, in 1839. Judge 
Thomas Barlow was a son of Thomas and was born in Duanesburgh, 
Schenectady county, March 14, 1807. After receiving an academical 
education he studied law in Little Falls, Rochester and Herkimer, and 
at the July term of the Supreme Court in 1831 was admitted as an at- 
torney; at the July term in 1834 he was admitted as counselor of that 
court, and in January, 1835, was admitted solicitor and counselor of the 
Court of Chancery. He settled in Canastota in the fall of 1831, and in 
the fall of 1842 was appointed superintendent of schools in Madison 
county. He gained a large practice in his profession and a high repu- 
tation throughout the county. In February, 1843, he was elected first 
judge of the Court of Conmon Pleas and served acceptably in that 
office until January, 1848. In 1844 he was elected to the State Senate 
and served faithfully and ably four years. Judge Barlow indulged his 
natural taste for historical research and writing, and in May, 1841, was 
made a corresponding member of the New York Historical Society. 
In 1853 he was elected a metnber of the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science. In 1854 he was elected corresponding mem- 
ber of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin and in the same year 
was made corresponding member of the New Orleans Academy of 
Sciences. He made a fine collection of natural history specimens that 
was particularly rich in insects. As a scientific lecturer Judge Barlow 
was popular. He died in Canastota. 

Other comparatively early attorneys of Canastota were Curtis C. 
Baldwin, Israel S. Spencer, Hiram Bennett, William H. Kinney and I. 
N. Messenger. vStephen Chapman settled in Clockville, town of Lenox, 
about 1820 as the first attorney in that place. B. F. Chapman was also 
in practice there many years, to 1880, when he removed to Oneida and 
was succeeded by George W. Chapman. Joshua A. Spencer, brother 
of Ichabod S., was an early practitioner in this town and subsequently 
attained eminence in the profession. 

Hon. Timothy Jenkins, although he resided in Oneida county, was 
still a well known and honored practitioner at the Madison county bar 



508 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and was thoroughly well known in this county where he had many 
interests He was a native of New England, a descendant from the 
hardy, conscientious, devout first settlers of that seminal part of our 
country. He was born in the town of Barre, Mass., January 39, 1799, 
of parents whose genealogy showed them to be allied to the early 
Puritans of Plymouth. They were farmers and intended for their son 
no other occupation in life. It was their wish that he and his only 
brother should own and till the same farm which had been bequeathed 
to them by their father. Ere he had attained his sixteenth year his 
father had beea removed by death. From that day he was left to 
maintain himself and mark out and pursue his own plan of life. He 
soon determined to seek a higher intellectual culture, to penetrate some 
of the regions of science and learning of which he had, in his element- 
ary studies, caught some glimpses. At the age of eighteen Mr. Jenk- 
ins removed to Washington county, this State; there he resided two 
years attending the academies at Salem and White Creek. During 
that time he devoted himself assiduously to the attainment of classical 
and scientific learning. He then entered upon and pursued for three 
years the honorable employment of school teacher, in the prosecution 
of which he was continually extending and perfecting his acquaintance 
with several sciences and classical literature. At that time he com- 
menced the study of the law, the practice of which he had determined 
should be his profession in life. Afterwards having prosecuted his 
studies the required term under two distinguished lawyers in Utica, 
Mr. Jenkins was admitted to the bar in 1835. Soon after he opened an 
office in the adjoining village of Vernon, and in 1832 removed and set- 
tled at Oneida Castle. From that time until his death, which occurred 
December 34, 1859, he was constantly engaged in an ever increasing 
legal business extending into adjacent counties and often into more 
distant parts of the State. 

In 1840 Mr. Jenkins was appointed the prosecuting attorney of 
Oneida county, and held that responsible office five years. During his 
term of service the criminal business of the county was unusually large, 
but his onerous duties were discharged with signal ability, and to the 
entire satisfaction of his legal brethren and to the people generally. 
For ten years, under the appointing power of the State, Mr. Jenkins 
held the office of attorney to the Oneida Indians, and to this remnant 
of a once noble tribe of aborigines of our country he faithfully extended 
the benefits of his talents and influence. In 1844 he was elected a rep- 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 609 

resentative to the Congress of the United States; also in 1846, and 
again in 1850. During those six years in that exalted station, Mr. 
Jenkins served his constituents, his State, the Republic, and the cause 
of humanity with a fidelity to principle and independence of party that 
gained for him universal respect and made him a still greater favorite 
of the people. He is believed to have been one of those who devised 
the "Wilmot Proviso." If he did not originate the measure he was 
early in the counsel of those who did. He supported it with great 
earnestness, although he knew it was displeasing to many of his own 
party. Mr. Jenkins was from early life a Democrat in his political 
belief ; he nevertheless opposed the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, 
which repealed the Missouri Compromise. In 1856 he joined the 
Fremont movement, and ever afterward acted with the Republicans. 
In fact he was a delegate at large to the convention which met in Phila- 
delphia in 1856 to form the Republican party. 

Mr. Jenkins was a man positive in intellect, disposition, and in heart. 
He commenced life under disadvantageous circumstances, but there 
was no man who enjoyed more entirely the confidence and respect of 
the whole community. He was highly distinguished for his learning 
and industry in his profession, his great personal resolution and perse- 
verance, and he maintained a position in the very first rank at the bar. 
Although not an orator as the term is generally understood, his 
speeches were always sound, logical, and to the point, and in the prep- 
aration of his cases he had no superior. In his religious convictions he 
was earnest and decided, and took a prominent part in the formation 
of a Unitarian Society in Vernon and the erection of an edifice. To 
those who knew him slightly he appeared distant and very dignified, 
but a better acqaintance proved him genial and communicative, with a 
heart full of love and kindness to all. 

Ex-Postmaster-General James at a meeting of the Oneida County 
Society in New York held in that city March 15, 1897, said : "As the 
name of Timothy Jenkins comes to my recollection I see a tall, digni- 
fied, impressive man, the very type of a lawyer and statesman, a man 
whom in my younger days I was led to regard as one of the ablest men 
I had ever met, and I was gratified years after to learn that Hannibal 
Hamlin, vice-president of the United States, one who had served in 
Congress with him, declared that to be his opinion." 

In 1822 Mr. Jenkins was united in marriage with Miss Florilla Tuttle 
of Vernon, which marriage was terminated by the death of the wife 



510 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

about a year afterwards. In 1829 Mr. Jenkins married Miss Harriet 
Tuttle, a sister of his deceased wife. Their children were : Charles M., 
born Sept. 1, 1830, died Dec. 20, 1856; Hiram T., born April 8, 1833, 
died July 29, 1868; Florilla, widow of W.J. Hickox, only surviving 
child; Albert Timothy, born April 10, 1845, died April 29, 1846. 

James B. Jenkins has practiced law in this vicinity nearly fifty years. 
He was born in Onondaga county, N. Y., a son of Josiah and Harriet 
A. (Fay) Jenkins, a daughter of Major Joseph Fay, aide to General 
Wilkinson in the War of 1812. Josiah Jenkins was a graduate of Yale 
College and a man of scholarly attainments. With his brother, Timo- 
thy, he removed from Massachusetts to Albany where for several years 
they were engaged in perfecting astronomical apparatus; both were 
teachers and lecturers on astronomy. Josiah Jenkins was for some 
years and at the time of his death, superintendent of the State Salt 
Works, living at Syracuse . He had proceeded to Montezuma to inspect 
the State Salt Works there, and while there contracted a fever from the 
effects of which he died. Timothy Jenkins was a man of national rep- 
utation ; he was frequently mentioned at one time for the gubernatorial 
nomination, which he declined. He represented his district in Congress 
several terms. The subject of this notice was prepared for college at 
the old Oneida Castle Academy, and entered Hamilton. In 1847 he 
began the study of law in the office of his uncle, Timothy Jenkins, 
taking charge of the latter's legal business in his absence at Washing- 
ton. He was admitted to the bar in 1850 and began practice in Oneida 
Castle. For several years he was associated with Hiram T. Jenkins, 
who was district attorney of Oneida county for nine years, during most 
of which period Mr. Jenkins acted as his assistant, and for about eight- 
een months as acting district attorney. He remained in Oneida Castle 
until 1862, and in that year located in Oneida where he has since prac- 
ticed. For nine years, and during the Civil War, he was associated 
with the late I. Newton Messinger, and both gave material aid to the 
Union cause by raising troops in this locality. He next associated with 
T. A. Devereaux, esq., under the firm name of Jenkins & Devereaux, 
which continued twenty years; they formed a partnership with Joseph 
I. Sayles of Rome, and as Sayles, Jenkins & Devereaux conducted two 
offices, one in Rome and one in Oneida for nearly three years. Mr. 
Devereaux withdrew from the firm of Jenkins & Devereaux in the spring 
1897, and Mr. Jenkins has since practiced alone. From time to time he 
has been engaged on many cases of unusual interest and prominence. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 511 

including Elkins vs Kilburn, and Others, which was fought vigorously 
for some years and carried to the Court of Appeals where Mr. Jenkins 
argued against Senator Kernan of Utica, and obtained a judgment of 
$17,000. His famous case of the Six Nations of New York Indians 
against the United States Government has taken a large portion of his 
time. Under the treaty of Buffalo Creek in 1838 the New York Indians 
ceded or traded to the United States a large tract of land in Wiscon- 
sin, and were to receive in return 1,834,000 acres in Indian Territory 
and $423,000 in money. During the Kansas Border war and the 
struggle to make Kansas a free State many people squatted on these 
lands, and later obtained deeds from the Government which intended 
to pay the New York Indians, an intention which was never realized. 
Mr. Jenkins commenced the prosecution of the claim of the Indians in 
the fall of 1859, and it was fought before the different departments of 
Government until 1884, when he secured a bill from Congress sending 
it to the Court of Claims. Here the case was tried and argued, result- 
ing in a decision for the Indians of a little less than $2,000,000. It was 
reopened and fought several years until in 1897 Mr. Jenkins appealed 
to the Supreme Court of the United States where he argued the case 
twice, and on November 14, 1898, a judgment was obtained for $1,999,- 
210.85. Mr. Jenkins was for many years an ardent advocate of the 
cause of temperence, and prominent in temperance work. He is one 
of the oldest and best known practitioners of the Madison bar. He 
married, June 28, 1876, Carrie A. Lockwood, a daughter of Hon. S. M. 
Lockwood of New Caanan, Conn. Of this union is one son, Harry M. 
Jenkins. 

Hiram L. Rockwell, son of Thomas B. and Lucy (Lindley) Rock- 
well, was born in the town of Stockbridge, this county, February 21, 
1833. His father was engaged extensively in farming and was at one 
time captain of a company of N. Y. State artillery; his grandfather, 
Thomas Rockwell, came from Connecticut and was among the earliest 
settlers of the present town of Stockbridge. Mr. Rockwell was edu- 
cated in the district schools, and at the Albany Normal school, from 
which he was graduated with the class of 1855. For one year he taught 
a Union school in the town of Dryden, Tompkins county, N. Y., and 
the following year held a position as instructor in the Brooklyn Poly- 
technic Institute. In 1857 he entered the Albany Law School where 
he was graduated LL. B. in 1859. In the same year he was admitted 
to the bar and took up his residence in the village of Munnsville, 



512 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

where he continued in active practice until 1867. For a period of five 
years following he was engaged in the raising of grapes and other fruits 
in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, and in 1872 came to Oneida 
where he has since resided. Mr. Rockwell has of late confined his at- 
tention chiefly to insurance and real estate business. He has been 
prominent in the support of many worthy public enterprises and at dif- 
ferent periods has been honored with positions of public trust. He 
served six years as school commissioner of the second district of Mad- 
ison county, embracing the townships of Stockbridge, Smithfield, Fen- 
ner, Sullivan and Lenox; as justice of the peace in the town of Stock- 
bridge six years; in 1877 as supervisor of the town of Lenox; for six 
years as a member of the Oneida Board of Education; one term as 
village trustee; and was a member of the first sewer commission for 
four years, a position to which he has lately been reappointed. For a 
number of years he has been a member and served as trustee of the 
First Presbyterian Church. Mr. Rockwell married in 1861, Esther A. 
Halt, and four children have been born to them: Adaline Benson, 
Mrs. George Schubert, Grace H. (deceased December 11, 1888), and 
Charles W. Rockwell. 

C. Carscadden, who has practiced law in Oneida since 1858, was born 
in Black Rock, Erie county, in 1834. He was educated in Oneida 
Creek common school, Oneida Castle Academy, Clinton Liberal Insti- 
tute, and Hamilton College. He studied law at Hamilton College Law 
School and in the office of Shoecraft & Snow in Oneida; was admitted 
to the bar, and as above stated has practiced in Oneida since 1858, a 
period of forty-one years. Mr. Carscadden was appointed register in 
bankruptcy in 1874, and held that office until the bankruptcy law was 
repealed. 

Edwin J. Brown, son of Edwin C. and Mary Jane (Wells) Brown, 
was born in Verona, Oneida county, November .30, 1842. Alpheus 
Brown, his parental great-grandfather, came from Pawtucket, R. L, to 
Brookfield, this county, among the earliest settlers. On the maternal 
side he is descended from William Wells who came from England in 
1630. Mr. Brown's father was in business in Oneida Castle for several 
years as a harness maker and dealer and later in Oneida until 1864. 
He was a musician of no mean ability and while a resident of Oneida 
formed the first band organized in the village called the Oneida Sax- 
horn band. A man of active enterprise and considerable business 
ability, he was among the first to go to the Pennsylvania oil fields where 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 513 

he established an extensive stage route with headquarters at Titusville, 
in which place he also conducted large livery stables, a driving park, 
etc. He became a prominent member of the oil exchange, and died at 
Titusville in 1881, almost in the prime of life. Edwin J. Brown was 
educated in the Morrisville Union .School; a private school in Oneida; 
Onondaga Academy; Oneida Seminary, and Hamilton College where 
he was graduated with the class of 1867. Immediately after taking his 
degree he began the study of law in the office of Shoecraft & Snow 
with whom he remained until his admission to the bar in May, 1868. 
In the same year he began practice in Oneida where he has since con- 
tinued, a period of over thirty years. In politics Mr. Brown has been 
a life-long and active Democrat ; he frequently serves as a delegate to 
party conventions, both county and state, and has never missed a pri- 
mary caucus. He has served for a long term as justice of the peace 
and frequently as village attorney. Mr. Brown was appointed by Gov- 
ernor David B. Hill to prosecute charges of exacting extortionate fees 
against Sheriff Leander Burroughs of Madison county, and was suc- 
cessful in his case, which as the first of this kind in the state attracted 
widespread attention. During the first year of his practice he was as- 
sociated with M. J. Shoecraft, but has since formed no partnerships. 
He is a member of Oneida Lodge, No. 70, F. and A. M. ; Doric Chap- 
ter, No. 193, R. A. M., and Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. In 1869 he 
married Kate A., daughter of Col. John Barstow of Bridgeport, Conn., 
and one child, a daughter, Mary Irene, was born to them, who died in 
1895. 

Benjamin Rush Wendell, who died in Cazenovia, October 24, 1884, 
was one of the most prominent men of this community for many years. 
He was born at Albany, in 1823, a son of Dr. Peter Wendell, one of 
the first chancellors of the State Regents. He studied law with Judge 
M. T. Reynolds and after his admission came to Cazenovia and was for 
one year in the office of Stebbins & Fairchild. He then succeeded 
Charles Dudley Miller as cashier of the old Madison County Bank (1845). 
This position he held until the charter of the bank expired in 1859, and 
not being renewed he occupied the old bank building as a private office 
until his death. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party 
and a delegate to the first Republican convention held in the state of 
New York. Mr. Wendell was a man of quiet, retiring disposition, but 
withal of uncommonly good judgment and his assistance and advice in 
business matters were sought by many. He married, September 8, 

33 



514 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1847, Margaret Ten Eyck Burr, daughter of William M. Burr of Caz- 
enovia, and three children were born to them, Burr, Benjamin Rush 
and Ten Eyck Wendell, all of whom reside in Cazenovia. Burr Wen- 
dell was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and began the study of law 
in the office of D. W. Cameron. He subsequently entered Albany Law 
School; was graduated from that institution in 1878 and admitted to 
practice. Mr. Wendell has served in various town and village offices. 
He has given little time to general practice and confines his attention 
to property interests. 

Joseph D. Senn was born in the town of Verona, Oneida county, 
April 18, 1860, a son of Frederick and Mary (Fessman) Senn. He was 
educated in the district schools in the vicinity of his father's farm, and 
also attended the Oswego State Normal School. For a period of three 
years he engaged in teaching in the town of Rome, and in April, 1883, 
began the study of law in the office of Edwin J. Brown, of Oneida, with 
whom he remained until April, 1895. At this time he entered the office 
of S. Peri'y Smith in Morrisville and in April of the following year was 
admitted to practice. For one year he held the position of managing 
clerk in the office of John E. Smith, and in 1887 began practice alone 
in Morrisville, where he remained nine years. In November, 1896, he 
removed to Oneida and associated with J. T. Durham, forming the 
present firm of Senn & Durham. Mr. Senn was elected district attor- 
ney of Madison county in 1893 on the Republican ticket and held the 
office during the years 1893-94-95. During his incumbency the first 
trial of the Corey murder case occurred, attracting widespread atten- 
tion. Mr. Senn conducted the prosecution alone and secured a convic- 
tion. He has served five years as a trustee of the Morrisville Union 
School, and is a member of Wewana Lodge of Odd Fellows in Morris- 
ville. He married in July, 1888, Mabel Dunham, daughter of A. 
Soraers Dunham, of Verona, and two children have been born to them. 
Ivers Munroe, who died at Oneida, July 4, 1899, in the seventy- 
seventh year of his age, was a gentleman of high standing in this com- 
munity, and one of the leading members of the Madison Bar. He came 
of an old New England family, and his grandfather, Lieutenant Eben- 
ezer Munroe, is credited by historians with having fired the first gun 
for the American side in the War for Independence; his father, Charles 
Munroe, was a soldier of the war of 1812, serving with the Ashburn- 
ham Light Infantry. Mr. Munroe was born at Ashburnham, Mass., 
in 1833, and in 1846 removed to Camden, N. Y., where he studied law 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 515 

in the office of Stephen Cromwell. He was admitted to practice two 
years later, and formed a partnership with Mr. Cromwell, which con- 
tinued more than twenty years. During his residence at Camden he 
was elected justice of the peace, and from 1862 to 1865 was commis- 
sioner of drafts for the twentieth district, having his office in that of the 
provost marshal in Utica; it was through Hon. Roscoe Conklin, with 
whom he was on terms of intimate friendship, that he received this ap- 
pointment. In 1868 he went West, and located in Iowa, where he con- 
tinued the practice of law and was honored with various positions of 
public trust, ever discharging his duties with ability and fidelity. 
Though a stalwart Republican, he was not a politician in the accepted 
sense of the term, and was never a seeker for political preferment. In 
1882 he located in Oneida, where he practiced until his death. Soon 
after his arrival here he was made attorney for the Oneida Savings 
Bank, in which capacity he served continuously until December, 1898, 
when, on account of ill health, he resigned. He was also one of the 
trustees of that institution. Mr. Munroe was a genial, affable gentle- 
man, whose presence is much missed in businsss and social circles. On 
the day following his death a meeting of the bar was held at the office 
of James B. Jenkins. County Judge Smith presided, and the minutes 
were recorded by Wilfred A. Leete. Judge Smith, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. 
Senn and Mr. Hunt, who succeeded Mr. Munroe as the attornej' for the 
Oneida Savings Bank, eulogized the deceased member of the associa- 
tion, and the following resolution presented by a committee composed 
of ex-District Attorney Joseph D. Senn, Mr. Jenkins and Village At- 
torney E. Leland Hunt was adopted as expressive of the sentiment re- 
garding the simplicity and integrity of the deceased: 

Resolved, That we, the members of the bar of Madison county, assembled at the 
office of James B. Jenkins, in the village of Oneida, hereby attest our high regard 
for the professional character and ability of our deceased brother. He was a care- 
ful, painstaking practitioner, faithful to his clients, courteous to his opponents, 
candid and honest with all. Judged by the high standard of manhood, his life was 
a success. His record was worthy of emulation. 

It was further resolved that the bar should attend the funeral in a 
body. Similar action was also taken at a meeting of the trustees of the 
Savings Bank, with which Mr. Munroe was for several years actively 
identified. 

Mr. Munroe married twice; he is survived by his second wife. Miss 
Jane Chapin, a daughter of Samuel Chapin of Oneida, and by one 



516 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

daughter, Mrs. Homer Chapin of Oneida, and one son, Charles Munroe, 
of Hackensack, N. J. 

Michael H. Kiley, district- attorney of Madison county, was born at 
Horicon, Warren county, N. Y., August 28, 1861, a son of William and 
Mary (Cronin) Kiley. His father, a native of Ireland, came to this 
country in early life, and followed the occupation of farming. Mr. 
Kiley was the oldest of a family of seven children and early had to con- 
tribute to the general support. When a mere youth he jtaught in a dis- 
trict school during the winter months and worked on the farm in sum- 
mer. In the fall of 1880 he went to Chittenango, where he attended 
the Yates Academy, working for his board in the family of Dr. John R. 
Eaton. The following spring he went to work on the farm of the late 
Charles Peck in Manlius, Onondaga county, and in the fall entered 
Cazenovia Seminary, where, during his entire course he worked for his 
board and tuition. He was graduated with the Latin-Scientific class of 
1883, and began his legal studies in the office of Hon. D. W. Cameron 
of Cazenovia, acting as instructor of beginning Latin classes at the 
seminary during the first year. He remained with Mr. Cameron as a 
student for three years and in April, 1886, he was admitted to the bar. 
He then formed a partnership with Mr. Cameron under the firm name 
of Cameron & Kiley, which continued \ ntil the fall of 1891, since which 
time Mr. Kiley has practiced alone, having gained an excellent success 
and standing in his profession. As a criminal lawyer he has been 
highly successful ; he has also given considerable attention to fraudu- 
lent transfers of real estate, and it is no idle compliment to say that as 
a jury lawyer he takes a front rank among the practitioners of this sec- 
tion, having been possessed even in his student days of considerable 
oratorical ability. His politics are Republican ; he served for several 
years on the town committee and has been a frequent delegate to party 
conventions. His first political preferment was his election to the of- 
fice of justice of the peace in 1887. In 1888 he was nominated for 
school commissioner of the Second Madison county district, but was de- 
feated, the campaign having been conducted on lines which looked not 
to the qualifications of the man, but to his nationality and religious be- 
lief. In 1895 he was nominated for the office of district attorney and 
carried the county against James E. Brewer of Oneida, by a majority of 
3,070, said to be the largest ever given to a local candidate. In 1898 
he was renominated without opposition and without making an effort. 
Mr. Kiley married, in 1887, Chloe Celia Staring, daughter of Nicholas 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 511 

J. Staring of Schuyler, Herkimer county, N. Y., and a descendant of 
Hon. Henry M. Staring, an early judge of Herkimer county. Their 
children are Marguerite E., Gertrude H. F. I., and William H. N. 

L. A. Parkhurst, was born at Hobokenville, Madison county, N. Y., 
February 23, 18G6. His father, E. Walker Parkhurst, was a native of 
the same town, where Orrin W. Parkhurst was one of the pioneer set- 
tlers. E. Walker Parkhurst married Victois L., daughter of George 
W. Eddy, and was engaged through life in farming. L. A. Parkhurst 
was educated in the common schools andCanastota Academy. He was 
graduated from the law department of the Georgetown University in 
1891, and admitted to the bar in 1893. In 1898 Mr. Parkhurst married 
L. Mande, daughter of Mr. Nichols. Mr. Parkhurst is one of the pro- 
gressive men of Madison county, was elected school commissioner in 
1893 and re-elected in 1896. 

G. Wells Smith, of Morrisville, son of Judge John E. Smith, was 
born at Morrisville, July 5, 1868. He was educated at Morrisville Un- 
ion School, Cazenovia Seminary, and Albany Law School. He also 
read law in Judge Smith's office and was admitted November 33, 1894, 
at Syracuse. He has since practiced at Morrisville, first with his father, 
and at present with B. Fitch Tompkins. Mr. Smith is one of the prom- 
ising young attorneys of the county. He is a man of good address, 
ready in debate; is a fine musician, and possesses a keen and inventive 
mind. 

Nathaniel Foote, senior member of the Madison county bar, was born 
at Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y., July 9, 1813. He was educated 
in the Sherburne district and select schools and at Hamilton Academy. 
In 1837 he began to read law in the office of Henry Bennett at New 
Berlin, and completed his studies with J. Whipple Jenkins of Vernon, 
Oneida county, in 1840. For a period of three years Mr. Foote was in 
partnership with Hon. John E. Smith. He has practiced at Morris- 
ville from 1840 until the present time, and although a man of advanced 
age retains his faculties to a remarkable degree. From 1846 until the 
abolishment of the office by the new constitution he served as examiner 
in Chancery. 

Harrison W. Coley of Oneida, was born at New Woodstock, N. Y., May 
4, 1865. He gained his preliminary education at Cortland Normal School 
and was graduated from Cornell University with the class of 1887. 
He read law with George B. Davis of Ithaca; Eggleston & Crombie of 
Cortland ; Franklin Pierce of Homer ; and Edward F . Haskell of Oneida. 



518 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

He was admitted in September, 1889, and has since practiced in 
Oneida. From October 15, 1889 to November 3, 1892 he was a mem- 
ber of the firm of Haskell & Coley. 

Thomas A. Devereaux, who has practiced law in Oneida for the past 
twenty-three years, was born at Utica, N. Y. , March 1, 1850, a son of 
Patrick and Sarah (McQuade) Devereaux, both natives of Ireland, who 
came to this country early in life. Mr. Devereaux was educated at the 
old Oneida Seminary, Holy Cross Jesuit College at Worcester, Mass., 
and the Christain Brothers School at Utica. He began the study of 
law in the office of James B. Jenkins in Oneida and was admitted to 
the bar September 7, 1876. He was associated with Mr. Jenkins as 
clerk and partner for a period of nearly twenty years, and since 1895 
has practiced alone. During a portion of his partnership with Mr. 
Jenkins they were associated with J. I. Sayles of Utica, under the firm 
name of Sayles, Jenkins & Devereaux, and the firm was reputed one 
of the strongest in this section. Mr. Devereaux has been closely affili- 
ated with the Democratic party, but with the exception of two terms 
as corporation counsel of the village of Oneida has never held public 
office. 

Wilfred A. Leete, son of Wilbur F. and Antonette (Church) Leete, 
was born at Potsdam, N. Y., April 27, 1873. He was educated at the 
Oneida High School. Mr. Leete was for eight years engaged in news- 
paper work, serving on the Utica Herald, the Norwich Telegraph, as 
World's Fair special correspondent of the Railway Times, as a special 
correspondent of the New York Times, and on the Oneida Dispatch. 
He began the study of law in the office of B. A. Ransom, and after 
the latter's death continued in the office of T. A. Devereaux. He was 
admitted at Albany in March, 1897, and has since practiced in Oneida. 
In politics he is a Republican. In 1897 he served as special attorney 
of the Department of Excise. 

George W. Chapman of Canastota, son of William H. and Mary 
(Sayles) Chapman, was born at Clockville, October 11, 1847. He was 
educated at Cazenovia Seminary, and read law with Judge B. F. Chap- 
man of Clockville and Hon. Gerrit F. Forbes of Canastota, with both of 
whom he was subsequently associated in practice . Mr. Chapman served 
for some time as attorney of the West Shore Railroad, and also for the 
Lehigh Valley. For twelve years he was a justice of the peace. 

Le Grand Colton of Canastota was born in that village August 6, 1849, 
a son of Clinton L. and Augustine (Chapman) Colton. He was edu- 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 519 

cated at Cazenovia Seminary and Columbia College Law School, and 
also read law in the office of Church Forbes, and with Senator Hiscock. 
He was admitted in May, 1876, and has since practiced in Canastota. 
Mr. Colton is president of the First National Bank of Canastota. 

Albert O. Briggs of Canastota was born at Otego, N. Y., June 18, 
1853. He was educated at the Albany State Normal College, and read 
law at Leonardsville and Hamilton. He was admitted in May, 1880, 
and has practiced at Canastota since 1883. Mr. Briggs is now serving 
as referee in Bankruptcy. He is a past master of Canastota Lodge 
No. 231, F. & A. M., and a member of Doric Chapter, R. A. M. On 
his father's side Mr. Briggs descends from the Briggs family of Rhode 
Island, and on the maternal side from the noted Welsh family of 
Potter. 

Joseph Beal of Oneida was born in Hamilton, January 10, 1856, a son 
of John and Catherine (Code) Beal. He was educated at Colgate Uni- 
versity and studied law in the office of Edwin J. Brown of Oneida. He 
was admitted in September, 1881, and has since practiced in Oneida. 
Mr. Beal is a Republican in politics; he served as justice of the peace 
four years and is now a member of the village board of education. He 
is also a member of Oneida Lodge No. 270, F. & A.M., and Eumenia 
Lodge of Odd Fellows. 

Daniel C. Burke, son of Jeremiah and Ellen (O'Brien) Burke, was 
born in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, June 6, 1851. He was ed- 
ucated at Vernon Academy, and for several years taught school in win- 
ter and worked at various occupations during the summer months. He 
read law in the office of Hon. Ralph Mcintosh of Vernon, and was ad- 
mitted to practice at Buffalo in June, 1880. Mr. Burke began practice 
at Vernon where he remained until January, 1886, when he came to 
Oneida. For some time he was in partnership with Hon. R.J. Fish, 
and later with J. E. Brewer. For a period of four years Mr. Burke ed- 
ited the Oneida Post. He has also served as police justice of the village 
of Oneida. 

Josiah E. Ferry, son of Sanders and Lydia (Eaton) Ferry, was born 
in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., October 22, 1829. He 
read law in the office of Nye & Whitmore of Hamilton, and later with 
Simeon E. Church of Hamilton, and Cook & Bruin of Kingston, N. Y. 
He was admitted at Albany in 1853 and began practice at Ellenville, 
Ulster county. He came to Oneida in 1855 and has ever since resided 
in that village. He is one of the oldest attorneys of the county. 



530 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

E. Leiand Hunt, son of Warren and Belinda (Leland) Hunt, was born 
near Stillwater, Saratoga county, June 14, 186-1. His mother was a 
daughter of Judge Leland of Albany. Mr. Hunt was educated at Col- 
gate Academy, and began the study of law in the office of Risley, Quinn 
& Perry at Utica. Later he read in the office of Fish & Burke of Oneida. 
He was admitted in December, 1889, and began practice in Oneida. Mr. 
Hunt is now village attorney. He is also attorney for the Oneida Sav- 
ings Bank. Fraternally he is a member of Eumenia Lodge of Odd 
Fellows. 

James E. Brewer, son of Edward E. and Amelia (Eigabroadth) 
Brewer, was born in the town of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., October 
7, 18G4. He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, and studied law with 
Sheldon S. Judson of Vernon. After his admission in 1880 he began 
his present practice in Oneida. In politics Mr. Brewer is a Democrat; 
has served as village trustee and is now police justice. 

William K. Jenny, son of William T. and Susan S. (Kenyon) Jermy, 
was born at Hammond, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., Febi:uary 17, 1875. 
He was educated at Cayuga Lake Military Academy, Oneida High 
School, New York Military Academy, and Cascadilla School at Ithaca 
(class of 1894). He began the study of law in the office of T. A. Dever- 
eaux of Oneida, and took the LL. B. degree from Syracuse University. 
He was admitted to practice in March, 1899. 

Stephen Mead Wing of Canastota is one of the best known attorneys 
of the Madison county bar. He prepared for his profession at Hamil- 
ton College and in the office of Hon. Gerrit Forbes. Mr. Wing was 
admitted to practice in June, 1885, and has ever since enjoyed an active 
practice at Canastota. 

Clarence L. Hobart, son of George A. and Alice (Harp) Hobart, was 
born in the town of Lenox May 8, 1871. He was educated at Yates 
Academy and began the study of law with A. O. Briggs of Canastota in 
1892. He was admitted to practice in 1896 and has since that time 
practiced in Canastota. He serves as secretary of the water depart- 
ment, and clerk of the Union school district. 

George B. Russell, son of Thomas R. and Maria (Barnard) Russell, 
was born at Cleveland, Oswego county, August 31, 1863. He was edu- 
cated in the common schools and at Rome Academy, and began the 
study of law with Hon. John E. Smith of Morrisville. Since his ad- 
mission in 1894 he has practiced at Canastota. In politics Mr. Russell 
is a Republican ; he has served two terms as justice of the peace. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 521 

M. Eugene Barlow, son of Thomas and Cornelia G. (Rowe) Barlow, 
was born in Canastota, October 31, 1839. Hon. Thomas Barlow, his 
father, was a judge of Common Pleas, a state senator, and a member of 
the Court for the Correction of Errors which was supplanted by the 
amendment to the constitution organizing the Court of Appeals. M. 
Eugene Barlow was educated at Whitestown Seminary and read law 
with his father and in the office of Judge Alfred Kennedy. He was grad- 
uated at Albany Law School in 1862, and admitted the same year. 
From 1865 to 1868 he practiced in Crawford county, Ohio, and has ever 
since practiced in Canastota. He was for some years in partnership 
with Loring Fowler. Mr. Barlow was postmaster at Canastota during 
both administrations of Cleveland, and served as United States Com- 
missioner from 1870 to 188G. 

Robert J. Fish, member of Assembly from this district, is of mixed 
New England and Irish parentage. He was born in the town of Au- 
gusta a little over fifty years ago, and received his education in the 
common schools of Augusta and Vernon, and at Vernon Academy. 
Prior to becoming twenty-one years of age he worked on a farm and 
taught school. After he attained his majority he engaged in farming 
with his brother William, and continued in that business and in teach- 
ing school until he began the practice of law. While engaged in farm- 
ing and teaching he managed to read law with R. Mcintosh at Vernon, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In the fall of that year he began 
practice at Rome where he remained until coming to Oneida in 1872. 
Although actively engaged in politics he never held any office except 
Member of Assembly. Mr Fish has been a prolific and successful 
legislator and has succeeded in passing all the acts in the interests of 
his county he has introduced except the Oneida Normal School Bill. 
Important acts which he has passed include: The bill for the improve- 
ment of the Oneida Feeder; the bill authorizing the construction of a 
hoist bridge over the canal at Canastota, and the bill for refunding to 
the county the state tax paid on bonded railroads during the past thirty 
years, amounting to about $30,000. 

Charles Shumway, son of Sylvanus and Maria (Phillips) Shumway, 
was born at Guilford, Chenango county, June 10, 1847. His father has 
served for several years on the Chenango county board of supervisors. 
Mr. Shumway was educated at Norwich Academy, and Cortland Acad- 
emy. In 1867 he began the study of law in the office of Merritt & 
Prindle of Norwich, and remained with E. H. Prindle until his admis- 



523 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sion in December, 1870. He began practice at Norwich, and located in 
Oneida in the spring of 1884. 

C. H. Perry, M. D., was born at Woodstock, Vermont, June 25, 1844, 
a son of Thomas J. and Mary (Atherton) Perry. He took the M. D. 
degree at Dartmouth College in 1866, and began practice at Perkinsville 
in his native state, removing to Oneida in 1873. Dr. Perry studied law 
with J. B. Jenkins in Oneida, securing a regular certificate of clerkship, 
and was admitted in November, 1897. He has gained considerable 
reputation as a medico-legal expert. He has served as health officer of 
the village of Oneida, and as president of the Madison County Pension 
Board two terms. 

Matthew J. Shoecraft was born in Herkimer county in the year 1818, 
a son of Joseph and Lana (Calkins) Shoecraft. His father was a noted 
mathematician. Mr. Shoecraft was educated at Belleville Academy and 
at Union College where he was graduated in 1846. While engaged in 
the profession of teaching he began the study of law, and was admitted 
in 1849. He began practice in Oneida where he has since resided the 
following year. Mr. Shoecraft has been a staunch Democrat, and has 
been honored by his party with nominations as district attorney, mem- 
ber of assembly, and member of Congress. He served several years 
as president of the village of Oneida, and has been an official member 
of the State Bar Association. 

Charles F. Kellogg of Chittenango was born in Mindon, Montgom- 
ery county, December 4, 1839, a son of Daniel Kellogg, a contractor 
and member of Assembly. Mr. Kellogg was educated in the common 
schools and read law with W. E. Lansing of Chittenango. He was a 
member of the State Senate in 1874-75. He married Lydia Moody of 
Fulton, N. Y., and of this union are two children: Daniel Fiske Kellogg 
and Bessie Kellogg. The former is city editor of the New York Sun. 
He went through Candida with William O'Brien the Irish agitator, as 
correspondent of that paper. 

Samuel D. White of Hamilton was born in the town of Nelson, Feb- 
ruary 16, 1836. He was educated in Hamilton Academy. Mr. White 
studied law in Hamilton and was admitted to the bar in October, 1857. 
The following year he began practice at Brookfield and in 1866 re- 
moved to Hamilton where he has enjoyed an active practice. 

Edward Stanley More, son of John S. and Elizabeth (Cole) More, 
was born in New York city October 31, 1853. He is a lineal descend- 
ant in the fourth generation of John More, a native of Scotland, who 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 523 

was one of the first settlers of Delaware county, a soldier in the Conti- 
nental Army, and father of the first white child born in Delaware 
county. E. S. More was educated in the common schools and at Cort- 
land Normal School. For a period of seven years he taught school in 
Cortland, Chenango and Broome counties, meantime reading law. He 
was admitted in May, 1879, and the following year began practice at 
Cazenovia. In politics he is a staunch Democrat; he has served one 
term as justice of the peace. 

Albert Smith Sheldon, of Hamilton, was graduated from Colgate 
University in 1873, studied law at Hamilton where he has always prac- 
ticed, and was admitted to the bar in 1877. 

J. H. Pool of De Ruyter, was born at Fabius, Onondaga county, 
March 20, 1866, and was educated at DeRuyter Union School and Cor- 
nell University. He studied law at the latter institution and in the 
office of L. B. Kern at De Ruyter and was admitted in November, 1891. 
For a period of five 3'ears he practiced in association with Mr. Kern, 
they using the same office although not in partnership. 

Ralph Hopson Woolver of Munnsville, was born at Mohawk, Her- 
kimer county, N. Y., September 6, 1865. He is a direct descendant of 
Peter Woolver, one of the earliest settlers in the Mohawk Valley, who 
served through the Oriskany campaign and at the battle of Oriskany 
under General Herkimer. Mr. Woolver was born and reared on a 
farm and earned the money with which to school himself and get his 
law education. He was admitted in March, 1892, at Syracuse, and 
after practicing a few months in Oneida, removed to Munnsville where 
he has since resided. Mr. Woolver has traveled quite extensively over 
the United States, particularly in the West and South. 

Wallace E. Burdick of De Ruyter, was born at Burlington, Vermont, 
August 7, 1848. He read law in the office of Miner & Kern; was ad- 
mitted November 17, 18G9, and has always practiced at De Ruyter. 

William E. Lownsbury, special deputy county clerk since January, 
1892, was born in Fenner, October 31, 186-4, and educated at Cazenovia 
Seminary. He began to read law in July, 1886, in the office of Hon. 
John E. Smith at Morrisville, and was admitted May 3, 1889, at Syra- 
cuse. He practiced for a time with Joseph D. Senn. 

Adon P. Brown of the firm of Aylesworth & Brown of Leonardsville, 
was born at South Brookfield October 12, 1873, and educated at Brook- 
field Union School. From April, 1893, to April, 1894, he read law at 
Brookfield, N. Y., with N. A. Crumb, and from October, 1894, to Oc- 



524 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tober, 1897, at Leonardsville with H. M. Aylesworth, He was ad- 
mitted November 9, 1897, and since January, 1899, has been a member 
of the firm of Aylesworth & Brown. From 1889 to 1893 he served as 
deputy postmaster at Brook field. 

Harlan D. Preston of De Ruyter, was born at Lincklaen, Chenango 
county, N. Y., February 14, 1848. He was graduated from De Ruyter 
Institute in 18G9 and from Hamilton College in 1873. He studied law 
at Hamilton Law vSchool, and was admitted to practice in June, 1874. 
From June, 1874, to December, 1881, he practiced in Syracuse, and has 
since resided in De Ruyter. He served as president of De Ruyter vil- 
lage in 1895, 1896 and 1898. 

A. E. Fitch, attorney at law, and clerk of the village of Cazenovia, 
was born in Baltimore, Md., August 30, 1870. He removed when an 
infant to Mooers, Clinton county, N. Y. , where he attended the com- 
mon schools. Later he came to Cazenovia, entered the seminary, and 
was graduated with the class of 1889. Mr. Fitch is remembered by 
his fellow students as an athlete who won considerable distinction for 
the institution in field sports. Following his graduation Mr. Fitch was 
engaged for some time in clerical positions. He began his legal studies at 
Champlain, Clinton county, N. Y., in the office of Wilmer H. Dunn, then 
district attorney. He was admitted to the bar at Saratoga Springs and 
in April, 1895, came to Cazenovia, formed a law partnership with D. 
W. Cameron, and engaged in general practice. The firm of Cameron 
& Fitch continued until March, 1896, since which time Mr. Fitch has 
practiced alone. Mr. Fitch was appointed clerk of the village in 1897, 
and still holds the office. He was one of the founders of the Citizens' 
Club, of which he is now a member and secretary. 

B. Fitch Tompkins was born at Morrisville June 20, 1875, and re- 
ceived his education at Morrisville Union School, Olivet, Michigan, 
Preparatory School, and Olivet College. He studied law for three 
years in the office of Hon. John E. and G. Wells Smith at Morrisville, 
and was admitted to practice November 15, 1898, at Albany. Since 
the appointment of Hon. John E. Smith as county judge he has been 
in partnership with G. Wells Smith. He is a man of many pleasing 
qualities, a forcible public speaker and ready in debate. While a 
freshman at college he took second prize in a prize debate in which 
higher classmen participated. Mr. Tompkins is assistant foreman of 
the Morrisville Hook and Ladder Company of which he was one of the 
organizers. 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 525 

Sidney B. Cloyes of Earlville, was born at Morrisville September 6, 
1868. He was educated at Morrisville Union School and Cazenovia 
Seminary, and began the study of law at Columbia Law School, Wash- 
ington, D. C. Subsequently he read in the office of H. B. Coman at 
Morrisville for two years and was admitted September 16, 1892. From 
September, 1892, to January, 1894, he practiced at Morrisville, and 
since the latter date has resided at Earlville where he is now postmaster 

Norman A. Crumb of Brookfield was born January 15, 1866, and re 
ceived his education at Brookfield High School and Cazenovia Semi 
nary. He studied law with S. Perry Smith at Morrisville, and with A, 
O. Briggs at Canastota and was admitted at Syracuse, May, 3, 1889 
He has always practiced at Brookfield. Mr. Crumb is town clerk of 
Brookfield, and has served as clerk of the village for several years. He 
has been an active Republican and was chairman of the Republican 
County Nominating Convention in 1896. He is a member of and has 
held every elective office in Brookfield Lodge, No. 632, L O. O. F. He 
is also secretary of the Agricultural Society. 

B.J. Stimson, Hamilton, was born in the town of Nelson, Madison 
county, N. Y., April 24, 1837, a son of James H. and Cornelia (Button) 
Stimson. His grandfather, Barna Stimson, was a native of Massachu- 
setts and was one of the first settlers in the town of Nelson. When 
seven years of age Mr. Stimson removed to Michigan with his parents, 
and subsequently returned to Brookfield, N. Y., and studied law in the 
office of Samuel White, being admitted to the bar in 1865 at the General 
Term in Binghamton. In 1873 he came to Hamilton and opened a law 
office and has been engaged in the practice of his profession ever since. 
Mr. Stimson was justice of the peace in Brookfield for two terms and 
justice of sessions one term. He has been village clerk of Hamilton 
since 1885 and town clerk since 1891, except the year 1892; he was also 
justice of the peace two terms at Hamilton and justice of sessions one 
term. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Blue Lodge and 
Chapter, and in politics has always been an ardent Republican. He 
has also been a member of the Board of Education for three terms. 
Mr. Stimson married Rosalia Green of Herkimer county, and they have 
one son, William D., who is a jeweler in North Carolina. 

John A. Johnson, Morrisville, an active practicing attorney of the 
county seat, is a native of Sweden, born near Stockholm, August 15, 
1862. He was the third of six children of James and Mary Christina 
Johnson. His father came to the United States in 1869, locating first 



526 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

at Norwich, from which place he removed to Rome, where he was a 
contractor. Here the greater portion of John A. Johnson's early life 
was spent. He was educated in the common schools, but in 1876 came 
to Morrisville, where he found work in a meat market, then farmed it 
for two years and later entered a drug store as a clerk. Determining 
upon the legal profession, he began reading law with Nathaniel Foote 
of Morrisville. About this time he was elected constable of the town 
and was also appointed deputy sheriff, from which position he earned 
sufficient means to educate himself for professional life. In October, 
1884, he was admitted to practice law and began his career as a lawyer 
on January 1st following. For one year he practiced in partnership 
with Hon. E. F. Haskell, but after the removal of the latter to Oneida 
Mr. Johnson continued alone. He has always been an earnest Repub- 
lican, but only during the last si.K or eight years has he been active in 
politics. He is an active member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows or- 
ders. Mr. Johnson has been village trustee eight years and chief of the 
fire department two years. On November 11, 1891, Mr. Johnson mar- 
ried Sarah E., daughter of Henry and Rachel Brown. 

W. H. Manchester, Morrisville. — Joseph Manchester, who settled in 
Madison about 1800, and was one of the pioneers in this part of the 
State, was a patriot of the Revolution, having entered the service at 
the age of sixteen and was promoted to the captaincy of his company. 
He wintered with Washington's army at Valley Forge and served 
throughout the war, re-enlisting twice. When he came into this State 
Capt. Manchester opened up a 200 acre farm in Madison, the same hav- 
ing been owned by his descendants until about ten years ago. He died 
in 1841. In his family were four children: Gideon, who lived on the 
old farm until his death; Electa, who was twice married and died in 
the present year; Judith, who married Isaac Taylor; and Martha, who 
died young. Gideon Manchester married Maria Tompkins, by whom 
he had these children: William T., Julia M., Mary and Harriet. Will- 
iam T. Manchester, the greater part of whose life was spent in Hamil- 
ton, was one of the prominent men of the county in his time. He was 
a large farmer, was once sheriff of the cojinty, and also deputy canal 
commissioner. His wife was Lydia A. Mitchell of De Ruyter, sister of 
David J. Mitchell of the Madison county bar, and their only child was 
William H Manchester, a graduate of Colgate Academy (1880), who 
read law with Hon. Joseph Mason and was admitted to practice in 
1891. From 1886 to 1888 he was principal of the academy at Smith- 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 527 

ville Flats, Chenango county. On January 1, 1890, Mr. Manchester was 
appointed clerk of the Surrogate's Court of this county and has since 
lived in Morrisville. On February 2, 1887, he married Annie C.Wagen- 
hurst. They have two children, Constance M, Manchester and Mitchell 
W. Manchester, 

D. G. Wellington, Hamilton, was born at Cazenovia, January 8, 1838. 
He was educated at Union College, but left there to enter upon his 
legal studies which he pursued in the office of J. Sterling Smith. He 
then took a course in the Albany Law School and was admitted to the 
bar at the General Term in 1863. He immediately opened an office at 
Hamilton, and has continued his practice here ever since, excepting 
two years spent in the war of the Rebellion. Mr. Wellington enlisted 
in November, 1863, in Company A, 176th Infantry, and served under 
Gen. Banks until taken prisoner at Brasher, in Louisiana. He was held 
at Tyler, Texas, for thirteen months and when released returned home. 
He was justice of the peace from 1865 to 1869 and member of the As- 
sembly in 1868 and 1874. He was also a member of the Constitutional 
Convention held at Albany in 1894. He is a Republican in politics 
and highly esteemed by his party. Mr. Wellington's parents were 
Luther and Amy Wellington. His grandfather, David Wellington, was 
an early settler in the town of Nelson, where he went with an ox team 
in 1798. 

Capt. Charles W. Underhill, Hamilton, was born at Bedford, West- 
chester county, N.Y. , and was educated at Madison University (now 
Colgate), from which he was graduated in the class of 1863. He is a 
member of D. K. E. fraternity and is a Phi Beta Kappa. On July 6, 
1852, he raised Company G, 114th Regiment, N. Y. Vols., and served 
with that rank either at the head of his company, or on staff duty, until 
the close of the war. He saw service in Louisiana, Texas and the 
Shenandoah Valley and participated in thirty battles, and was thanked 
by name in General Division orders after the battle of Winchester and 
also after the battle of Cedar Creek. He was taken prisoner at Cedar 
Creek and was held a while in Libby prison. After the war Capt. 
Underhill read law in the office of Judge Mason and was admitted to 
the bar at the general term in Binghamton in 1867, since which date he 
has been engaged in the practice of his profession in Hamilton. In 
1872 Capt. Underhill married Marian E. Root, and they have four 
children: Carrie Wager, Mary Bogardus, Frank Root, and Genevieve 
Louise. Frank R. Underhill was a soldier in Co. G, 203d Regiment, 
N. Y. Vols., during thej^Spanish war. 



528 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Capt. Underbill served as judge advocate of the 1st Div., 19th Army 
Corps, for two years during the war of the Rebellion, and be has twice 
been president of the village of Hamilton. He is a member of the 
G. A. R. No. 272, Arthur L. Brooks, and in October, 1898, delivered 
the address at the dedication of a monument to his old regiment at 
Winchester, Va. 

Joseph J. L. Baker, the well-known attorney of Chittenango, was 
born in the town of Nelson, this county, November 24, 1833. 
His father, Abraham Baker, was a pioneer settler from Connecticut 
and came into Nelson when it was yet an unbroken forest. Mr. Baker 
began his education in the common schools of Nelson, taught with 
success for several years, and attended Cazenovia Seminary until 1859, 
when he entered the Albany School of Law, graduating in 1860. He 
then began the practice of his profession in the office of William E. 
Lansing, where he remained five years. Mr. Baker has practiced con- 
tinuously here for nearly forty years. He claims to be the oldest Re- 
publican in the county, as in 1855 he attended the first Republican con- 
vention held at Eaton, while of his nine or ten associates in that local 
organization, all but himself are deceased. During the civil war he was 
assistant provost marshal, also a deputy sheriff, and has served not less 
than thirteen years as a justice. Various other local offices attest his 
personal popularity and public spirit. In 1860 he married Angeline L. 
Nourse of Cazenovia, and has one daughter. 

Arthur A. Foote, Morrisville, who since 1879 has been clerk of the 
board of supervisors, and since 1874 an active practicing lawyer of the 
county seat, was a native of Morrisville, born Octo.ber 18, 1851, and is 
the son of Nathaniel Foote, the latter the senior member of the bar in 
the county. Arthur A. Foote was educated at Morrisville Academy 
and the Clinton Rural High School. He read law under his father's 
direction, after which he entered the Albany Law School, and was 
graduated in May, 1874. He has since practiced at Morrisville, devot- 
ing his time and energies to the profession in general, but in addition 
to the duties of clerk of the board of supervisors he has been justice of 
the peace since 1880. On June 13, 1877, Mr. Foote married Katie C. 
Lewis of Stratford Street. Five children were born of this marriage: 
Robert Nathaniel, who died August 34, 1895; Leon Laertes, who died 
December 9, 1898; Louis Arthur, Millie Althea, and Ethel Knox 
Foote. 

J. T. Durham, attorney at law, was born in Verona, this county, 



THE JUDICIARY AND BAR. 589 

October 18, 1865, a son of Daniel H. and Ellen (French) Durham. 
His father was a farmer, a resident and well known citizen of Verona 
for many years. Mr. Durham was educated in the Oneida High School 
and Yates Union School at Chittenango. He read law in the Oneida 
office of Sayles, Jenkins & Devereaux, and in the office of Sayles, 
Searle & Sayles at Rome. In November, 1887, he was admitted to the 
bar and the following year began practice in Rome, forming a partner- 
ship with A. D. Kneeland. This association continued but a year and 
at the end of that period Mr. Dunham came to Oneida where he has 
since been in practice. He has been active in Republican political cir- 
cles, but has never held public office except as justice of the peace 
(1889-1897.) In fraternal matters he has been prominent; is a past 
master of Oneida Lodge, No. 370, F. and A. M. ; member of Doric 
Chapter, No. 193, R. A. M.; Rome Commandery, No. 45, K. T., and 
present district deputy of the 27th Masonic district, comprising the 
counties of Madison, Onondaga, and Cortland, and composed of twenty- 
six lodges and nearly 3,500 Masons. He is also a member of Eumenia 
Lodge, No. 196, I. O. O. F. Mr. Durham was married in 1891 to Miss 
Alice Twogood, of Rensselaer county. 

H. B. Coman, Morrisville. — Winsor Coman, the pioneer head of a 
highly respected and once large family in Eaton, was born in Provi- 
dence, R. I., in 1776, and died in Eaton in 1860. In 1796 he came with 
a party of relatives and acquaintances to this State, stopping for a short 
time at Whitestown, from which place he soon came to Eaton and 
located south of the village, and was a man of prominence in the county. 
He served at Sackets Harbor during the war of 1812-15, and in 1814 15 
represented this county in the Assembly. After making a beginning 
in this then new region the pioneer returned east and married Kesiah 
Smith, and with her came on horseback to their wilderness home. 
The children in this family were Stephen, who lived and died on the 
old farm; Ziba, who lived nearly all his life in Eaton; Smith, once a 
well known merchant and distiller at Morrisville, but who went to 
California a "'49er " and died there ; Lydia, who married Benjamin L. 
Choate; and Benjamin F., whose life was spent in Eaton as farmer, 
justice of the peace in Morrisville, and also postmaster. All these 
children of the pioneer raised families, but the surname has few repre- 
sentatives in the county. Samuel, Ziba, and Benjamin Coman were 
brothers of Winsor, the pioneer, and followed him into this region 
within a year or two after his arrival. All of them raised families, but 

34 



530 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

few indeed now remain. Henry B. Coman, grandson of Winsor Coman, 
and the youngest of three children of Benjamin F. Coman, was born in 
Eaton, December 8, 1858. He was educated in the Morrisville Union 
School and Cazenovia Seminary, after which he read law in the office 
of Henry Barclay and was admitted to practice in May, 1880. For ten 
years after admission he was clerk of the surrogate's court, but on 
January 1, 1890, he began general practice at the county seat, where he 
has since resided and practiced his profession. He has not been an 
active figure in county politics, yet he has been more than a passive 
factor in the councils of the Republican party. He was village presi- 
dent five years and is now serving his second term as a member of the 
Morrisville Board of Education. On September 25, 1888, Mr. Coman 
married Lucy S., daughter of Lorenzo D. and Lucy (Sandford) Dana. 
They have two children. 

E. Watts Cushman, of Hamilton, was born in that village March 1, 
1854, and was educated at the Hamilton High vSchool. He read law in 
his native village, beginning in 1876, and in 1879 was admitted to the 
bar. He has since his admission practiced in Hamilton, from 188G to 
1894 as the partner of Hon. Joseph Mason.' 



CHAPTER XXVL 
THE MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION. 

Previous to the year 1806 persons in this State who desired to prac- 
tice " physic and surgery, " could do so by presenting evidence of their 
competency to the chancellor, a judge of the Supreme or Common 
Pleas Court, or to a master in chancery, for which a certificate would be 
given which was to be filed in the county clerk's office. The penalty 
for non-compliance with this regulation was that no remuneration could 
be collected for service, or a fine of $35 where remuneration was col- 
lected. This rather loose method of authorizing men to practice medi- 
cine led to extended abuse by unscrupulous and ignorant persons. Cer- 
tificates were frequently granted to unqualified practitioners, through 

' The very few members of the present Madison county bar who are not represented in the 
foregoing pages, failed to supply the necesssry data for biographic sketches. 



MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION. 531 

which the health and lives of the community were endangered and the 
standard of the profession lowered. 

An act of the Legislature of 1806 authorized the formation of medi- 
cal societies and conferred on them broad powers, at the same time im- 
posing upon them certain duties. The chief usefulness of these societies 
in early years, if not in more recent times, was in preventing unquali- 
fied and unscrupulous persons from engaging in medical practice. 

Under this act mentioned the physicians of Madison county took 
prompt action and on July 29, 1806, organized under its provisions. At 
the organization meeting held in Sullivan the following persons were 
present and took part in the proceedings which brought to life the Madi- 
son County Medical Society: Drs. Israel Farrell, Jonas Fay, James 
Moore, James Pratt, John D. Henry, John Dorrance, Jonathan Pratt, 
William P. Cleveland, Elijah Putnam, Elijah Pratt, Thomas Greenly, 
Amos S. Amsden, Constant Merrick, Stephen Percival, Zadock Parker, 
Rufus Holton, Asa B. Sizer, and Asahel Prior. An election of officers 
was held and Israel Farrell was chosen the first president; Jonas Fay, 
vice-president; Elijah Pratt, secretary; James Pratt treasurer; James 
Moore, delegate to the State Society; Asa B. Sizer, James Moore, 
Asahel Prior, Jonathan Pratt, and Elijah Putnam, censors. 

At an adjourned meeting held October 26, 1807, Drs. Jonas Fay, A. S. 
Amsden, and John Dorrance were appointed a committee to report all 
practitioners who were working without a license. This action shows 
the existing feeling at that time among reputable physicians regarding 
the operations of charlatans and quacks. The good work went on and 
on April 26, 1808, the president, secretary, and treasurer were jointly 
delegated to "summon Hubbard Smith, William Patrie (Petrie ?) and 
David Williams to appear and show that they are legally qualified to 
practice Physic and Surgery in this State." 

Efforts to gather the nucleus of a library were early put forth, and 
some money subscribed for the purpose. The amended by-laws of 1819 
specify that the surplus money in the treasury be not expended for 
library purposes until they amount to $75. In the same year steps 
were taken to introduce the description of cases by the members for 
mutual improvement and elevation. It was provided that every mem- 
ber should present at the semi-annual meeting or soon thereafter, one 
case, both in its symptoms and method of treatment, to a committee of 
three, who were to select such as seemed most important to be recorded 
in a book to be read at the annual meeting, or otherwise treated. 



532 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

On July 28, 1820, the by-laws relating to a library were abolished and 
Drs. John L. Cazier, Peter B. Havens, and Thomas Spencer were di- 
rected to purchase periodicals for the U' e of the society. In July, 1821, 
Drs. Havens, Spencer and Clarke were appointed a committee to 
formulate a plan for the production and reading of prize dissertations, 
and subjects were offered for one each to be delivered at the ensuing 
semi-annual and the annual meeting. 

The purchase of books and periodicals continued, the records show- 
ing that a committee was appointed in July, 1824, for that purpose, 
while in 1835, $30 were appropriated for books and $10 for periodicals. 
At the meeting of July 26, 1825, Drs. Bailey, Mead and Silsby were ap- 
pointed " to consider the most effectual method to suppress Quackery." 
This is another indication that the society, like those of all other coun- 
ties, found their utmost efforts were necessary to rid the profession of 
ignorant practitioners. 

In 1826, and other years down to recent times, further sums were de- 
voted to the purchase of medical literature. Dr. Thomas Spencer being 
delegated to expend the money. This practice continued down to Jan- 
uary, 1849, when it was ordered that the library of the society be sold 
at auction at the next meeting, July 21, 1849. At that date the sale 
was postponed and the records show no further action regarding the 
library. 

This was evidently a period of sluggishness in the society, as at the 
meeting last named it was resolved " to put forth endeavors to sustain 
the society," and to " make an effort to form a District Association 
with Otsego and Chenango counties." 

In 1832-33 further efforts were made to relieve the county from the 
operations of quacks and to draw into its membership all qualified phy- 
sicians in the county. Between 1830 and 1840, a few papers were read 
before the society by members which attracted attention and discussion. 
In 1834 a committee was appointed to examine the medical botany of 
Madison county. The society also took its share about that time in the 
prevailing temperance movement, adopting the following resolution on 
the subject: 

Resolved, That it is the deliberate conviction of this Society that the common use 
of distilled spirits has heretofore been a productive source of disease, crime, poverty 
and premature death ; that it is entirely unnecessary for men in health ; and that it 
might be dispensed with in the treatment of disease. 

An important step was taken at the same time designed to elevate 



MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION. 533 

the standard of scholarship in the profession, as seen in the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, That in the present advanced state of the science of medicine this So- 
ciety regards the legal term of study too short, and think it ought to be extended 
one year, and that some care [should] be taken to fix preliminary studies. 

It will be remembered that about 1840-45 the subject of mesmerism 
and clairvoyance came prominently before the public, creating no little 
interest. The members of the society proclaimed their views on the 
matter in a series of lengthy resolutions, wherein they ridiculed the 
whole theory as "all fallacious and unworthy to be countenanced by 
members of our profession." During the same period. Homoeopathy 
began to make itself felt in the community, and the members of the 
society, at first, had little more respect for it, apparently, than they had 
for mesmerism. A resolution on the subject was offered at the meeting 
of July 30, 1844, and after discussion was laid on the table. But the 
new practice gained more and more adherents, and on January 38, 
1845, it wa^ the subject of an address by Dr. George S. Loomis, after 
which the following interesting resolutions were offered, earnestly dis- 
cussed, and finally adopted with only one dissenting voice : 

Whereas, A few of the members of this Society have repudiated the doctrines and 
practice which are are almost universally taught in the Medical schools throughout 
the civilized world and have adopted the theory and practice of medicine called 
Homoeopathy; therefore. 

Resolved, That in our opinion the so-called system of Homoeopathy is irrational 
and delusive and its believers, however high may be their intelligeace or moral 
standing, are deceived by the specious reasoning by which it is attempted to be 
supported. 

Resolved, That in our opinion the practice of Homoeopathy is highly fraught with 
danger to the community, and that our duty to the public imperiously demands an 
exposure of its fallacies; therefore. 

Resolved, That we as a Society disclaim all participation in the peculiar doctrines 
of Homeopathy. 

The protracted conflict between the two schools of medicine is well 
remembered by most persons to-day. Broader and more liberal views 
at last prevailed until the differences that once existed on the subject 
have mostly passed away. That this result was approached earlier than 
in most localities is indicated in a resolution offered by Dr. V. W. Mason 
on January 26, 1847, two years after the foregoing series was adopted: 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed whose duty it shall be to investigate the 
theory of medical practice called Homoeopathy, to tests its medicines by actual ex- 
periment and report to this society. 



534 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



If this action was taken the records do not show its results. In more 
recent years the society has kept abreast of the advancement in general 
medical science and practice, and placed itself on record on all subjects 
of importance in relation to the profession. 

Following is a complete list of all the physicians who have at any 
time been members of the Society, with the dates when they joined, as 
shown in the record book: 



Abell, 

Adams, Homer, 

Allen, J. B., _. 

Amsden, Amos S. , 

Antes, , _ 

Babcock, Benjamin W., .. 

Babcock, H. E., 

Babcock, John, _ 

Bailey, E. P., 

Bailey, Eli S., 

Bailey, Silas, 

Ballaou, •, 

Ballon, Russell 

Banning, George W. , 

Barber, Philo J _ 

Barber, Samuel, 

Barker Daniel, 

Barnett, Milton, 

Barrow, , 

Bass, Henry, _ 

Beardsley, Henry G. , 

Beardsley, L. , Oneida 

Beebe, F. D., Lebanon,.. _ 

Beebe, F. G 

Beebe, Loren C, 

Billington, Merchant, 

Birdsall, Gilbert, North 

Brookfield, 

Blakeslee, A 

Boden, Edwin R., .v.. 

Bradley, Samuel B., 

Brooks, Nelson O., 

Brown, N. Clift 

Buckingham, E. D., 

Bullock. C. N 

Bushyte. OrlandoW., 

Burrough, Erastus B. . 

Bush, Edwin D,, Madison, 



July 27 


1824 


July 27, 


1852 




1891 


July 29, 


1806 


Jan. 28, 


1840 


July 27, 


1824 




1884 


July 31, 


1822 




1888 


July 28, 


1818 


July 26, 


1836 


Jan. 28, 


1834 


July 12, 


1859 




1896 


July 29 


1834 


Apr. 29, 


1807 


July 28 


1820 


Dec. 24, 


1833 


Jan. 25 


1825 


Jan, 30, 


1810 


July 31, 


1832 


July 7, 


1857 


July 7 


1857 




1889 




1898 


Jan. 13, 


1874 


Jan. 19, 


1864 


July 27, 


1841 




1894 


July 28 


1819 




1896 




1881 


Jan. 27 


1835 




1883 




1880 


Jan. 31, 


1827 


Oct. 6 


1857 



Carpenter, E. H., 

Carpenter, H, W., Oneida, 

Carpenter, Wesley M. , 

Carter, H. T., 

Cavana, M., 

Cazier, John LeConte, 

Chamberlayne, J. K. , 

Chase, D. D., Morrisville,. 

Cheesbrough, Amos, 

Clarke, Isaac, ._ __ 

Clarke, John, 

Clarke, Samuel R. , 

Clarke, Silas S., De Ruyter 

Clarke, Welcome A. , 

Cleaveland, Benjamin F. , . 

Cleveland, William P. , 

Colegrove, C. M. , 

Collins, D. S. P., 

Collins, Nathan,... 

Collister, Samuel, 

Cook, Orange R 

Corcoran, James A., 

Cornell, Alanson, 

Coy, William B 

Crandall. H. S., Leonards- 

ville, 

Cunningham, Hugh 

Curtis, Seymour, 

Davis, George W. , 

Davis, Lavinia R., 

Davis, W. A., 

Decker, John J., 

Didama, John, 

Dodge, A. A 

Douglas, A.S., 

Douglas, James S., 

Douglass. W. H., 

Dorrance, John 



July 12, 
July 14, 



July 28 
July 2' 
July 11 
July 12 
July 31 
Apr. — 
July 25 
Oct. 11 
July 28 
July 25 
July 29, 

July 25 
July- 
July 27 
July - 

Jan. 31 
July 31 

July 7 
July 29 
July 30 



Jan. 26, 

July 9. 
Jan. 28, 

July 29, 



1894 
1870 
1863 
1888 
1894 
1819 
1852 
1871 
1859 
1838 
1809 
1826 
1859 
1818 
1826 
1806 
1895 
1826 
1830 
1824 
1829 
1898 
1832 
1838 

1857 
1828 
1839 
1889 
1899 
1889 
1898 
1819 
1895 
1872 
1834 
1892 
1806 



MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION. 



586 



Drake, F. C. , 

Eaton, John R., 

Farnsworth, Charles Jan. 29 

Farrell, Andrew... July 25 

Farrell, Israel July 29, 

Fay, Jonas, July 29 

Fisk, Joshua M., Jan. 26, 

Fitch, W. R Oct. 13 

Foord, Alvin Jan. 27 

Foord, Henry, Jan. 22, 

Foote, David Y., July 36, 

Foote, Noah B., _ July 30, 

French, John H., W. Eaton July 

Fuller, Edward, July — , 

Fuller, Samuel Jan. 26 

Furnian. Charles L., Ham- 
ilton, -- July 8 

Galloway, E. H., __. 

Germain, Morris. July 28, 

Germer, Hermann G., 

Gibbs, Levi July 28 

Gillett, Jacob, J uly 29, 

Goff, I. N.,Cazenovia, Feb. 18, 

Goodell, John, July 29, 

Goodwin, Timothy,. Jan. 25 

Goslee, James P., July 25 

Gray, R. H., July 10, 

Greene, Carl D. , July 10, 

Greenly, Thomas July 29, 

Greenwood, Levi P., Jan. 25 

Griffith, W. H., 

Guernsey, Jonathan, July 31 

Guernsey, Sylvanus, July 31 

Guthrie, Jarvis Moore, July 25, 

Halbert, H., 

Hamer, J.. Oneida, July 13, 

Harris, George W. , July 12 

Havers, Peter B., July 28 

Head, A. D 

Heffron, John July 27 

Henry, John D July 29 

Holmes, A. M., Morrisville Oct. 6 

Holton, Rufus, July 29 

Hoskins, A. N., 

Hovey, Isaac, July 28, 

Howland, Perez, July 38, 

Hubbard, F.H 



1894 Huntley. J. F., Jan. 22, 1878 

1880 Huntley, J F., 1892 

1828 Hurd, , July 38, 1840 

1837 Hurd, D. E., July 25, 1843 

1806 Joy, Milton R. , 1887 

1806 Kennedy, James, July 39, 1828 

1819 Kennedy, Samuel, July 31, 1831 

1858 Kenney, July 35, 1837 

1829 Knapp, J. W., 1884 

1878 Knowlton. Josiah, July 31, 1831 

1835 Lane, Ebenezer Jan, 30, 1809 

1821 Langworthy, O. S. , 1891 

18.56 Lee. , July 27, 1835 

1839 Lewis, Birdseye, July 36, 1825 

1819 Litchfield, W. M 1893 

Lloyd, Frederick O., 1898 

1879 Lloyd, G.F 1887 

1885 Lockwood, Henry. July 30, 1833 

1830 Loomis, George S., July — . 1829 

1898 Loomis, Joseph July 28, 1840 

1818 Loveland, E. W.. Oneida,. Jan. 10, 1871 

1818 Lull, Almond, Jan. — , 1833 

1863 Lull, Ansel. July 31, 1822 

1838 Lum, W. Tappan 1896 

1825 Marsh, M. M. , July 27, 1841 

1837 Mason, Adolphus A., Jan. 29, 1838 

1860 Mason, V.W., Jan. 31, 1837 

1877 Mayberry, F. T.,. July 29, 1845 

1806 McClelland, — , De Ruyter July 13, 1875 

1842 Mead, Henry M., July 25, 1843 

1888 Mead. H. P., Oct. 13, 1858 

1822 Mead, Onesimus. July 29, 1817 

1822 Mead, Powers R., Jan. 28, 1834 

1843 Mead. Thompson, Jr., July 30, 1839 

1889 Merrick. Constant July 29. 1806 

1858 Messenger, E. G., Jan. 27, 1835 

1864 Messenger, M. P., 1895 

1820 Miller, Edgar L , Eaton,.. July 8, 1879 

1874 Miller, H. P., Eaton, July 12. 1870 

1813 Mills, George VV., 1890 

1806 Mitchell, David, July 29, 1817 

1857 Mitchell, David, Jan. 26, 1841 

1806 Moffett, Joseph, July 29, 1817 

1892 Moore, -, Munnsville, July 13, 1875 

1819 Moore, E. M., Jan. 36, 1847 

1830 Moore, J., Jan. 37, 1835 

1888 Moore, James July 39, 1806 



536 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Morey, Zabina M., .. Jan. 29, 

Mumford, E. S., _ July 8 

Munger, G. B.,. July 13 

Nash, Rivera, Oct. 27, 

Nichols, , Jan. 25 

Nicholas, A. S., July 25^ 

Norton, Joel, July 29 

Norton, Samuel,. July 26, 

Noyes, Helon Fay, July — 

Oaks, William July 8, 

Orton, , Jan. 28 

Palmer, Benjamin July 31 

Parker, Zadoc, . . _ _ July 29 

Patrie, William, Oct. 25, 

Payne, John, Jan. 29, 

Peck, Daniel, July 29, 

Peck, S. W July 30 

Percival, Stephen, July 29, 

Perry, C. H., Jan. 13, 

Pfaflf, Otto 

Pierce, Jeremiah B., July — 

Potter, S. M.,.__ July 30, 

Powers, Isaac, April 29, 

Powers, N. C _ Jan. 26, 

Pratt, Daniel, July 28 

Pratt, Elijah, July 29 

Pratt James, _ July 29 

Pratt, Jonathan, July 29 

Prior, Asahel July 29, 

Purdy, Albert G. , July — , 

Putnam, Elijah July 2! 

Putnam, John, July 31 

Rankin, J., Jan. 27 

Rankin, Jairus, _. July — 

Ransom, C. H.,. _ 

Ransom D., Jan. 25 

Reed, Amos, _ July 30, 

Ressinger, J. A July 10 

Rockwell, AlvaW., Jan. 28 

Rogers, A. C.,. 

Root, F. W., July 8, 

Root, R. B.,. Jan. 31 

Sammis, O.K.,Warapsville, July 8, 

Saunders, A. L. , July 30, 

Scott, , 

Seamans, Horace, July — 



1828 Sexton, E. H., Oneida,... July 11, 

1862 Sherman, Jonathan, July 28, 

1864 Silsby, Jonathan, July 29, 

1807 Sizer, AsaB., July 29, 

1843 Smith, A. D., New Wood- 

1843 .stock, July 14, 

1817 Smith, Hubbard Oct. 25, 

1836 Smith, J. W July 9, 

1830 Spence. Ira, ...Jan. 28, 

1862 Spence, Ira, De Ruyter, .. Oct. 11, 

1840 Spencer, Thomas, July 28, 

1821 Spooner, Stillman Jan. 26, 

1806 Stacy, Consider H July 28, 

1808 Stowell, Joseph . Jan. 30, 

1828 Sumner, Henry T.,..^ July 26, 

1817 Taylor William, Jan. 27, 

1839 Taylor, William, Munnsville July 12, 

1806 Teft, Joseph _. July 30, 

1874 Teller, J. T., July 25, 

1894 Throop, J. Motte, Lebanon July 14, 

1810 Tompkins, A.Miss, Hamil- 

1839 ton, July 8, 

1807 Treadway, , July 25, 

1841 Trevor, J , July 25, 

1819 Tucker, Laban, July 31, 

1806 Upham, Jan. 37, 

1806 Ure, H. D., 

1806 Usher, Nathaniel, July 31, 

1806 Van Wagner, L. A., North 

1830 Brookfield, July 11, 

1806 Warner, N. P., NewWood- 

1827 stock, July 8, 

1835 Warner, William,.. July 31, 

1829 Webster, , Jan. 27, 

1874 Wells, J. R., Jan. 31, 

1842 White, Adonijah, Jan. 26, 

1839 White, A. N., 

1866 White, Homer H., 

1823 Whitford, James July 31, 

1874 Whitmore, Theophilus,. .. Jan. 30, 

1862 Wilcox, O. B., Earlville,.. July 8, 

1832 Wilson, S. J 

1862 Wilson, , July 26, 

1839 Woods, Harvey May 8, 

1896 Youngs, John T., Jan. 28, 

1829 



1871 
1807 
1817 
1806 



1808 
1872 
1834 
1859 
1818 
1830 
1820 
1809 
1825 
1818 
1870 
1833 
1843 
1868 

1879 
1842 
1843 
1838 
1818 
1874 
1827 

1871 

1879 
1.S33 
1818 
1843 
1819 
1890 
1891 
1838 
1809 
1879 
1896 
1814 
1810 
1834 



MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION. 537 

The Madison County Homoeopathic Medical Society. — Many years 
passed after the introduction of homoeopathy in New York in 1825, be- 
fore any organized society existed. The new school met with deter- 
mined opposition, and in 1830 there were only six homoeopathic phy- 
sicians in the whole country, and almost all of these were practicing in 
New York city. When Dr. George W. Roberts introduced the practice 
into the neighboring county of Chenango, in 1841, there were not prob- 
ably forty homoeopathic doctors yet in the country, and none at all in 
Madison county. 

Previous to 1857 there were homoeopathic medical societies, but they 
were mere gatherings of physicians without any legal standing what- 
ever. An act of the Legislature of April 13, of that year, authorized 
the formation of such societies with the same privileges and immunities 
enjoyed by those of the older school. In 1862 the Legislature incor- 
porated the Homoeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York, 
and under this act county societies became auxiliary to the State society. 

The organization of the Madison County Homoeopathic Medical So- 
ciety was effected at a meeting of the Oneida County Society, held in 
Utica, October 18, 1S64, Drs. E. A. Munger and George B. Palmer 
acting as the committee of organization of a society in both Madison 
and Chenango counties. This committee issued an invitation and on 
Januar)-4, 1865, the following physicians met at the office of Dr. D. D. 
Loomis in Morrisville: D. D. Loomis, W. B. Brown, of Hamilton; G. 
L. Gifford, of Hamilton; A. E. Wallace, of Brookfield; Ira C. Owen, of 
Sherburne; George B. Palmer, of East Hamilton; E. A. Munger, of 
Waterville; George W. Bailey, of Waterville, and H. M. Paine, of Al- 
bany. The formal organization under the act then took place. Dr. 
Munger acting as temporary chairman, and Dr. George B. Palmer as 
secretary. Drs. Loomis, Owen and Wallace were appointed a com- 
mittee to report a form of constitution and by laws. When these were 
reported they were discussed and finally adopted at the same meeting. 
The first officer.=, also elected at that time, were as follows: 

Dr. D. D. Loomis was elected president; Ira C. Owen, vice-president; 
George B. Palmer, secretary and treasurer; and Drs. A. E. Wallace, 
G. L. Gifford and George B. Palmer, censors. 

Drs. E. A. Munger, H. M. Paine and G. W. Bailey were elected hon- 
orary members. 

During the period since the organization of the society it has been 
kept in % fair state of activity and accomplished much for the benefit of 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



Its members. Valuable papers have been read at its meetings and the 
many able and honorable men who have been and are members of this 
school of medicine in the county, have labored unselfishly for the 
afflicted. 

Following is a list of the members of this society from its formation 
to the present time with dates of election: 



Isaac Clark, Eaton, June 27 

H. F. Adams, Canastota, _ _ June 27 

John P. Hunting, Brookfield, October 2 

Henry F. Adams, Canastota October 2 

Stillman Spooner, Oneida, October 3 

Harrison Willis, Clinton, (honorary) October 2 

Edgar C. Bass, Cazenovia, June 25 

A. A. Lewis, De Ruyter, June 35 

Edward Loomis, Oneida, June 33 

H. P. Mera, Canastota, _ _.June 23 

John W. Brown, Morrisville, _ June 22 

M. M. Catlin, Brookfield, June 23 

L. C. Crowell, Morrisville, June 

E. L. Coon, De Ruyter _June 

W. H. Griffith, Chittenango, June, 

J. T. Wallace, Oneida 

E. P. Hussey, 

J. E. Slaught, Hamilton, _ 

George E. Sanford, Eaton, _ 

Melvin E. Edgerton, Canastota, 



1865 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1866 
1867 
1867 
1869 
1869 
1869 
1869 
1873 
1873 
1875 
1876 
1876 
1881 
,1882 
.1882 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 539 



CHAPTER XXVTI. 

GAZETTEER OF TOWNS. 

The Town of Brookfield. 

This town was set off from Paris March 5, 1795, and originally in- 
cluded Nos. 17, 18, and 19 of the Chenango Twenty Townships. Of 
these No. 17 was taken off to form the town of Columbus in February, 
1805. Brookfield is the southeast corner town of the county and 
bounded north by Oneida county, east by Edmeston and Plainfield, 
south by Columbus, and west by Hamilton and Madison. Its surface 
is hilly and rugged, with soil principally of gravelly loam, well adapted 
to grazing; in the valleys is found a rich alluvium. Hops have been 
raised in large quantities in past years in the northwest part. There 
are abundant springs throughout the town and the Unadilla River 
forms the eastern boundary and receives numerous tributaries, the 
principal one of which is Beaver Creek which flows south through the 
central part of Brookfield, along a beautiful valley and furnishing many 
mill sites. The east branch of the Chenango crosses the northwest 
part, rising in the so-called Terrytown swamp, which covers a consid- 
erable area in that part and takes its name from the Terry family. 
Gorton Lake, a small body of water in the north part, takes its name 
from the Gorton family of settlers. What was formerly the Utica, 
Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railroad, now a branch of the D., 
L. and W., crosses the northwest corner of the town, along the valley 
of the Chenango branch. 

The population of Brookfield on the dates given in the census taken 
at intervals is shown in the following figures: 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1892 
3959 3695 3623 3585 3770 3729 3593 3565 3511 3685 3262 3235 

The number of inhabitants in Brookfield has fluctuated and declined 
less than in many of the other towns of the county, a fact due partly, 
at least, to the extent and variety of manufacturing operations that 
have been carried on in past years. These industries were once of real 
importance, especially in the village of Leonardsville. The lumber in- 



540 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

dustry was also of considerable magnitude, but is now confined to a 
small trade in hemlock. From the large cedar swamp near Clarkville, 
a great quantity of that wood has been taken, as well as large numbers 
of hop poles. In comparatively recent years the dairying interest has 
been large and profitable. E. D. Lamb was for some years an exten- 
sive manufacturer of cheese and owned several factories near the 
Otsego county line; but the building of the railroad through the Una- 
dilla valley and the establishment along its line of numerous milk sta- 
tions, where the farmers shipped their milk to the large markets, has 
greatly depreciated this industry. The manufacture of furniture on an 
extensive scale was once prosecuted at South Brookfield by George W. 
Bentley, and other industrial operations gave the town prosperity in 
early years, as noticed further on. 

Settlement in Brookfield began in 1791 by Stephen Hoxie and Phin- 
eas Brown, whose operations and those of other early settlers have been 
described in earlier chapters. In the same year Samuel H. Burdick 
and Samuel Billings settled at the site of Five Corners, and Stephen 
Collins on Beaver Creek below Clarkville. In 1792 John and Elias 
Button, Lawton Palmer, Thomas and James P..ogers, Paul and Perry 
Maxson, Eleazer and Simeon Brown, Samuel Langworthy, Elder 
Henry Clark and Phineas Rogers settled in the town. In 1793 David 
Gates and Ethan Babcock located in the town, and in 179 i Zadock 
Beebe, Joshua Whitford, John York and a few others became settlers. 
During the next ten years and before the formation of the county are 
found among the names of pioneers those of Samuel Gorton, and his 
sons Varnum aud Benjamin, Asa Frink, Nathaniel, Joseph and George 
Denison, Thompson Burdick, Thomas Keith, Elisha Burdick, Augustus 
Saunders, Elisha Johnson, Harris Chesebrough, Joseph Livermore, 
Nathan Brown, and others whose names appear in subsequent pages. 

The first town meeting in Brookfield was held at the house of Capt. 
Daniel Brown, April 7, 1795, and the following ofificers elected: 
Stephen Hoxie, supervisor; Elisha Burdick, clerk; Clark Maxson, 
Joshua Whitford and John Stanton, assessors; Powel Hall, Joel But- 
ler and John Chesebrough, commissioners of highways; Daniel Brown 
and Simeon Brown, poormasters; Elijah Palmer and Oliver Brown, 
constables; Oliver Brown, collector; David Convers, Jaba Brown and 
Benedict Babcock, fenceviewers; Ashbe Kellogg, Ephraim Waldo, 
George Palmer and Jonathan Bedford, pathraasters; Daniel Brown, 
John Wilber and Willard Convers, poundmasters. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 541 

Following is a list of supervisors from the erection of the town to the 
present time, with the dates of their election: 1795-1807, Stephen 
Hoxie; 1808-10, Jonathan Morgan; 1811, Samuel H. Coon; 1812-16, 
Joshua Morgan; 1817-19, Samuel H. Coon; 1820-33, Henry Clark, jr. ; 
1833-39, Joseph Clark; 1830, Patten Fitch; 1831, John Hoxie; 1833, 
John Davis; 1833-37, Wait Clarke; 1838, Andrew Babcock; 1839, 
Waite Clarke; 1840, John De Lancy; 1841, Dennis Hardin; 1843, Ben- 
jamin Burdick; 1843, Cyrus Clark; 1844, Ira Crane; 1845, Joseph 
Clark; 1846, Benjamin Burdick; 1847-48, Nathan T. Brown; 1849, 
Hosea B. Clarke; 1850, John T. G. Bailey; 1851, Dennis Hardin; 1852, 
Elisha G. Babcock; 1853-54, J. V. R. Livermore; 1855, John Babcock; 
1856-57, Dennis Hardin ; 1858-59, Thomas R. Gorton; 1860-61, Luke 
Hoxie; 1863-64, Calvin Whitford; 1865-66, Luke Hoxie; 1867-70, 
William H. Brand; 1871-73, John T. G. Bailey; 1873-75, Thomas R. 
Gorton; 1876-79, Augustus L. Saunders; 1880, Oliver T. Brown; 
1881-83, S. A. Fitch; 1884, Arthur J. Stillman; 1885-89, William 
Stanbro; 1890-93, Arthur J. Stillman; 1894-97, Emory D. Morgan. 

There were formerly four post-offices in this town — at Clarkville, 
Leonardsville, De Lancy and South Brookfield; only the two former 
are now open. Clarkville is an active village near the center of the 
town on Beaver Creek. It was known in early years as Bailey's Cor- 
ners, from Dr. Eli S. Bailey, the first physician there. The post-office 
was established about 1830 with the name, Beaver Creek, with Joseph 
Clark, postmaster; he was succeeded by Andrew Babcock in about 
1840, and he by Varnum Crumb, Maxson Clark, jr., Lucius P. Clark, 
John T. G. Bailey, Benjamin Gorton, Richard Stillman, A. G. Still- 
man, Charles J. Elliot, H. L. Spooner, F. D. Rogers, and H. L. 
Spooner, incumbent. 

The first merchant was Reuben Leonard who built a store just before 
the war of 1812. Other early merchants were Sheffield Collins, Henry 
Holmes, Chester Palmiter, Varnum Crumb, Andrew Babcock, John T. 
G. Bailey, Nathan Brownell and his sons, Mattison Clarke and Leroy 
Babcock. The present merchants are A J. Stillman, general store; 
D. F. Main, hardware; F. D. Gould, H. H. Elliot and A. C. Tuttle, 
grocers; A. C. Miller, druggist; M. H. Brown, bakery and groceries; 
J. T. Stillman, hardware; W. M. Crane, flour and feed, and also oper- 
ates a saw mill; G. T. Whitford, merchant tailor; E. A. Pope, jeweler; 
H. E. Maxson, livery. Calvin Whitford established a banking busi- 
ness in 1871 and in 1873 erected a building for its accommodation. 



543 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The bank is still in existence and his son, Edward C. Whitford, is asso- 
ciated with him. 

The first manufacturing industry in the town was a saw mill built by 
Oliver Babcock, father of Ethan and Oliver, in 1795; it was on the site 
of the Elijah Clark mill, the property passing into his possession in 
1857. He soon built a grist mill in connection with the saw mill; the 
latter fell into decay long ago. Samuel Jordan built a grist mill and a 
tannery in 1865, which he operated more than fifteen years; they are 
now owned by William Crane, who uses the old tannery building as a 
repair shop. Jonathan Babcock carried on an extensive tanning busi- 
ness here in early years. 

The other industries of the present are the blacksmith shops of Will- 
iam Crane, W. M. Clarke and C. Morgan, the wood repair shop of 
Adelbert Crandall, the new creamery of Dart & Wallace who started it 
in 1898, and the photograph gallery of H. A. Fitch. 

The Central Hotel was built in 1815 by Ethan Babcock who con- 
ducted it until 1833; it was the first public house in the village, and 
later passed to Joseph Clark who sold it in 1843 to his son-in-law, 
Henry Keith. It was conducted by him forty years or more, and 
passed to the present proprietor, Lyman Brown, who changed the 
name to Brown's Hotel. 

A Union free school was established in the village in 1875. The 
school building was enlarged in 1894. The present Board of Educa- 
tion are H. E. Kingsley, president; J. L. vStillman, secretary; C. C. 
Chandler, M. L. Fisk and A. C. Miller. Brookfield Academy, estab- 
lished in 1847, is properly described in chapter XXIV. 

The first physician in the village was Dr. Eli S. Bailey, from whom 
the place took the name of Bailey's Corners; he settled in 1809 and 
died in Brookfield in 1864. A. E. Wallace practiced a few years, as 
also did a Dr. Catlin about two years. Dr. Augustus L. Saunders 
practiced many years and until his death, and Dr. Nelson B. Parr the 
same. Dr. Albert C. Rogers practiced a number of years and removed 
to California. The present physicians are Dr. O. W. Bushy te and Dr. 
H. C. Brown. 

The first attorney in the village was Thomas J. Yaw, who practiced 
from about 1830 until his death in 1863. .Other early lawyers were 
Pardon Davis, George W. Gray, Henry M. Aylesworth, Samuel D. 
White, William H. Davis, George M. Havens, Barna J. Stimson, Sher- 
man Daboll, Frederick Clarke, Israel Wilkinson, Duane B. Stillman 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 643 

and Lewis H. Eddy. The only attorney now in the place is N. A. 
Crumb, a native of the town, who began practice in 1891, removing 
from Canastota. Duane B. Stillman, before mentioned, is now State 
Excise Commissioner. 

Brookfield village is incorporated under the general law, and the first 
president was H. L. Spooner, who served several years. Other presi- 
dents were P. Fitch, A. J. Stillman and Herbert E. Kingsley, presenc 
incumbent. In 1897 the question of establishing a water system was 
agitated, but meeting with determined opposition, the matter was 
abandoned. The village has no fire department, and when the Clarke 
opera house burned in 1898, the destruction of much of the place was 
averted apparently only by a heavy fall of snow. 

The Brookfield Agricultural .Society was incorporated in 1849 and 
has had a long and successful existence and been of great benefit to the 
village and the vicinity. Annual fairs were at first held on the land 
now owned by F. M. Spooner, and later on a tract just north of the 
village. In 1884 the society purchased the present grounds comprising 
about seventeen acres, erected good buildings and constructed a race 
track. 

The Brookfield Courier was founded in 1876 by Frank M. Spooner, 
who was associated with his father, H. L. Spooner, several years. In 
1883 they sold the paper to W. E. Phillips and B. G. Stillman, jr., who 
conducted it as Phillips & Siillman until the following year, when the 
Messrs. Spooner purchased the interest of Mr. Phillips and the firm 
name took its present form of Stillman & Spooner. In 1898 F. M. 
Spooner, founder of the paper, took the management of the Afton En- 
terprise, H. L. Spooner continued in this business and Mr. Stillman re- 
maining the active partner. The paper is a four-page nine-column 
weekly, independent in politics, and has found a large list of readers in 
its field. 

Clarkville is connected by stage with Leonardsvilleand with the sta- 
tion on the D. L. & W. railroad at North Brookfield. 

There are three churches in Clarkville, Methodist, First-Day Baptist, 
and Seventh- Day Baptist, all of which have been noticed in an earlier 
chapter. 

Leonardsville. — This village is pleasantly situated on the east border 
of the town, in the beautiful Unadilla valley, on the line of the Unadilla 
Valley Railroad, which connects at the north with the D., L. &W. road 
at Bridgewater, and on the south with the Ontario and Western road at 



544 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

New Berlin. The village took its name from the pioneer Reuben Leon- 
ard, the first merchant and postmaster and a leading citizen. The vil- 
lage now contains a Seventh Day Baptist Church, a Methodist Church, 
a Union School, one hotel, kept by W. L. Switzer, the grist mill of B. 
C. Steer, the saw mill and lumber business of A. Whitford, several 
stores, three blacksmith shops, four wagon shops, a shoe shop, a can- 
ning factory, a milk station, etc. Early merchants following Reuben 
Leonard were Ethan Burdick, David and Charles O. Munson, Otis Eddy, 
James Van Valen, William H. Brand, Dennis Hardin, Daniel Hardin, 
Charles R. Maxson, and possibly a few others. The merchants of the 
present are Irving A. Crandall, a native of the town who bought out 
Daniel Hardin in 1867; E. Frank Champlain, drugs and groceries; W. 
W. Coon, groceries; O. O. Saunders, general store; W. D. Crandall, 
hardware; G. H. St. John, cold storage and shipper of produce; Arvilla 
Burdick, millinery; E. L. Worden, furniture and undertaking; Elmer 
Ellsworth, meats and buyer of produce. 

There is a milk station at the depot of the Unadilla Valley railroad, 
from which forty to one hundred cans of milk are shipped daily and 
cheese is extensively manufactured. 

In past years Leonardsville was the site of a number of important in- 
dustries. The manufacture of hoes and scythes was begun about 1808- 
09 by Hazzard P. Clarke, who continued to 1820 and sold to Samuel 
Brand ; he continued to about 1848 and sold to his son, Nathan V. Brand. 
The firm of Nathan Brand & Co. in 1853 transferred the works to the 
Leonardsville Manufacturing Company, which also acquired the grist 
mill and saw mill, then owned by Luke and Tiiomas Hoxie, a horse 
rake factory and wagon shop, then, operated by John Babcock & Co., a 
foundry and machine shop, then operated M. W. & H. C. St. John, all 
of whom combined to form the new company. The whole was under 
superintendence of Washington S. Greene; the company continued un- 
til 1858, when it was dissolved and the several industries were con- 
ducted separately, the manufacture of agricultural implements being 
discontinued. In 1856 the grist mill, saw mill and agricultural imple- 
ment manufactory were burned, and all were soon rebuilt. A grist 
mill was built in 1803 a mile above the site of the one above named by 
Joseph Crumb and Stephen Clark; the history of this mill has been 
given in an earlier chapter. It is now operated by B. Steers. The 
saw mill adjacent thereto was built in 1856 on the site of the one burned 
that year and is now operated by Albert Whitford. The horse rake 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— BROOKFIELD. 545 

factory passed to Erastus E. Greene, is now the property of H. D. Bab- 
cock, who makes agricultural implements, mainly on contract. The 
old fork factory passed to the widow of M. W. St. John, the making of 
forks was discontinued; it was used as a foundry and machine shop, 
and added to the plant of the agricultural works. 

In 1891 a company was formed called the Otsego Furnace Company, 
for the manufacture of the so-called Otsego furnace. Among those in- 
terested in the project were H. D. Babcock, G. O. Wheeler, I. A. 
Crandall, A. W. Daggett, and G. C. Rogers. The financial revulsion 
of 1893 contributed largely to the failure of this enterprise, which other- 
wise might have been a source of prosperity to the village. A reor- 
ganization of the company is a future possibility. 

In 1894 the Leonardsville Canning Company was organized and 
erected a building near the railroad station in which was placed modern 
canning machinery. Fifty or sixty hands are employed in the season 
in canning corn. 

The blacksmiths of the village are E. Quinn, C. K. Burdick, and A. 
Meaker. The wagon makers are C. H. Williamson, C. K. Burdick, W. 
H. Burdick, A. Markel, and I. Parks. Oscar L. Southworth is the 
only physician in the village. Henry M. Aylesworth has practiced law 
many years, and Adon P. Brown is also in practice. The present post- 
master is I. A. Crandall, who succeeded O. Tully. 

The Leonardsville Bank was established in 1856 and became the 
First National Bank of Leonardsville; it was subsequently merged in 
the Ilion National Rank. Dennis Hardin, who had been cashier, then 
established a private bank which he conducted until his death in 1873. 

The Leonardsville Union School comprises the joint districts of the 
towns of Brookfield and of Plainfield in Otsego county; it was organ- 
ized in 1875 and is fully described in Chapter XXIV. The present 
Board of Education are Irving A. Crandall, president; Almeron M. 
Coon, secretarj^; E. Frank Champlin, treasurer; and Dr. O. L. South- 
worth, H. M. Aylesworth, and Arthur S. Hoxie. The principal is 
Arthur T. Hamilton. 

North Brookfield. — This is a small village in the northwest part of 
the town, a mile east of the railroad station of the same name. Samuel 
Marsh opened a store there in 1804 about a mile and a half southeast of 
the village, but failed in business. Samuel Livermore was the first 
merchant on the village site, beginning about 1809, and was succeeded 
by a man named Mills. Laban Olby, a colored man, kept a grocery 



546 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

from 1815 to about 1844. Other merchants were Isaac Marsh, J. V. R. 
Livermore, Lucius E. Beebe, S. A. Fitch, Dr. Lewis A. Van Wagner, 
and E. C. Bennett. The present merchants are W. Squires and Hib- 
bard & York. 

The only physician practicing there is Dr. Gilbert Birdsall. Dr. L. 
A. Van Wagner removed to Sherburne. 

The grist mill was built in 1860 by Timothy H. Peck and in 1879 it 
passed to Hiram Collins; it is now operated by Orvillo Kling. Wagon 
manufacturing was formerly an extensive industry, but has greatly 
declined. Avery Brothers are now engaged in the business in a small 
way. 

The hotel was built about 1844 by Laban Olby, who kept it five or 
six years; it has had numerous landlords and is now kept by Sherman 
Faulkner. 

There is a shoe shop by James Humphrey, two blacksmiths, John 
Gray and Albert Morgan, two wagon shops besides that of Avery 
Brothers; a cheese factory formerly owned by Henry Keith and now by 
I. A. Wager. 

South Brookfield. — This is a hamlet situated five miles south of Clark- 
ville on Beaver creek. It was formerly widely known as Babcock's 
Mills. It contains a Union church, the pulpit being supplied; a grist 
mill on the site of one built in the early history of the town, now oper- 
ated by Corry Maxson ; a creamery, established in 1879 by Abel Avery, 
now operated by Mr. Sargent ; a blacksmith shop by George Ayles- 
worth; a general store formerly by Henry Brown, now by Frank Hunt- 
ington, who is also postmaster. There was in past years some manu- 
facturing here. George W. Bentley had a large furniture factory, the 
neighboring forests supplying good hard wood for the purpose and a 
saw mill cutting the lumber. 

De Lancy. — This is a name applied to a post-office and little settle- 
ment in the west part of the town, where there was a gathering of 
Quakers. In early times there were a number of the ordinary shops 
and a store. All these, as well as the post-office, have gone out of 
existence. 

The village of West Edmeston is situated mostly in the town of Ed- 
meston, Otsego county. A grist and saw mill are in Madison county 
and have long been owned by Truman Maxson; the remainder of the 
business interests, consisting principally of two stores kept by Orson 
Champlain and Albert Felton respectively; a hotel, blacksmith shop 
and wagon shop, are outside of this county. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 547 

The Town of Cazenovia. 

Cazenovia is one of the five towns that were organized previous to the 
erection of Madison. It was formed from Whitestown and Paris on 
March 5, 1795, and was originally of very large area, containing the 
territory of what are now the towns of Georgetown, German, Linck- 
laen, Otselic and Pitcher, taken ofif in 1798; Sullivan, then includ- 
ing Lenox, taken off in 1803; Smithfield in 1807, and a part of 
Fenner in 1823. The town is on the west border of the county and 
is bounded on the north by Sullivan, east by Fenner and Nelson, 
south by De Ruyter, and west by Onondaga county. The surface is 
high and rolling, through which extend the valleys of the Chittenango 
and Limestone creeks. Cazenovia Lake is a beautiful body of water 
in the north part, four miles long and from half a mile to a mile in 
width. Chittenango Falls is a picturesque cascade on that creek where 
the water falls 136 feet. The soil is gravelly loam in the north and 
central parts, and clay loam underlaid with hardpan in the southern 
part. Most of the town is underlaid with the rocks of the Hamilton 
group, with the Onondaga limestone appearing in the northeast part, 
where it has been extensively quarried for lime and building purposes. 

There are three post-offices in the town of Cazenovia, one at Caze- 
novia village, one at New Woodstock, and one at Chittenango Falls. 
The population of Cazenovia village was 1,918 in 1880, and in 1890 it 
was 1,987, showing a small increase. 

Cazenovia village is beautifully situated on Chittenango Creek and at 
the foot on the east shore of the lake which bears the same name. It 
is located a little northeast of the center of the town and is a station on 
both railroads named below, giving it connection with Canastota, with 
Syracuse, and with Cortland and Elmira. The village was incorporated 
on February 7, 1810, the first corporation meeting being held on May 
10 of that year at the house of Eliphalet S. Jackson. Elisha Farnham, 
a justice of the peace, presided, and A. D. Van Home acted as clerk. 
The following were elected the first officers: Elisha Farnham, P. G, 
Childs, Jonas Fay, E. S. Jackson, and Samuel Thomas, trustees; J. N. 
M. Hurd, treasurer; Jacob A. Dana, bailiff and collector. Jonas Fay 
was chosen the first president of the village, and Caleb Ledyard, clerk. 

Following is a statement of the population of this town as shown by 
the census taken at different dates : 

1835. 1840. 1845. 1850. 1855. 1860. 1865. 1870. 1875. 1880. 1890. 1892. 
4,047 4,153 4,675 4,813 4,495 4,343 4,157 4,265 4,240 4,363 4,182 3,803 



548 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

These figures, like the record in most rural towns in the State, show 
a small decrease in population, the causes of which are now well under- 
stood. ' 

The chief agricultural interest of the town at the present time is 
dairying in its various features. Much of the land is well adapted for 
grazing and the production of hay, large quantities of which aie 
shipped to distant markets. Along the lines of railroad are a number 
of milk stations, and a large part of the milk produced is taken to them, 
for shipment to New York and other points. Cheese and butter are 
also manufactured at these stations from the surplus milk. Hops, the 
great staple of this county, have been raised in past years in Cazenovia, 
but not so largely as in many other towns, especially in recent years. 
The various grains and vegetables are produced for home consumption 
and to a limited extent for outside sale. 

The first records for this town that are in existence are for the year 
1804, when the following officers were elected: Supervisor, James 
Green ; town clerk, Eliphalet S. Jackson; assessors, Ebenezer Lyon, 
Oliver Bugbee, and Asa Dana; commissioners of highways, Isaac 
Morse, Asahel Jackson, Asa Dana; collector, Elisha Williams. 

At that meeting it was voted that the clerk should procure books for 
the use of the town, and twenty dollars was appropriated for the pur- 
pose. The clerk was also directed to transcribe from the old books 
such matter as he deemed advisable. It is probable that he did not do 
so, as the existing book, as before stated, begins with 1804. The pro- 
ceedings of the first meeting of which there is a record are given in 
earlier chapters. 

Following is a list of supervisors of Cazenovia from 1806 to the pres- 
ent time: 

1807, Lemuel Kingsley, 1808-11, Eliphalet Jackson ; 1812-13, Samuel 
S. Forman; 1814, E. S. Jackson; 1815, A. D. Van Home; 1816, Samuel 
Thomas; 1817, William Sims; 1818-34, E. S. Jackson; 1835-28, Samuel 
Thomas; 1839-31, Newell Wright; 1833-33, Elihu Severance; 1834-38, 
John F. Hicks; 1839-45, Talcott Backus; 1846-50, Albert Card; 1851-53, 
Charles Stebbins; 1853-54, Lewis Raynor; 1855, John C. Loomis; 1856, 
Albert Card; 1857, John F. Fairchild ; 1858-59, John Stebbins; 1860 63. 
Silas L. Loomis; 1863, D. E. Haskell; 1864-06, C. H. Beckwith; 1867, 
Charles Stebbins, jr. ; 1868-69, Silas L. Loomis; 1870, Charles Steb- 
bins, jr. ; 1871-73, Marcus L. Underwood; 1873-78, Willard A. Crandall; 
1879-81, J. Harvey Nourse; 1883-83, John Stebbins; 1884-91, William 
C. Sherman; 1893-97, Chauncey B. Cook. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 549 

According to the State census of 1892 Cazenovia town has a popula- 
tion of 3,803. The census of 1890 gives the number as 4,182, showing 
a loss of nearly 200 during the preceding decade. The town is divided 
into fifteen school districts, with school houses in each, in which were 
employed in 1897 twenty-four teachers; all the schools are flourishing 
and notably well conducted. The whole number of children taught in 
1897 was 718. 

The Chenango Valley branch of the West Shore Railroad crosses 
Cazenovia from northwest to southeast, and the branch of the Lehigh 
Valley road which was formerly the Cazenovia and Canastota Railroad, 
crosses the town in a southerly direction, the two forming a junction 
about a mile south of Cazenovia village. This branch was extended to 
De Ruyter in 1877 and subsequently continued on to Cortland, Ithaca, 
and Elmira. The town was bonded in aid of this road to the amount of 
$160,000. The present bonded indebtedness is $111,000. 

That part of Cazenovia included within the Gore, which was more 
than one-half in the southern part, was comprised in the purchase made 
by the Holland Land Company of about 120,000 acres, through the 
agency of John Lincklaen, in 1792-3. Mr. Lincklaen procured the sur- 
vey of the Road Township (so called from the fact that the proceeds of 
the sale of lands therein were to be applied to the construction of roads), 
and in 1794 built mills near the site of Cazenovia village. Other settlers 
in the town in 1793 were Archibald Bates, Day Fay, William Miles, 
Noah Taylor, Isaac Nichols, Ira Peck, Nathan Webb, Shubael Brooks, 
Samuel Tyler, and one Augur. In the next year David Smith and 
Lewis Stanley settled in the town and were soon followed by Jonathan 
Smith, brother of David, William Sims, Isaac Morse, Chandler Webber, 
Abraham Tillotson, Walter Childs, Jacob Ten Eyck, Jeduthan Perkins, 
Francis Norton, James Covell, Hendrick De Clercq (from Holland), 
Levi Burgess, Joseph Holmes, Caleb Van Riper, Edward Parker, Phin- 
eas Southwell, Robert Fisher, Isaac Warren, John Savage, Samuel 
Thomas, Deacon Isaiah Dean, William Moore, Christopher Webb, Eben- 
ezer Knowlton, all of whom settled before or in the year of the forma- 
tion of Madison county, locating in various parts of the town. After 
that date settlement was very rapid, many of the incomers being noticed 
in earlier chapters and in Part III of this work. 

The first merchant in the village of Cazenovia was Samuel S. Forman, 
who came to the place in the employ of John Lincklaen in 1793, in the 
interest of the Holland Land Company. The store was for a time car- 



550 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ried on by Mr. Forman with Mr. Lincklaen, representing the company 
as a partner. Mr. Forman subsequently took the business alone. 

Other early merchants were Jabish N. M. Hurd, who came about 1800; 
Jesse Kilborn, William M. and JosephBurr, Benjamin T. Clarke, E. B. 
and E. D. Litchfield, brothers; William Greenland and his son, William 
S. ; William Mills, Charles Crandall and Frank Moseley who formed a 
partnership and conducted a bookstore from 1834; John C. Reymon, 
L. G. Wells, Henry Groff, John Hobble, and others. The business of 
L. G. Wells was transferred in 1878 to his sons, Dwight W. and Ed- 
ward G., and is now conducted by the latter. George Morse, dealer in 
drugs, began business in 1847 with John F. Irons and purchased his 
partner's interest two years later; the firm is now George Morse & Son. 
Ebenezer Knowlton began the jewelry business about 1848 and con- 
tinued more than thirty years; the business is now carried on by C. M. 
Knowlton. E. A. Blair purchased the harness and saddlery business 
of T. S. Whitnall in 1863 and continues to the present time; Bowman 
Stanley, grocer, started in 1863 in company with his brother, Benjamin 
F. ; Tillotson & Nichols, who succeeded J. D. Beach about 1861 in a 
general store; H. B. Thomas, a pioneer and early harness maker; Jesse 
W. Hall, groceries, etc., who sold out in 1869 to David P. and James 
C. Dean; Will H. Cruttenden, jeweler, began in 1870; Nichols &Covell, 
clothiers, began in 1871; Colton'& Webber, hardware, began trade in 
1877, succeeding Colton, Johnson & Co. ; Wells Bros., general mer- 
chants since 1872; J. W. T. and William Rice, druggists, began in 1873; 
Henry A. Rouse, general merchant; Samuel T. Jackson, hats and caps, 
commenced in 1877, with his cousin, Frank E. Jackson, and others who 
have been noticed in the earlier town history. 

The present merchants and business men of Cazenovia village are as 
follows: E. G. Wells, furniture and undertaking; H. B. Thomas, har- 
ness and trunks; Curtis Brothers, drugs; George Morse & Son, drugs; 
J. W. Howson, coal dealer; F. E. Wilson, baker; G. H. Atwell & Son, 
flour and feed; Mrs. F. D. Holdridge, and Mrs. L. M. White, millinery; 
Marshall & Bumpus, Aikman & Norton, DriscoU & Marshall, and H. 
H. Colton, hardware; Holdridge & De Clercq, musical instruments; S. 
B. Allen, news room and cigars; William Watkins, and H. F. Green- 
land, books and stationery ; Charles R. Parkinson, bakery; W. W. Rice, 
drugs; W. S. Greenland & Son, merchant tailors; J. W. Hall, jeweler; 
H. N. Clark, jeweler; F. C. Phelps, general store; H. H. Hamilton, 
meats; W. W. Rainey, harness; R. A. Niles & Co., clothing; E. L. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 551 

Riggall, meats; F. E. Richardson, grocer; C. W. Covell, boots, shoes, 
clothing, etc. ; B. Vollmer, general store; D. S. Reidy, harness; Nichols 
& Loomis, general merchants; J. D. Warner, meats; H. A. Rouse 
estate, general store (managed by C. H. Rouse); Tillotson & Needham, 
house furnishings; Wells Brothers, dry goods and groceries; P. H. 
Donnelly, groceries; Clark & Mulligan, dry goods and general mer- 
chandise; Enright & Barrett, furniture and undertaking; Jackson 
Brothers, meats; John Wilson, ice. 

The early manufactu;es established on the water power of Cazeno- 
via comprised the trip hammer forge of Luther Bunnell, established as 
early as 1811; Nehemiah White's chair shop; a woolen mill built by 
John Lincklaen and Elisha Starr, which soon passed to Matthew Chan- 
dler & Son; a tannery started by Thomas Williams and his son, John, 
which was sold to R. & R. G. Allen; the .saw mill of David B. Johnson; 
the fulling mill of Sidney Roberts; a tannery established by Elisha 
Farnham; the Cazenovia paper mill built about 1810 by Zadock Sweet- 
land, which was burned in 1859 and rebuilt; the Cedar Grove woolen 
mill; the Fern Dell mills, originally built for a woolen mill, but not 
used for that purpose ; the Crawford mower and reaper works, removed 
from Ilion in 1875; the Lake Mills, built by Dr. Jonas Fay in an early 
time; an oil mill operated by Edward Knowlton; a saw and planing 
mill operated by S. F. Chaphe and Reuben Parsons, all of which have 
been fully described. 

The present manufactures of Cazenovia consist of the carriage shop 
of J. H. O'Neil; the establishment of the Cazenovia Wool and Felt 
company, employing several men; the sash, door and blind factory of 
T. W. Thayer & Co. ; Albert Chaphe's flouring mill ; the foundry and 
machine shop of Marshall & Card; the planing mill established by S. 
F. Chaphe, recently partially burned and rebuilt; blacksmith shops of 
P. H. Calhoun, Charles Bordwell, Martin McCabe and Barney Oiley; 
and the Brooklyn Creamery. 

A private banking business was established by J. H. Ten Eyck Burr 
in 1880, and is still in prosperous existence. 

The village has three hotels — the Lincklaen house, built in 1835, now 
conducted by Walter H. Young; the Cazenovia House, built many years 
ago, now conducted by Charles E. Pratt; and the Stanton House, for- 
merly until 1879 the Lake House, conducted by C. M. Stanton. 

The Cazenovia Republican is an able country weekly newswaper, es- 
tablished in 1854 by W. H. Phillips, and now conducted by J. A. Loy- 
ster, who purchased the establishment in 1890. 



552 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

There are five churches in Cazenovia, as follows: Presbyterian, 
founded in 1798, with Rev. Joshua Leonard the first pastor; the church 
was built in 180G and extensively repaired in 1834. Present pastor, S. 
E. Persons. The Methodist church, formed as part of the Cortland 
Circuit in 1816, and incorporated in 1830; first meeting house erected 
in 1833, and the present one in 1873. The Baptist church, built in 
1817, organized in 1820; church extensively repaired in 1868, burned 
in 1871, and i-ebuilt of brick in 1871 at a cost of $15,200; completed 
in 1880. St. Peter's Episcopal Church, organized 1844 and incorpor- 
ated 1845; church erected in 1848. St. James's Catholic Church, or- 
ganized 1849 by Rev. Michael Hayes; brick church erected in 1849-52. 
The Universalist church was organized in 1853, and after many years 
of somewhat feeble existence, declined and ceased to exist. 

Cazenovia is the seat of the well known seminary, which has had 
an existence of about seventy-five years and is fully described in Chap- 
ter XXIV of this work. In the same chapter will be found an account 
of the Union school of the village, which was established in 1874. 

The first physician to settle in the village was Dr. Isaac Lyman, who 
continued in practice from 1799 until his death in 1854. Dr. Theo- 
philus Wilson settled in the village in 1814, and Dr. Jonathan Silsby 
in about 1816, about which time Dr. David Mitchell located in the 
place. 

The first lawyers in the village were Schuyler Van Rensselaer and 
Samuel Sidney Breese, who settled there before the close of the last 
century; Van Rensselaer remained only a short time. David Dearborn, 
David B. Johnson, and possibly others who remained only for brief 
periods, settled in the village during the first decade of this century. 
Perry G. Childs located in the village about 1807, and was prominent 
in the profession. Charles Stebbins was a settler in 1810, and Justin 
Dwinelle and William J. Hough a little later. Later lawyers were 
Charles H. S. Williams, Levi Gibbs, Sidney T. Fairchild, Calvin Car- 
penter, Richard Thomas and Robert G. Paddock. The present attor- 
neys in the village are Burr Wendell, M. H. Kiley, and A. E. Fitch. 

The post-office at Cazenovia was probably established and main- 
tained by John Lincklaen at his personal expense until there was 
sufficient revenue to support it. Records of its early history are 
wanting. It was kept for a time in Mr. Forman's store and in that 
of his successor, J. N. M. Hurd, who was postmaster until 1821, 
when he was succeeded by Jesse Kilborn, who held the office nineteen 
years. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— CAZENOVIA. 553 

The first fire engine in Cazenovia was purchased in 1810 at a cost of 
flOO, and a company was organized the same year consisting of twelve 
members. The usual village regulations regarding the keeping of fire 
buckets by citizens were adopted, and as years passed the apparatus 
was slowly increased. The first hooks and ladders were purchased in 
1827 at a cost of $20. Old companies were from to time disbanded and 
new ones organized as fully described in earlier chapters. Previous to 
the establishment of the present water works, there were two engine 
companies and a hose company maintained in the village, with ade- 
quate auxiliary apparatus. The department as now existing, estab- 
lished in 1893, comprises two hose companies and a hook and ladder 
company, with adequate apparatus for fire purposes. Alarms are 
sounded on the bell of the Baptist church by push buttons in different 
parts of the village, through electrical connections. 

The Cazenovia water works were established in 1890, and up to the 
present have cost about $42,000. A reservoir has been constructed 
with capacity of 8,000,000 gallons, elevated 178 feet above the lake. 
This is fed by springs and by a pumping station, with capacity of 280,- 
000 gallons a day, taken from driven wells. The water is pure and am- 
ply supplied for public purposes. 

Cazenovia village supports an excellent public library containing 
about 5,000 volumes. It was formerly maintained by private subscrip- 
tions. The building in which it is located was given to the authorities 
by R. H. Hubbard, 

New Woodstock. — This is a pleasantly situated village in the south 
part of the town, and a station on the Lehigh railroad. Early merchants 
there were Harvey and Alvin Smith, brothers, who were in trade from 
about 1816 to 1830, and also operated a distillery. Joseph F. Clark was 
contemporary with the Smiths. Jesse B. Worden was an early mer- 
chant, and Harvey Morris opened a store about 1834. 

The village now contains two churches. Baptist and Methodist. The 
former was organized in 1800, with Elder James Bacon, pastor; a log 
meeting house was built in 1802, and a little latter joined with the 
Presbyterians in building a frame edifice. The Baptists erected a larger 
church of their own in 1816. This old society has ever since main- 
tained its existence. The Methodist Church was organized in 1830. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



The Town of De Ruyter. 



This is one of the five towns that were formed previous to the erec- 
tion of the county and was set off from Cazenovia March 15, 1798; it 
then contained the territory of the present townsof German, Lincklaen, 
Otselic and Pitcher, in Chenango county, and Georgetown in Madison 
county. The town received its name in honor of Admiral De Ruyter, 
of the Dutch navy. It is the southwest corner town in the county. It 
presents a hilly surface which is broken by the valley of the Tiough- 
nioga River, which with numerous small tributaries, drains and waters 
the town. The soil is of a general good quality, sandy and gravelly 
loam on the hills and rich alluvium in the valleys. The village of the 
same name as the town is situated in the southwestern part of the town ; 
it was incorporated in 1833. There are only two post-offices in the 
town — De Ruyter and Sheds (Shed's Corners.) The population of the 
town as shown by the census taken at various dates from 1835 was as 
follows : 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1892 
1,563 1,799 1,839 1,931 1,931 1,817 1,830 2,009 1,609 1,584 1,500 1,480 

The principal occupation of the farmers of the town is dairying to 
which general farming has largely given place in recent years. Some 
twenty- five years ago, when the manufacture of cheese in factories was 
made a prominent industry, five factories were established in the town; 
but there are only three now in operation — one a mile and a half north 
of the village, one four miles north of the village and one at vShed's 
Corners. Large quantities of e.Kcellent butter are made by individual 
farmers throughout the town. The raising of potatoes for market has 
taken on considerable importance within quite recent years and at fair 
prices are a profitable crop. The numerous saw mills of early times are 
nearly all idle. Considerable hardwood lumber is still cut, most of 
which goes to the Bryant Furniture Company, which operates a steam 
saw mill in the village and has a large factory in Truxton. 

The destruction of the records of this town renders it impossible to 
give the date and proceedings of the early town meetings, and doubt- 
less deprives us of much important and interesting material. The town 
constitutes a part of the second school commissioner's district of the 
county and is divided into ten school districts with a school house in 
each, in which are employed fifteen teachers in 1897, to teach a total of 
340 children. The present value of school buildings and sites is nearly 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 555 

$10,000. An excellent high school is conducted in the village of De 
Ruyter, which is the direct successor of the old De Ruyter Institute, 
founded in 1836 by the Seventh- Day Baptists. It became a Union free 
school in 1874, and the name, De Ruyter Union School and Academy 
was adopted in 1877. The present faculty includes Irving Smith Sears, 
principal ; Jennie Van Demark Sheely, preceptress, and four assistants. 
The attendance at the present time is about 270. 

As at present bounded the town lies wholly within the Gore, de- 
scribed in an early chapter. Settlement began in 1793 by Elijah and 
Elias Benjamin and Eli Colegrove. Both the Benjamin brothers had 
families, members of which and their descendants have been prominent 
in the community. Joseph Messenger, Samuel Thompson, and William 
and Thompson Burdick became settlers in 1795, and Daniel Page, Gid- 
eon Foster and Eleazer Gage a little later. In 1800, or within a year 
or two thereafter, Matthew Wells, Jonathan Shed, Darius Benjamin, 
Samuel Bowen, Levi Wood, Sylvester Crumb and probably a few 
others located in different parts of the town. Among other settlers 
previous to or about the time of the formation of the county in 1806 
were Joseph Rich, Jonathan Bentley, Benjamin Merchant, Job Webb, 
Benjamin Stratton, Abram Sutton, John Shepard, James Hunt, Na- 
thaniel Wright, John Pierce, Reuben Burnard, John Gifford, Ephraim 
Arnold, Beman Hoag, David Wood, John Hewitt, Joseph, Thomas and 
Benjamin Mitchell, Dr. Ephraim Otis, Stephen Bogardus, Benjamin 
Wybert, Enos and Amos Peasley, Elijah Cornell, Joseph and Benjamin 
Tripp, and Joseph Underwood. Many in this list were Quakers, who 
established a Meeting about 1806, and have always been numerous and 
influential in the community. These and the settlers who came in 
later soon cleared parts of their farms, built saw mills and grist mills, 
opened roads, established the schools and churches and gradually sur- 
rounded themselves with the comforts and advantages of the older set- 
tled localities further east. 

De Ruyter Village. — -This village is pleasantly situated on the Tiough- 
nioga on the western border of the town and is a station on the Lehigh 
Valley railroad. The early gathering at this point was due mainly to 
the building of a saw mill immediately after the arrival of the first 
settlers; this was soon followed by a grist mill, and in 1800 Samuel 
Bowen opened the first store. Two or three other merchants began 
trading before the erection of the county in 1806. The post-office was 
established in 1810. Ephraim Arnold established an early tannery, and 



556 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Daniel Page built the first public house in the corporation as early as 
the beginning' of the century. Later merchants were Nathan B. Wil- 
bur, James Benjamin, Eli Spear, Col. Elmer D. Jencks, Sylvester 
Aylsworth, John Elmore, Martin Spear, Crandall & Alvord, H. A, & 

F. C. Dillaye, Bradley Merchant, Noah T. Coleman and others. The 
present merchants of the place are H. B. Griffiths, started in 1883; F. 
S. Mitchell, drugs, began in 1883; Hardy & Orvis, dry goods, 1894; H. 
C. Blanchard, clothing, 1895; C. E. Maxson, jewelry, 1893; M. R. 
Smith, clothing, 1881; E. S. Norton, hardware and groceries, bought 
the A. M. Purchase store in 1894; W. W. Rainey, harness, 1893; Eugene 
Ryder, varieties, 1895; W. G. Weed, baker, 1870; F. L. Haskins and 

G. M. Foster, meats; W. B. Ryan, general store, 1895; H. S. Walker, 
hardware, in trade more than thirty-five years; E. H. Lee, general 
store, 1874; S. W. Fiske, grocer; R. F. Clark, grocer, 1898; E. M. 
Stanton, general store, 1895; F. M. Russell, groceries and hardware, 
1887; A. W. Francis, flour and feed, 1885; R. E. Smith, furniture and 
undertaking, succeeded J. H. Crumb, 188G; Thompson & Church, mill- 
ers; Stanton & Nichols, millinery, 1898; J. D. Allen, plumber; M. E. 
Tallet, produce, lime and coal; H. P. Mitchell, insurance, 1881; E. D. 
Benjamin, photographer, 1883 ; the Cazenovia Coal and Lumber Com- 
pany carries on business here. John Rice Rider established a banking 
business in 1864, and in 1870, E. B. Parsons and E. B. Crandall opened 
the E. B. Parsons & Co.'s bank, with $15,000 capital. This institution 
subsequently failed. In 1889 the De Ruyter Banking Company was 
organized by B, S. Bryant, president; M. E. Teller, vice-president; F. 
S. Mitchell, treasurer and cashier. The capital is $10,000. 

The village fire department had its inception in 1833, when the first 
engine was purchased, and measures adopted for building an engine 
house and town hall ; the latter was erected in 1839 and was sold in 1855 
and a new one built. The department now consists of a hose company 
and engine company of seventy men. A system of water works was 
established in 1897, which supplies the public with pure spring water 
and gives a pressure in pipes of 134 pounds to the square inch; twenty 
eight hydrants have been set in the village, thus rendering the fire en- 
gine substantially useless. 

Physicians practicing in the village are Drs. Silas Clarke, Edwin M. 
Coon, James E. McClellan, C. P. Monro, and J. H. Shaffer, the latter 
a dentist. De Ruyter has had two or three lawyers of more than or- 
dinary ability and repute, who are noticed in chapter XXV. The 



*i "*!>, 




ELISHA PAYNE. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— DE RUYTER. 557 

present attorneys are Wallace E. Biirdick, J. H. Poole and H. D. Mes- 
senger. 

De Ruyter has had several newspapers which are now extinct. The 
first was the De Ruyter Weekly News, started in 1862 by J. E. N. 
Backus; it lived about two years. The De Ruyter New Era was 
founded by John R. Beden in 1870. The De Ruyter American was es- 
tablished in Decembei, 1896, by N. E. Bugbee and was discontinued in 
November, 1897. The De Ruyter Gleaner was established September 
18, 1878, by W. W. Ames; it absorbed the New Era in 1889 and is still 
continued as a healthy, ably conducted journal. 

The Taber House, built in 1849, is now conducted by John Coye; the 
Central Hotel was changed in name to the Park Hotel and much im- 
proved and is now conducted by W. W. Owens. The De Ruyter 
Hotel was built for a dwelling by M. R. Merchant; it passed to Isaac 
Samson, who sold it to M. W. Baldwin; he changed it to a hotel in 
1893. 

There are four churches in the village — Congregational, organized in 
1897 and built an edifice in the same year; Baptist, organized in 1798; 
Seventh- Day Baptist, formed within a short time after settlement be- 
gan; Methodist, organized before 1817. 

De Ruyter village was incorporated April 15, 1833; reincorporated 
December 7, 1847, and again February 18, 1878, under the law of April 
20, 1870. A list of the officers from its incorporation to the present 
time is given in chapter XVHI. 

Shed's Corners. — This is a mere hamlet in the northeast part of the 
town on the Tioughnioga, which took its name from Jonathan Shed, 
the pioneer of that locality. The post-office, which has been in exist- 
ence there many years, was changed in name recently by the Depart- 
ment, to Sheds. There was formerly a Universalist church which has 
become extent; a Methodist church has been in existence many years. 
A hotel was kept by Allen Randall, which was burned and not rebuilt. 
One of the cheese factories and milk stations of the town is in opera- 
tion here, and one store. 

Following is a list of supervisors from 1807 to the present time: 
1807-09, Jeremiah Gage; 1810-13, Eli Gage; 1814-17, James Nye; 
1818-19, Nathan B. Wilbur; 1820-23, Jeremiah Gage; 1824-26, Elias 
P. Benjamin; 1827, Hubbard Smith; 18-^8, E. P. Benjamin; 1829-30, 
Abraham Sutton; 1831, John Hewit; 1832-34, Le Baron Goodwin; 
1835-36, Bradley Merchant; 1837, Benjamin Enos; 1838, Abraham Sut- 



558 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ton; 1839-40, Ira Gage Barnes; 1841-43, David Maine, jr.; 1844-45, 
Jonathan Brainard; 1846-47, D wight Gardner; 1848-49, Abijah N. 
Annas; 1850-51, Lewis Sears; 1852-53, William Hunt; 1854, John R. 
Rider; 1855, Albert G Burdick; 185G, Ira Spencer; 1857, J. Henry De 
Lamater; 1858, Simeon Rider; 1859, David Maine; 1860, William C. 
Crumb; 1862, Daniel Q. Mitchell; 1863, H. C. Miner; 1864, Daniel Q. 
Mitchell; 1865-66, J. W. Merchant; 1867-68, Newell Reeve; 1869-70, 
A. N. Annas; 1871-73, Alverson B. White; 1874-76, Daniel Q. Mitch- 
ell; 1877-80, Joseph H. Crumb; 1881-83, Charles H. Maxson; 1884, 
Edward B. Parsons; 1885-86, Charles F. Maxson; 1887, George F. 
Annas; 1888-91, Byron S. Bryant; 1892-93, John Hunt; 1893-97, War- 
ren W. Ames. 

The Town of Eaton. 

Eaton was formed from Hamilton on February 8, 1807, and is one of 
the five towns organized in that year. It is situated, near the center of 
the county and is bounded on the north by Smithfield and Stockbridge, 
on the east by Madison, on the south by Lebanon, and on the west by 
Lebanon. When organized its area was placed at 28,000 acres, but the 
assessed area in recent years is placed at less that 26,000. The surface 
of the town is composed largely of the valley of the Chenango River 
which flows across the town from northwest to southeast, through a 
beautiful valley which is bordered by picturesque and fertile slopes. 
On the hillsides the soil is gravelly or clayey mixture, while in the bot- 
to n lands it is a lighter loam. In the north part of the town the gen- 
eral slope is northward towards the St. Lawrence River. No rock is 
accessible for quarrying that is valuable. A number of mineral springs 
are found near Eaton village, their principal constituent being sulphur. 
The whole town is well watered with springs and brooks of pure water, 
and in early years the natural water power was used at many points 
for running the pioneer mills. The largest stream other than the Che- 
nango, is called Alder Brook, which has been given wide notoriety 
through the writings of Fanny Forrester; it rises in Nelson and flows 
easterly through the southern part of Eaton and empties into the river 
at Eaton village. Leland's Ponds and Woodman's Lake, once favorite 
fishing resorts of the Oneidas, are situated in picturesque locations at 
the divergence of the Chenango and Oriskany valleys and are the head- 
waters of one of the branches of the Chenango. These ponds were util- 
ized in 1836 as one of the sources of supply for the Chenango canal. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— EATON. 559 

which extends in a curve into the southeastern part of the town. Hatch's 
Lake is a beautiful body of water in the southwest part, and once con 
stituted the headwaters of one of the Otselic branches, its outlet being 
at its western end. When the canal was constructed this outlet was 
closed and the water directed through Bradley Brook reservoir to the 
canal. The lake covers about 136 acres and is almost wholly fed by 
springs in its bed. Eaton reservoir is on the west border of the town 
and covers 284 acres; from this flows Alder Brook (or Eaton Brook), 
through a narrow valley, supplying in its fall numerous mill sites. 

At the present time and for three-fourths of a century, dairying has 
been the principal industry of Eaton, while at the same time it has long 
been one of the most important in the county, particularly in early 
years, in a manufacturing and commercial sense. Previous to about 
1850 cattle raising was quite extensively carried on and mixed farming, 
the raising of cereals, was an important part of the agriculture of the 
town; but in more recent years these features have greatly declined. 
Eaton first introduced into the county the cheese factory and creamery 
system, which within a few years created a revolution in the farming 
industry. The first cheese factory was established at Eaton village, in 
1861, by George Morse, and at one period later on there were eight fac- 
tories in successful operation in the town. This town also was the first 
to witness the use of horse hay rakes and mowing machines, as else- 
where described. 

Settlement began in 1792 with the arrival of John and James Salis- 
.bury, who came from Vermont in the fall, made a clearing in the south 
part, which they abandoned on account of extreme cold weather and 
did not return. Joshua Leland was the first permanent settler, coming 
in 1793; he at once began clearing a farm, and was soon joined by John 
H. and Benjamin Morris, who aided him in his work. He brought his 
family in the spring of 1794, the Morrises having improved his place 
during the preceding winter. This settlement was made on lot 94, on 
what has been known as the Dunbar farm. The Leland Ponds took 
their name from this pioneer. In his early home he kept the first tav- 
ern in the town and one of the first m the county. He also built and 
operated the first grist mill at the foot of the upper lake ; that was done 
in 1795, and in the same year he added a saw mill, to the great conven- 
ience of the incoming settlers. Mr. Leland was killed in 1810 by fall 
ing from a load of potash near Cherry Valley, the barrels rolling upon 
him. He had seven sons and three daughters. He was the means of 



560 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

several other settlers coming in at that time, among whom were Ben- 
jamin Morse, Simeon Gillett, Lsvi Bonney, Elijah Hayden, and a few 
others, who took up land in the vicinity of E iton village site. Simeon 
Gillett died in 1796, the first death in the town, and in the same year 
his daughter married Lewis Wilson, a newcomer, which was the first 
marriage in the town. 

Settlers of 1796 were Samuel Sinclair, Joseph Moss, William Mills, 
Humphrey Palmer, Deacon McCrellis, and several others whose names 
are not known. Thaxter Dunbar came in 1799 and lived to nearly a 
hundred years old. Benjamin, Windsor, Stephen and Ziba Coman 
settled in 1797 in the vicinity of the Center, and many others arrived 
during the early years of the century, whose pioneer labors, as far as 
known, have been described in earlier chapters. Bennett Bicknell came 
to the town in 1808 and became one of the leading business men of the 
town, and was honored with high office. David Darrow was also a set- 
tler of that year. Thomas Lumbard, a Revolutionary soldier, came in 
1803, and the town thenceforth rapidly filled up with an excellent class 
of settlers from the New England States, whose sturdy labor amid 
privations in the wilderness laid the foundations of the later prosperous 
community. 

The first town meeting was held March 3, 1807, at the "school house 
near James Pratt's," and the following officers were elected: Robert 
Avery, supervisor; David Gaston, town clerk; Martin Roberts, collector; 
Josiah Wilcox, poundkeeper; Ziba Coman, Benjamin Morse, and John 
Hall, assessors; Hezekiah Morse and Abram Ellis, poormasters; Seth 
Hitchcock, John Pratt, and Robert Avery, highway commissioners; 
Martin Roberts and Nathan Mixer, constables. 

In this list are the names of several other pioneers who have not be- 
fore been mentioned. Following is a list of supervisors of Eaton from 
the time of its formation to the present with the years of their service: 
Robert Avery, 1807; Joseph Morse, 1808-09; Hezekiah Morse, 1810-15; 
Bennett Bicknell, 1816-17; Windsor Coman, 1818; Bennett Bicknell, 
1819; Rufus Eldred, 1820-1821; Samuel W. Osgood, 1822; Stephen 
Fitch, 1823; Artemas Ellis, 1824-35; David Gaston, 1826-27; Robert 
Henry, 1828-31; Uriah Leland, 1832-1835; Perley Munger, 1836; 
George Ellis, 1837; Windsor Coman, 1838; Ichabod Amidon, 1839-41; 
Moses Bicknell, 1842-43; Windsor Coman, 1844; Yale Leland, 1845-46; 
Ellis Morse, 1847-50; Hiram D. Cloyes. 1851-52; Ambrose Y. Smith, 
1853-54; Calvin Morse, 1855-56; Francis H. Stevens, 1857; Albert W. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— EATON. 561 

Morse, 1858-59; Benjamin F. Coman, 1860-61; Edward C. Philpot, 
1862-63; Horace M. Kent, 1864; George E. Morse, 1865-66; Alexan- 
der M. Holmes, 1867-99. 

The population of Eaton is shown in the following figures by the 
census taken in the various years named : 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1893 
3,758 3.409 3,444 3,944 4,061 3,871 3,861 3,690 3,644 3,799 3,131 2,875 

The town of Eaton, with Brookfield, De Ruyter, Georgetown, Hamil- 
ton, Lebanon, Madison and Nelson, constitute the First School Com- 
missioner District of the county. In this district are 119 school dis- 
tricts, eighteen of which are in Eaton, all having school buildings. 
Morrisville has a Union School, the organization of which is described 
in chapter XXIV. In the school year of 1897-98 the number of teachers 
employed in the town was twenty-six, and the whole number of chil- 
dren attending school was 602. 

There are five post-offices in Eaton — Morrisville, the county seat, 
Eaton, West Eaton, Pratt's Hollow, and Pine Woods. Morrisville is 
the largest village in the town and since 1817 has been the county seat, 
which in that year was removed from Cazenovia. The village was 
named from its founder, Thomas Morris, and in early times previous to 
its incorporation as Morris Flats. The first incorporation took place 
under special act of the Legislature passed April 13, 1819. The first 
village president was Deacon Abel De Forest, who, it is related, built 
the first sidewalk in the place and was rewarded with the office of presi- 
dent. The village records under the first incorporation are lost, it being 
supposed they were carried away by the last clerk, Alexander Donald- 
son, jr., who died many years ago in New York city. Mr. De Forest 
was kept in the office of president ten years, after which the charter and 
the village government was permitted to fall into disuse. Under the 
general act for incorporating villages Morrisville was re-incorporated 
in 1848, and the following were elected as the first board of trustees: 
A. B. De Forest, B. Tillinghast, Franklin T. Maybury, Luman E. Cole 
and E. Norton. A. B. De Forest was chosen president of the board; 
James Norton, clerk; A. S. vSloan, treasurer. 

David Gaston kept the first store in Morrisville, which he opened in 
1804. Bennett Bicknell began trading in 1808. Present merchants are 
W. P. Chambers, general store, established in 1850 and the oldest mer- 
chant in the town; H. P. Mead, drugs and medicines, succeeded Wind- 



562 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sor Coman in 1873, with H. E. Chapin as partner, who retired in 1884; 
M. L. Field, furniture, established 1895, succeeding George Wilbur; E, 
N. Dexter, department store, established 1887; James HoUenbeck, gen- 
eral store since 1890; W. B. Stewart & Son, bakery; P. A. Hart, market; 
Burden & Poyle, market; E. M. & F. Sanford, variety store; J. H. 
Parker, hardware and tin ; W. P. Jones, general store, succeeded H. G. 
Phelps in 1878; C. M. Seymour, general store, succeeding Storrs & 
Seymour (Otis Storrs); John Reidy, harness shop, succeeding Edwin 
Barnard in 1877; C. M. Seymour, clothing and furnishings (under man- 
agement of F. H. Southworth), established in 1895; Mrs. B. Wiltse, 
millinery; W. R. Kimball, general store, began in 1883, succeeded his 
father, B. N. Kimball. 

The first hotel in the village stood on the site of the new Reidy block 
and was established in 1815; it was partly burned in 1859. John Far- 
well was proprietor, and Thomas Farwell resided in the house after the 
fire, it having been repaired. The Bicknell House was built on the op- 
posite corner, and is now the Burden House, with John Burden pro- 
prietor. The Exchange Hotel was built for a store by Samuel Shepard, 
and was converted into a hotel about 1826; it has had a number of pro- 
prietors and is now conducted by B. A. Wilbur. The old Madison 
County Hotel stood on the site of the Barker House and was burned in 
1868. The present structure was built in 1873 by Edwin R. Barker, 
who kept the house several years. After several changes it passed to 
the present proprietorship of Charles Beekman. 

The post-office here was opened about 1808. The successive post- 
masters have been as follows: Bennett Bicknell, Moses Bicknell, John 
Farwell, Hiram Lewis, F. T. Newell, James Norton, E. Norton, J. W. 
Hatch, W. H. Pilch, M. M Chubbuck, W. P. Cleveland, B. F. Coman, 
P. B. Townsend, Wilbur Henderson, John H. Reidy, and John H. 
Broad, the present incumbent. 

About 1815 Lonson Stillwell began tanning leather and manufactur- 
ing shoes near the site of the later tannery, which passed to possession 
of Clark Tillinghast and Dr. Isaac Hovey, who purchased the old build- 
ing and operated an ashery. Stillwell returned from Manlius whither 
he had removed, and built another small tannery a short distance west 
of the first one. In 1830 Bradley Tillinghast bought his brother's ash- 
ery and established a tanning business which grew to large proportions, 
and made and dealt in boots and shoes. The business was finally 
abandoned and a wagon and blacksmith shop occupies the building. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— EATON. 563 

The buildings of the silk factory, noticed here, were purchased by 
Stephen Coman and in the spring of 1862 were converted into a cheese 
factory. After a few changes in ownership, J. B.Wadsworth purchased 
the factory in 1880; it was sub-^equently burned. At the present time 
the only cheese factory in the village is owned and operated by D. A. 
Hopkins and R. D. Champlin, who purchased it in 1898; it was built in 
1894 by a stock company. 

The old sawmill, now rapidly going to ruin, was owned by the sons of 
William R. Jones. It was built by Abel De Forest about 1830 and was 
sold to Mr. Jones in 1860; it is now owned by Thomas Green. The 
other mill is operated by William Field. Other industries of the past 
in Morrisville were the silk factory established about 1853 and continued 
about five years; the Bicknell comb factory, continued to about 1840; 
the distillery of Bicknell, Coman & Norton, built in 4 836 and discon- 
tinued in 1860; the grist mill built in 1830 and long operated by Ben- 
jamin Graham, later by his son and now by F. Cook; Nathan vShepard's 
woolen mill of 1836, which failed in 1850; Torrey's machine shop, built 
in 1841; the saleratus manufactory operated a number of years previous 
to 1840 by Babbitt & Darling, and the foundry built by Jefferson Cross 
in 1830, afterwards carried on by his sons, Jefferson and George, in the 
manufacture of stoves, etc. ; is now operated by D. C. Bennett in cus- 
tom work. 

The Congregational Church in Morrisville was organized in 1805 and 
built a meeting house in 1817, which has on several occasions been 
greatly improved. Rev. Thomas A. Fenton is the present pastor. The 
First Baptist Church was formed in 1809 and a small meeting house 
was soon built. A more suitable site was given the society in 1836 by 
Bennett Bicknell and to that the building was removed and enlarged. 
The present edifice was erected in 1848 and the old one sold. The 
present pastor is Rev. Enoch Powell. The Methodist Church of Morris- 
ville was organized in 1834 and built its house of worship in the follow- 
ing year. 

The First National Bank of Morrisville was established December 
26, 1863, with a paid up capital of $65,000; this was increased to 
$100,000. The first officers were Daniel Stewart, president; Sidney T. 
Holmes, vice-president; Lorenzo D. Dana, cashier. The present of- 
ficers are Alexander M. Holmes, president; H. P. Mead, vice-presi- 
dent; B. Tompkins, cashier. The directors are H. E. Aton, F. S. 
Harwood, C. M. Seymour, W. E. Brown. The capital was reduced to 
$50,000 in 1897. 



564 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Madison County Leader is an enterprising modern country 
newspaper, which was established as an exponent of Republican prin- 
ciples in 1885, by Stillman & Spooner (W. E. Stillman and F. S. 
Spooner). This partnership continued two years, when Mr. Stillman 
became sole proprietor and so continued until 1890, when F. W. Nash 
purchased a half interest, Mr. Stillman having received the appoint- 
ment of clerk in the New York sub-treasury. In the fall of 1890 John 
H. Broad bought a one-fourth interest of Nash and the firm was during 
one year, Stillman, Nash & Broad. Mr. Broad then purchased Nash's 
remaining interest and a year later bought also Stillman's interest and 
since has conducted the business alone. In July, 1896, the Leader ab- 
sorbed the old Observer, established in 1821. The Leader is a progres- 
sive, vigorously edited journal, and is welcomed in many homes. 

The village has an excellent system of gravity water supply, the 
source being from pure springs and stored in a reservoir situated a 
fourth of a mile southwest of the corporation. The capacity of the 
reservoir is 7,000,000 gallons, and the pressure about eighty pounds. 
Twenty-seven hydrants are employed for fire extinguishment. The 
construction of the works was begun in the fall of 1894 and completed 
in the next year. Bonds to the amount of $15,000 were issued to pay 
for the system, which is under charge of a board of three commission- 
ers; they are Dr. H. N. Aldrich, L, W. Burroughs, and David D. 
Jones. 

The fire department as at present organized comprises the Morrisville 
Hook and Ladder Company of twenty-two members, equipped with a 
Rumsey truck. The old Croton Fire Company was disbanded after the 
water works were established. 

An electric lighting system was put in operation in the village in 
1897, previous to which several attempts had been made to properly 
light the streets, but generally without success. The present plant is 
owned by the D. A. Schuyler estate. The village pays $500 annually 
for public lightning. Families are also provided with light and a sta- 
tion is maintained at the hamlet of Pierceville, a mile below Morris- 
ville. 

Eaton Village. — -This beautifully situated and attractive village is 
situated five miles south of Morrisville in the midst of a fertile and 
prosperous agricultural district, on the old Skaneateles turnpike, with 
a nearby station on the New York, Ontario and Western railroad. The 
village was known many years as Log City. It was early and rapidly 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— EATON. 565 

settled as a result of the efforts of Joshua Leland and his immediate 
followers, and the water power of Eaton brook. 

The water power on the brook and several buildings used in past 
years for manufacturing purposes have recently been acquired by E. 
Tupper, who now operates a planing- mill and conducts a cheese factory. 
A. D. Norton is a manufacturer of furniture, using both water and 
steam power and employing several hands. For many years the chief 
manufacturing industry was the extensive steam engine works of Wood, 
Tabor & Morse. This establishment originated in 1848, when Enos 
and Allen Wood began making machinery for woolen and cotton mills, 
which continued about ten years, when the business was removed to 
Utica. In 1859 A. N. Wood returned to Eaton and the firm of Wood, 
Tabor & Morse was at once organized and a very large business was 
soon built up in the manufacture of portable steam engines. The in- 
dustry closed in 1890, though the buildings are standing and the ma- 
chinery is still in place. 

Joseph Morse was the founder of Eaton village and the first to utilize 
the power of Eaton brook. He built the old mill in 1800 and about 1812 
Ellis Morse erected a distillery near by, which was operated until 1857. 
A small tannery was built in the village in 1807 by B. Carter, which 
was in existence fifty years. Cast iron plows were made many years 
ago by Alpheus and Ellis Morse. A small powder mill was built in 
1806 and the Eaton Woolen Manufacturing Company, Dr. James Pratt 
and Joseph Morse at its head, built a mill in 1817. It was afterwards 
changed to a cotton mill and was burned in 1845. 

The present merchants of Eaton are Morse Brothers, who established 
a general store in 1871, succeeding C. N. Burritt; E. B. Robie, drugs, 
groceries, etc., succeeded Charles T. Hamlin in 1895; H. R. Hamilton, 
groceries, established 1896 ; Thompson & Barber (L. C. Thompson, G. 
A. Barber), general store, succeeding Arnst & Thompson, who began 
in 1894; John Heron, shoes; Andrew Pettit, harness shop. There are 
two hotels in the village; the Exchange Hotel was kept by G. D. Rich- 
ardson for a time, who was succeeded by Byron Wilbur, John Richard- 
son, Sidney Curtis and others; the Eaton House has been long kept by 
Norman Hunt. 

There is a milk station at the railroad depot and the Madison County 
Poor Farm, elsewhere described, is situated a little south of the village. 
The post-office here was established in very early years, with Dr. 
Charles Hall postmaster. His successors have been John G. Curtis, 



566 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Sylvester Thayer, Calvin Morse (two or three terms), Alpheus Morse, 
John Whitney, Charles Burritt, Frank Morse, Col. S. White, Frank 
Morse, E. A. Richardson, and Frank Morse again, the present official. 

The Baptist Church of Eaton village was organized in 1816, services 
being held in the brick school house until 1820 when the house of wor- 
ship was finished; it has been greatly improved at various times. Rev. 
J. W. Thorn is the present pastor. 

The Congregational Church was partially organized November 22, 

1831, with eight members. On the 27th of the following month it was 
reorganized with its present name. The church edifice was built in 

1832. Rev. John Bamford is the present pastor. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church in Eaton was organized in 1856 and 
the meeting house was erected in the same year. Rev. S. S. Pratt is 
the present pastor. 

West Eaton. — This is a small village situated two and a half miles 
west of Eaton village. As far as its business interests are concerned 
it is a place of comparatively modern growth. The post-office was es- 
tablished in 1852 and has had the following postmasters: Joseph Dar- 
row, Isaac Hopkins, Erastus Wellington, Marion Beebe, Albert Tayn- 
tor, Harvey Miller, L L. Palmer and others; C. D. Tracy is the present 
incumbent. 

The village was many years ago a manufacturing point of impor- 
tance, but in late years its industries have declined. A grist will was 
built and in operation here before 1808 and a distillery in 1815. In 1830 
John Brown began manufacturing augurs. A clothing or cloth works 
was established before 1820 by Abner Isbell, who sold in 1840 to A. Y. 
Smith & Son, who enlarged the works. They were burned in 1852, 
but were rebuilt. After various changes the property was bought in 
1879 by H. I. Howe. 

The Eureka woolen mills originated in a carding mill built about 
1845. The property passed through various changes in ownership, as 
elsewhere detailed, and is now operated on a large scale by a company 
in which Richard and Thomas Jones, Wallace Frasier and Edward 
Peno are interested. A saw mill is operated by Philip Walden and 
there are two grist mills, one of which is situated half a mile east of 
the village and the other a mile west. The only hotel in the village is 
conducted by Everett Mack, who succeeded his brother, Edward Mack. 
There are two general stores, one conducted by Arthur Howe, who 
succeeded B. Davis, and the other by Clarence Omans. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— EATON. 567 

The Baptist Church of West Eaton was organized in 1820 and reor- 
ganized in 1853, and a house of worship erected in the same year. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1841 and a small 
meeting house erected in 1843. This was superseded in 1869 by the 
existing handsome edifice. The society is prosperous. 

A Catholic Church was organized in 1879 as a branch of the Hamilton 
Church, and a house of worship was erected in 1880-81. 

School district No. 3, which includes the village, was organized as a 
union school in 1874 and a convenient school house built at a cost of 
$3,600. 

Eaton Center (Eagleville) is a small settlement near the center of the 
town, where it was hoped by the pioneers the business and manufac- 
turing industries would mainly be located. One of the first woolen 
mills in the county was established here by Perley Ayer, which was 
afterwards operated by Clarke Tillinghast. The dam was ultimately 
destroyed. A machine shop was opened many years ago and in 1879 
Dwight Graham & Co., its proprietors, began manufacturing an agri- 
cultural steam engine. The business was subsequently given up. 

Pierceville. — A small hamlet named from J. O. Pierce, who in 1844 
formed a company and purchased a tract of land and erected a woolen 
manufactory, which was prosperously operated until 1850. The finan- 
cial stringencj'' of 1857 caused the business to fail. A cotton mill also 
was operated here previous to 1844, and a planing mill was a later in- 
dustry. A hotel was built by Samuel Chubbuck previous to 1825. The 
old cotton mill is now owned by Le Roy Cook and is in use as a cider 
mill; he also has a carding mill in operation. Healy Brown runs the 
saw mill and John Copley a planing mill. There is also a grist mill. 

Pratt's Hollow. — This is a hamlet and post-office in the northeastern 
corner of the town which, in early years, was a place of considerable 
business importance. Here John and James Pratt made their settle- 
ment, built a grist mill, saw mill, distillery, woolen mill, etc., and 
opened a store. J. F. Chamberlain built another woolen mill as early 
as 1809 and in 1824 a large cotton factor)' was established, as described 
in earlier chapters. All of these industries passed away in course of 
time. A general store is now kept by W. W. Lewis, and a hotel by 
Adelbert Cole. A milk station is located half a mile away on the rail- 
road, the station bearing the name of Pratt's. A mile distant on the 
railroad is a station called White's Corners, where a saw mill is oper- 
ated by Amos Avery. 



568 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

A Methodist class was formed at Pratt's Hollow in 1808 and a society 
was organized a few years later. The church building was erected in 
1838. 

Pine Woods is the name of a post-office and a little settlement at the 
junction of the Cherry Valley Turnpike and the Munnsville road in the 
eastern part of the town. It takes its name from the pine forests that 
originally crowned the nearby hills. A tavern was built here in 1834 
by James Madison. A public house is still kept, and a general store is 
conducted by E. P. Embury. Benjamin Knoff has been postmaster 
many years. 

At Morrisville Station is a post-office bearing that name, with Z. A. 
Todd, postmaster, who also has a small store and a lumber business. 

The Town of Fenner. 

This town was not organized until April 33, 1833, lies northwest of 
the center of the county and is bounded north by Lincoln and Sullivan, 
east by Smithfield, south by Nelson, and west by Cazenovia. Its sur- 
face is rolling upland, which includes the most elevated parts of the 
ridge which divides the waters of the county. A branch of Chittenango 
Creek, which forms a large part of the western boundary, rises in the 
eastern part, and the headwaters of Canaseraga Creek and a minor 
branch of Cowasselon Creek are in the northern part. Perry ville Falls, 
on the Canaseraga, are somewhat remarkable, the water having a 
descent of about 150 feet, into a large basin hollowed from the rock. 

The underlying rock of the town is mostly of the Hamilton group and 
the limestone crops out in the north and northwest parts; this stone has 
been quarried to some extent. Marl deposits are found in the north- 
west part from which lime is made. The soil is gravelly loam and well 
adapted to mixed farming. 

Fenner was first settled about 1793, in the west part, but not per- 
manently until two years later, when the New Petersburgh Tract had 
been leased to Peter Smith. Among the families who came into the 
town in the closing years of the last century were those of Jonathan and 
James Munger, Alpheus Twist, John Needham, Thomas Cushing, 
Davis Cook, Lt, David Hutchinson, Seneca Robinson and John Barber. 
Other pioneers of a little later date were Enos Wells, William, Arnold 
and George Ballou, James Cameron, John Douglass, John Robertson, 
Robert Stewart, Guy Hatch, Gideon Parsons, Joel Downer, Hezekiah 
Hyatt, David Baldwin, J. D. Turner, Martin and Daniel M. Gillet, 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— FENNER. 569 

Thomas Wilson, Wallace Woodworth, Benjamin Woodworth, Col. Elisha 
Farnham, Ithuriel Flower, Amos Webster, Samuel and Zattti Payne, 
Timothy Foster, Drake Sellick, Russell Ransom, Asa Dana, and others 
noticed more fully in an earlier chapter. 

The first town meeting was held in the school house near David Cook, 
jr's, May 0, 1823, and the following named officers were elected: Daniel 
M. Gillet, supervisor; Sardis Dana, clerk; John Needham, William 
Esselstyne and Ralph J- Gates, assessors; John F. Hicks, collector; 
John Needham and Samuel Nichols, overseers of the poor; Samuel 
Ives, Amasa Ives, jr., and Noah Blakeslee, commissioners of highways; 
John F. Hicks and William Nichols, constables; Sardis Dana, William 
Doolittle and Daniel Pratt, commissioners of common schools; John 
Needham, jr.. Federal Dana and Erastus E. Park, inspectors of com- 
mon schools; David Cook, poundmaster. 

Following is a list of the supervisors of the town of Fenner from its 
formation to the present time: 

1823, Daniel M. Gillet; 1824-26, Czar Dykeman; 1827, Nathaniel 
Hazelton; 1828-31, Daniel M. Gillet; 1832-3, Nathaniel Hazelton; 1834, 
Asa Blakeslee; 1835-6, John Needham; 1837-9, Sardis Dana; 1840, 
Charles G. Dibble; 1841-2, Walter Clough; 1843-8, Robert G. Stewart; 
1849, David Hess; 1850, Sergeant Britt; 1851, R. G. Stewart; 1852, 
Jesse Watson; 1853, D. Miner Gillet; 1854, John Hill; 1855, Harvey 
W. Kendall; 1856. Thomas Marshall; 1857-8, Asa R. Maine; 1859, 
Asahel A. Annas; 1860-1, James Monroe Lownsbery; 1862-3, L. Van- 
der C. Hess; 1864-6, Orra B. Hamblin; 1867, L. Vander C. Hess; 1868, 
John Woodcock; 1869, Theodore Meade; 1870, John Wilson; 1871, 
John Woodcock; 1872-3, J. Somers Hill; 1874-5, Norman B. Hill; 
1876-7, Charles W. Barrett; 1878-81, Andrew Whipple; 1882-86, Paul 
S.Maine; 1887, Andrew Whipple; 1888-91, Paul vS. Maine; 1892-93, 
R. Duncan Robertson; 1894-97, Paul S. Maine. 

Following is a statement of the population of the town since 1835 as 
shown by the census of various decades and semi-decades: 
1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1893 
1,972 1,997 1.833 1,690 1,623 1,649 1,887 1,881 1,365 1,373 1,040 999 

The decrease in population in this town is seen to be as great, or 
a little greater, than that of any other town in the county. The causes 
are the same as have been mentioned elsewhere, and need not be fur- 
ther noticed. 

There are only two post-offices in this town ; one at Perryville and the 



570 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Other at Fenner Corners, with the name of Fenner. Perry ville is the 
most important village and lies partly in three towns — Fenner, Sullivan, 
and Lincoln. The post-office was established probably in 1816, with 
Oren S. Avery, postmaster. He held the office until he died, in 1836. 
His successors have been as follows : Silas Judd, to about 1845 ; Leonard 
Gough, Ira Bates, Mr. Judd, again, O. J. Woodworth, Joseph V. Wells, 
Webster C. Hill, H. L. Keeler, John Hill, Paul S. Maine, Leon Berson, 
Duane Chapman, Paul S. Maine, James Wells, and again Paul S. Maine. 

Among the early merchants here were Tyre & Cole, about 1811; the 
Weeks Brothers, about 1812; William Doolittle, about 1820; Samuel Hill 
and a Mr. Stillson, succeeding Doolittle; Leonard Gough, 1835-50; John 
Hill, 1839-59 (also a tavern keeper and distiller) ; Webster C. Hill, son 
of John; H. L. Keeler, 1864, sold to Paul S. Maine in 1876, who is still 
in trade. 

The Perryville House was built about 1825 by Simeon Jenkins. It 
has had a number of proprietors and is now kept by F. F. Hamilton. 

The early physicians of the village and town were Dr. John Didama, 
Dr. N. C. Powers, Dr. Powers R. Mead, Dr. Theodore Mead, and at later 
dates Drs. John H. Ramsey, Sylvanus Guernsey, George B. Munger, 
Benjamin R. Mead, George W. Miles, and M. R. Joy. The present 
physician of Perryville is Dr. Nelson O. Brooks. 

The first church in Perryville was St. Stephen's, formed in September, 
1816. It passed out of existence many years ago. The Methodist 
Church was organized in 1831, and the edifice was built in 1839. 

There are eleven school districts in this town, and in 1897 the Union 
School District of Perryville was incorporated. This school occupies the 
old Episcopal church building. 

Fenner Corners is a hamlet in the central part of the town, where 
Martin and Daniel M. Gillet opened the first store. Other early mer- 
chants were Charles F. Kellogg, Hiram Preston, Martin Woodworth, 
Perry Tibbits, and Augustus Daniels. Benjamin Pearlman is the pres- 
ent merchant. The post-office was established some time between 1820 
and 1825, with Ebenezer Dunton, postmaster. The Fenner Baptist 
Church was organized here in 1801. 

A part of the hamlet of Chittenango Falls is in the western part of 
the town, and has been sufficiently described in an earlier chapter. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— GEORGETOWN. 571 

The Town of Qeorgetown. 

Georgetown was set off from De Ruj'ter April 7, 1815, and lies west 
of the center of the south line of the county. It is bounded north by 
Nelson, east by Lebanon, south by Chenango county, and west by De 
Ruyter. It was named at the suggestion of the Legislature, instead of 
being called Washington, which was the preference of the inhabitants. 
The surface of the town is mainly hilly upland. The valley of Otselic 
Creek extends across it from north to south in the eastern part, break- 
ing the surface into two ridges which rise from 400 to 500 feet above the 
valley bottom. Otselic Creek is the principal stream and its many small 
tributaries drain most of the town. The headwaters of the Tioughnioga 
touch the northwest corner. The soil is a yellow loam on the hills and 
and a gravelly alluvium in the valley. The Syracuse and Chenango 
Valley branch of the West Shore Railroad crosses the northeast part, 
with a station three miles east of Georgetown village. The principal 
industries of the town are dairying and hop growing; the latter has lost 
its pre-eminence in comparatively recent years. Mixed farming is also 
carried on to a sufficient extent for home consumption and in recent 
years potatoes have been marketed to a considerable extent. There are 
two cheese factories in the town, one of which is situated at George- 
town village, operated by C. Stevens, and the other two miles south of 
the village, by E. W. Brown & Co. The lumber industry still continues 
important in this town and large quantities have been shipped away in 
comparatively recent years. A steam saw mill is operated by E. W. 
Pease a half mile south of Georgetown village; another one in the 
southern part by Van Ness Baldwin, and another near the Otselic town 
line by M. C. Aiken. There are also three water power mills, one of 
which is at the railroad station, owned by E. E. Collins; one by E. C. 
Hart and one by W. & E. V. Brown. 

The first settlement in Georgetown was made in 1801 by William 
Sexton, who located on lot 58. Others who came in that year were 
John C. Payne, on lot 115; Elijah Olmstead, who soon sold to Josiah 
Purdy, a blacksmith; Apollos Drake, father of a large family; Joseph 
Bishop, and Eleazer Hunt, on the site of the village; Bethel Hurd, on 
lot 69; Olmstead Brown, on lot 115. In 1805 there came into the town 
Mitchell Atwood, who settled two and a half miles from the village; 
Matthew Hollenbeck, in the north part of the town ; Bailey Carter, ad- 
joining the John C. Payne farm; William Payne, on lot 45; Joseph P. 



572 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Harrison, in the north part; Calvin Cross, in the northwest part; Capt. 
Samuel White (settled about this year) also in the northwest part. 
Weston H. Payne, son of William Payne, was the first white child born 
in the town, his birth being in 1805. 

Other early settlers, most of whom came in at a little later date, were 
Elijah Brown, Ebenezer Hall, Jesse Jerrold, Zadock Hawks, John Gib- 
son, Charles Belden, David Parker, Philetus Stewart, Benjamin Bonney, 
Reuben Buckingham, James McElwain, Asa West and a few others. 
The settlement here for a few years of the French refugee, who called 
himself Louis A. Muller, has been described in an earlier chapter. 

The first town meeting for Georgetown was held at the house of John 
Holmes on March 5, 18 L6, the proceedings of which and the officers 
elected will be found in Chapter IX. Following is a list of the super- 
visors of the town from its formation to the present time, with the 
dates of their election: 1816-23, William Payne; 1824-25, E. Whit- 
more; 1826, Daniel Alvord; 1827, S. B. Hoffman; 1828, Hanford 
Nichols; 1839-30, William Payne; 1831-34, Peter Nichols; 1835-37, W. 
F. Bostwick; 1838-40, Horace Hawks; 1841, Elijah Brown; 1842, Tru- 
man Amsbry; 1843, Truman Amsbry; 1844, Samuel Wickwire; 1845, 
Elijah Brown; 1846-47, Samuel Wickwire; 1848-49, Zinah J. Moseley; 
1850, Truman Amsbry; 1851-52, Enoch L. Savage; 1853-54, Zinah J. 
Moseley; 1855-56, W. P. Bonney; 1857-58, Robert Utter; 1859-60, 
Elijah W. Brown; 1861-62, C. M. Amsbry; 1863-65, Alfred A. Brown; 
1866-67, John W. Northrop; 1868-69, Elijah W. Brown; 1870-71, John 
W. Dryer; 1872-73, 1876, Elijah W. Brown; 1874-75, Andrew McCoy; 
1877, Asa Pritchard; 1878, Alfred A. Brown; 1879, Elijah W. Brown; 
1880-81, Russell Whitmore; 1882-83, Charles C. Wagner; 1884-89, W. 
Albert Hare; 1890-91, Albert A. Stoddard; 1892-93, Eugene M. Perry; 
1894-97, Joel J. Parker. 

Georgetown Village. — This is the only village in the town and is 
pleasantly situated in the Otselic valley a little southeast of the center, 
and nearly three miles from the station of the same name on the rail- 
road. 

For many years the village bore the local name of Slab City, which 
even yet still clings to it; this rather belittling title is said to have been 
suggested by Apollos Drake when he and his neighbors were raising the 
frame of the first saw mill in the town. Messrs. Bemiss and Dudley 
were the first merchants of the village and left the business some time 
before 1817. In that year John F. Fairchild opened a store and also 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— GEORGETOWN. 573 

kept a tavern many years. Other early merchants were Ira B. Howard, 
Albert C. Stanton, James Wesson, Samuel and Charles Wickwire, Zinah 
J. Moseley, who was a partner with Samuel Wickwire, Samuel Ballard, 
Elnathan Ellis, Nelson Parmelee, Enoch L. Savage, John Clough, 
Jerome A. Norton, John Northrop, Northrup & Way, Northrop & 
Priest, Northrop & Henry, Zinah N. Button and S. C. Whitmore. 
Merchants now engaged in trade are J. F. Stoddard, opened a general 
store in 1884; H. J. Evans, hardware, established in 1884; Floyd Cur- 
rier, opened a general store in 1892, and also succeeded to the under- 
taking business of J. Q. Hawks in 1897; J. J. Parker & Co., formed a 
partnership in 1893, succeeding W. A. Hare; Noel E. Jackson, general 
store; George M. Griffith, flour and feed, and insurance, established in 
1801 with S. M. Faulkner, who retired in 1873; S. G. Holmes, flour 
and feed; Mrs. C. H. Rice, dry goods and millinery; E. D. Halbert, 
meat market; formerly with E. C. Hart and later with Van Ness Peck- 
ham ; L. Edgerton is a blacksmith, and C. R. Rice carries on a livery 
business. 

The first postmaster in Georgetown was probably John F. Fairchild, 
who was succeeded by David Parker, Alexander McElwain. Dr. Whit- 
more, who held the office ninteen years, Zinah J. Moseley, William W. 
Hare, James Hare, William H. Johnson, Harvey Robie, William Way, 
W. A. Hare, A. A. Stoddard, W. A. Hare again, Leslie Hare, A. A. 
Stoddard, and W. A. Hare, who again has the office. 

Physicians of past years were Dr. Epaphroditus Whitmore, settled 
in 1810, also taught the first winter school; Drs. Guthrie, Blakeslee, 
Truman, and Elliott Stewart, each practiced here only a short time; 
Dr. Babcock; Dr. Reynolds, a short time in company with Dr. George 
W. Harris, who continued here until his death; Dr. Benjamin Fi-anklin, 
practiced until his death; Albright Dunham, here a short time and re- 
moved to West Eaton; Charles M. White, in practice here since 1844, 
and Dr. E. F. Lamb. 

A tannery was established many years ago which passed to posses- 
sion of Christian Hartgen in 1875, and upon his death in 1879, was 
operated by his widow a short time when the business was abandoned ; 
the building is now in use as a barn. It was built about 1859. 

A half mile north of the village is a saw mill operated by Edward 
Hart; it was originally built in 1853 by Bradford Payne; Mr Hart also 
operates a grist mill. There was, many years ago, a carding mill in 
operation here. Two miles south of the village is a grist and saw mill 



574 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

now owned by E. W. Brown & Co., and conducted by W. F Cossett; 
a saw mill was built on this site as early as 1819 by Manning Drake. 

What was formerly called the Blakesley House has been kept since 
1876 by Oscar M. Stewart, and is called the Stewart House. 

At the railroad depot is a milk station, a blacksmith shop, a flour 
and feed store conducted by the station agent, H. C. Allen, and a post- 
office with the name of Georgetown Station, which is in charge of 
Charles Wagoner, postmaster. A steam saw mill and stave mill were 
established here by W. H. Lynn; the property is now owned by a non- 
resident and only small business is done here. 

The Methodist Church was organized about 1830, and the meeting 
house was built by the Free Church, organized in 1845 by a part of the 
members of the now extinct Presbyterian church, and was purchased 
by the Methodists. The building was greatly improved several years 
ago and the society is prosperous under the pastorate of Rev. E. E. 
Benson. 

The Baptist Church was organized in 1831 and the edifice was erected 
in 1834 This building was purchased in recent years by Clark San- 
ford, who moved it to another point where it was burned. The present 
church was built in 1885. Rev. George Bowler is pastor. 

The Union school in Georgetown was organized in 1897 and is fully 
described in chapter XXIV. There are eleven school districts in the 
town, employing twelve teachers. For the school year ending in July, 
1897, there were 235 children attending these schools. The value at 
present of the school buildings and sites is $4,645. 

The town hall is a frame building of two stories, which was built in 
1894, by private enterprise. 

The Town of Hamilton. 

Hamilton was set off from Paris on March 5, 1795, and received its 
name in honor of Alexander Hamilton. It originally included Nos. 2, 
3, 4, and 5 of the Twenty Townships, and was reduced to its present 
limits by the erection of Eaton, Lebanon, and Madison in 1807. It lies 
on the south border of the county east of the center and is bounde 1 on 
the north by Madison, east by Brookfield, south by Chenango county, 
and west by Lebanon. It contains nearly 24,000 acres, about 20,000 of 
which are improved. The surface is rolling or hilly, broken by the 
valleys of the Chenango and its eastern branch ; the former skirts the 
western boundary, and the latter crosses the town from northeast to 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 575 

southwest and unites with the main river at Earlville. These streams 
have numerous smaller tributaries. The town is wholly covered with 
the Hamilton group of rocks which have been quarried somewhat ex- 
tensively for building and other purposes. The soil is rich and produc- 
tive, consisting of sandy and gravelly loam. The old Chenango Canal 
crosses the northwest and southwest corners of the town. The Utica, 
Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railroad, now a branch of the D., 
L. and W., follows the valley of the east branch of the Chenango across 
the town, through a fertile region. The Utica, Clinton and Bingham- 
ton Railroad crosses the northwest corner of the town through Hamil- 
ton village, connecting at Smith's Valley with the New York, Ontario 
and Western road, and is also a part of the D., L. and W. system. 

The first settlement was made on the east branch of the Chenango 
near Earlville in the spring of 1792 by John Wells, Abner Nash, Pat- 
rick W. Shields, and John Muir, who came in company. Reuben Ran- 
som settled in 1793 and Samuel Payne, Theophilus and Benjamin Pierce 
in 1794. Jonathan Olmstead, Daniel Smith, Joseph Foster, James 
Cady, and Elisha Payne in 1795. Other early settlers were William 
Pierce, brother of Theophilus and Benjamin, DaVid Dunbar, Dan 
Throop, Col. Bigelow Waters, Charles Otis, Reuben Foote, Ezra Fuller, 
George Bigsby, James Williams, Samuel Stower, William Hatch, Cal- 
vin Ackley, the Nash family, Stephen and Daniel Brainard, Ebenezer 
Colson, Roswell and Lucas Craine and another brother, William Lord, 
Andrew Beach, and many others who have been mentioned more in de- 
tail in early chapters and in Part IIL 

The first town meeting for Hamilton was held at the house of Elisha 
Payne, where the following officers were elected: Joshua Leland, su- 
pervisor; Elijah Blodgett, clerk; Samuel demons, Samuel Berry, 
Simeon Gillet, jr., Luther Waterman and Elisha Payne, assessors; 
James Collister, David Hartshorn John Barber, and Elijah Hayden, 
constables and collectors; Joshua Smith and William McCrellis, pour- 
masters; Josiah Brown, Samuel Payne and Ephraim Blodgett, commis- 
sioners of highways; Stephen F. Blackstone, William McClanathan, 
John H. Morris, Isaac "Amedown," Samuel Brownell, Augustus W. 
Bingham, Bigelow Waters, Abner Nash, Nathaniel Collins and Theo- 
philus Pierce, pathmasters; Nicanor Brown, Samuel "Sincler, " (St. 
Clair), Benjamin Pierce and David Felt, fence viewers; Henry W. 
Bond, poundkeeper. The first school commissioners elected, in 179(3, 
were Samuel Payne, Elijah Blodgett, and under the act of the Legisla- 



576 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ture of June 19, 1812, for the establishment of common schools, John 
Kennedy, Daniel A Brainard, and Reuben Ransom were chosen school 
commissioners, and Roswell Craine, Abraham Payne, Erastus Daniels, 
and Nathaniel Stacy, inspectors of schools. 

Following is a list of supervisors of the town from its incorporation 
to the present time, with their years of service: 1795-96, Joshua Leland; 
1797-98, Luther Waterman; 1799-1801, Reuben Ransom; 1802-06, 
Erastus Cleveland; 1807-16, Reuben Ransom; 1817, Jonathan Olm- 
stead; 1818-25, Thomas Dibble; 1826-29, Lucas Craine; 1830, Ben- 
jamin Bonney; 1831, Lucas Craine; 1832-37, William Lord; 1838, 
Amos Crocker; 1839-40, Charles G. Otis; 1841, Thomas Dibble; 1842- 
43, John Muzzy; 1844, no record; 1845, John Muzzy; 1846-47, Thomas 
']. Hubbard; 1848, William G. Brainard; 1849, Calvin Loomis; 1850-53, 
Charles Green; 1854, John J. Foote; 1855, Omri Willey; 1856, John J. 
Foote; 1857-58, Abner W. Nash; 1859, James H. Dunbar; 1860-61, 
Linus H. Miller; 1862-67, Nathan Brownell, jr. ; 1868-70, Zenas L. 
Fay; 1871-75 Clark R. Nash; 1876-91, Melvin Tripp; 1892-93, H. 
Clay Ackley; 1894-95. Le Roy Nash; 1896-98, H. Clay Ackley. 

The population of Hamilton, according to the census taken in various 
years is shown in the following figures : 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1893 
4,032 3,738 3,878 3,599 3,737 3,894 3,434 3,687 3,711 3,912 3,923 4,110 

The town was divided into school districts early in the century and 
for many years the number has been seventeen; previous to that for 
some years there was one less. At the present time the town, with 
Brookfield, De Ruyter, Eaton, Georgetown, Lebanon, Madison and 
Nelson constitutes the First Commissioner's district of the county. 
There are 119 districts under this commissioner, of which Hamilton 
has seventeen, two of which are joint districts with Sherburne. For 
the school year ending 1897 there were twenty-eight teachers employed 
and the whole number of pupils attending was 822. In 1853-4 a Union 
school district was formed of the three districts in Hamilton village, 
which is fully described in Chap er XXIV. 

This town has always been one of the foremost in hop growing, but 
in recent years, as in most of the towns, this industry has been some- 
what neglected in favor of dairying, to which the soil and water are 
admirably adapted. Large quantities of milk are shipped to market 
from the several railroad stations where milk stations have been estab- 
lished. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 577 

Hamilton Village. — This is the largest village in the town of Hamil- 
ton, and is a beautiful and active place. It is situated in the Chenango 
valley, which here widens into a beautiful and fertile plain. It includes 
within its limits lots 1, 3, 19 and 20 of the fourth of the Twenty Town- 
ships, which occupy the northwest corner of the town. The village 
was incorporated April 12, 1816, but the early records were to some 
extent lost and the remainder by the great fire of 1895, with the town 
records, were almost destroyed. Although kept in a fireproof safe, the 
latter fell into a large cistern and the water rendered most of the writ- 
ing illegible, causing an irreparable loss. The first completely pre- 
served record that was in existence previous to the fire was dated May 2, 
1819, at which time Thomas Cox was president of the village; William 
Pierce, 2d, Esek Steere and Thomas H. Hubbard, trustees; and J. 
Foote, clerk. Proceedings of the various boards of trustees, if they 
were available, would doubtless supply interesting facts, even though 
they were not of paramount importance. 

The earliest mercantile operations in Hamilton were probably the 
stores of Charles Clark and Joseph Colwell, who located there while 
they were young men about 1800. James Dorrance joined Clark in 
business about 1805, and Charles T. Deering afterwards traded in 
the same place. Other early merchants were Esek Steere, Henr}^ M. 
Graves, Samuel Dascom, Lewis B. Goodsell, Joseph Mott, John Foote 
and his on John J., Benjamin F. Bonney, James K. Welton, O. L. Wood- 
ruff, Robert Patterson, Orr F. Randolph, Melvin Tripp, W. K. Lippitt, 
J. M. Banning & Co., John Harmon, Joseph L. Kelly, James Thomp- 
son, A. E. B. Campbell, Burnap & Fairchild, A. W. Bartle, E. E. Enos, 
McMorrow & Co., F. N.Tompkins, James L. Bright, J. P. Butler and 
possibly a few others. 

The present merchants of the village are the following: Charles S. 
Orvis, dry goods; George E. Sperry, dry goods, carpets, etc. ; Hamil- 
ton & Co., Beal & Beebe and Elmer C. Root, druggists; J. F. Rogers, 
Beal & Beebe, Mrs. John J. Abel & Co., Elmer C. Root, L. M. Royce, 
A. J. Newton, E. B. Sheldon, John Brown and M, W. Wilcox, grocers; 
Charles G. Gulbran and A. N. Smith, hardware; Matterson & Tooke, 
harness and carriages; J. B. Grant and A. H. Stock, books and station- 
ery; Carl Baum & Sons, A. E. Lewis & Son and F. Piotrow, clothing; 
L. M. Royce, crockery ; N. R. Wickwire, flour and feed; Rowlands & 
Beal, furniture and undertaking; Mrs. M. E. Grosvenor, millinery; 
Van Vleck & Baker, marble and granite; George F. Blum, Charles B. 
37 



578 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Saaford, F. N.Tompkins and Herbert Tompkins, jewelry; Mrs. J. G. 
Abel & Co., variety store; D. M. Fairchild, florist; C. W. Lamphere, 
coal. 

The industries of the village comprise several blacksmiths, the foun- 
dry of Frank Wilcox, the mills and wood working plane of the Hamil- 
ton Lumber Company, the machine shop of Dwight Graham, several 
shoemakers, wagonmakers, etc. 

The Park Hotel was built soon after 1800 by Artemas Howard who 
kept it many years. The house is still in existence with several addi- 
tions, and W. G. Lippitt, proprietor. The Eagle Hotel was built in 
1834 by a stock company; it had many proprietors, but in recent years 
has been closed. The Maxwell House was built in 1895 and opened by 
M. F. Maxwell; he was succeeded by his widow and she by John Kee- 
gan, the present proprietor. 

The Hamilton Bank began business in 1853 with the following direc- 
tors: Adon Smith, John Mott, Alvan Pierce, Henry Tower, Lewis 
Wickwire, Delos De Wolf, John J. Foote, Artemas Osgood, Smith Mott, 
D. B. West, Alonzo Peck, William Cobb, and William Felt. The first 
president, Adon Smith; cashier, D. B. West. The institution was or- 
ganized as a national bank May, 1865, with its present title. The pres- 
ent officers are Gen. William M. West, president; Adon N. Smith, vice- 
president; Leroy Fairchild, cashier. 

The Hamilton Republican was founded by Nathaniel King, under the 
original title of The Madison Farmer, in 1828. With many changes of 
ownership it still continues as one of the leading country newpapers of 
the State. The present proprietors of the establishment are H. H. 
Hawkins, of the Waterville Times, and F. M. Elliott, of Hamilton. 

The Hamilton Recorder was started in 1817 by John G. Stower and 
Dr. Peter B. Havens; it was removed to Morrisville in 1829 and was 
merged with the Madison Observer, which is elsewhere noticed. The 
Civilian was started in July, 1830, by Lauren Dewey; it was discon- 
tinued the following year. The Hamilton Courier was founded in 1834 
by G. R. Waldron and lived until 1838. In that year the Hamilton 
Palladium began its career of six years. In 1839 G. R. Waldron started 
the Hamilton Eagle, which did not long survive. The Democratic 
Reflector was established in 1842 by Mr. Waldron and Wallace W. 
Chubbuck; after several changes it was merged with the Madison 
County Journal, which was started in 1849 by E. F. & C. B. Gould, and 
the name was changed to the Democratic Republican, as above stated 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 579 

The Democratic Union was started in October, 1856, by Levi S. 
Backus, and in the following year it was removed to Oneida and is no- 
ticed in connection with the history of that place. The Independent 
Volunteer was started in July, 1863, by George R. Waldron and J. M. 
Chase, and issued simultaneously here and at Morrisville. In 1866 the 
name was changed to the Democratic Volunteer and it was continued 
until the fire. 

The churches of Hamilton comprise the First Baptist, which was or- 
ganized in 1796, and the first meeting house was erected in 1810. Two 
others have been built, the first in 1819 and the other in 1843. In 1819 
the Second Baptist Church was organized in the east part of the town 
by members dismissed from the first church. 

The Congregational Church was organized in 1828 and the first house 
of worship was built on the present site in the same year. This was 
burned in 1851 and the second structure was finished in 1853; it was 
greatly improved in 1871. Pastor, Rev. Lathrop C. Grant. 

St. Thomas' Episcopal Church was organized in 1835. The present 
church was built in 1846-47. Present rector, Rev. Frank P. Harring- 
ton. 

A Methodist Church was formed here in early years, of which there 
is no available record. For many years prior to 1836 the society wor- 
shiped in a small chapel two miles northeast of the village. The pres- 
ent edifice stood on the corner of John and Charles streets many years 
and was removed to its present site in 1867. 

St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized in 1869, between which 
date and 1878, various tracts of land were purchased adjacent to each 
other. A frame structure was erected on the site, which was blown 
down within a few years. The corner stone of the beautiful stone 
edifice was laid in 1875. The present pastor is Rev. J. V. MacDonnell. 

The schools and college in this village are adequately described in 
another place in this work. 

The fire department in Hamilton, as far as shown by records, was 
first formally organized by the appointment of a fire company on May 
19, 1833, consisting of seventeen members. From that small beginning 
the department was gradually increased to its present magnitude. The 
department of to-day was organized in 1873, and is at the present time 
under reorganization to adapt it to the new water supply system. On 
February 19, 1895, nearly the whole of the business part of the village 
was destroyed by fire, as elsewhere more fully described. Since that 



580 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

time the water works have been installed on the gravity plan, the 
supply being pumped into a stand pipe of 200,000 gallons capacity, 
giving a pressure in the mains of 100 pounds. This assures the best 
protection from fire in future. The works are owned and operated by 
the village government. A modern electric lighting plant has also 
been established, under control of the authorities, by which streets and 
buildings are adequately illuminated. The present commissioners who 
have the immediate charge of both of these plants are William M.West, 
president; James M. Taylor, secretary; Melvin Tripp, treasurer. 

A Village Improvement Association was formed in 1884, with about 
twenty members, which is still in existence, and which has accomplished 
much in beautifying streets, parks, and other public places. The pres- 
ent officers are B. F. Bonney, president; Melvin Tripp, vice-president; 
Le Roy Fairchild, treasurer; E. P. Sisson, secretary. 

Earlville has suffered seriously in the past from destructive fires. The 
greatest of these took place August 33, 1886 when most of the business 
part of the village and many dwellings were destroyed. This fire 
started in Kinney's hotel barn. Another fire occurred four years later 
which burned many of the principal business establishments. On March 
28, 1894, a third destructive conflagation took place, burning a number 
of the largest business places; it was caused by lightning. After the 
first fire the village was rebuilt, mainly of wood, and many of the new 
structures were destroyed by the second and third fires. The present 
village is largely built of brick in its central part. 

Brown's Hotel, as it was long known, was built about 1836 by Oran 
H. Waite. Nicanor Brown purchased it in January, 1868, and con- 
ducted the house ten years and was succeeded by his sons, Lyman and 
Frank Brown. The hotel was burned in the first fire and rebuilt and 
during eleven years past has been conducted by Fay Sawdy, as the 
Sawdy House. The Earlville House v/as built in 1833 by Gardner 
Waters. On May 1, 1868, it was bought by William H. Jones who kept 
it until his tragic death, July 5, 1876, when his widow succeeded, who 
subsequently sold to Hoyt Kinney. Five years later he sold to Edward 
D. Avery who now conducts it as the Avery House. The East End 
Hotel was built in 1897; A. M. Sly is the present proprietor. The 
West End Hotel was built in 1889 by Nicanor Brown who sold to Al- 
bert Bennett in 1897. 

An early industry in the village was the tannery established in 1851 
by a Mr. Merrills. He sold it before its completion to W. K. Nash. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 581 

After nine years in his possession he sold to J. C. Torrey who conducted 
it seven years and was succeeded by his brother, N. W. Torrey and G. 
P. Wilson. Mr. Wilson sold his interest to his partner, who carried on 
the business alone. The building was burned in the first fire, it having 
been idle for some time. On the site of this tannery was a still earlier 
one, built about the beginning of the war of 1812 by Jared Pardee. 

The Earlville grist and saw mills were built in 1839 by William Felt, 
who operated them twenty-seven years; he died in 1860 and left the 
property to William Babcock, son of Thomas, who had been miller dur- 
ing the whole period. The mills are still in existence and the building 
occupied by the Parsons Low-down Wagon Works. This industry was 
established in 1887 by J. R. Parsons and was incorporated in 1891 with 
capital stock of $30,000. In 1898 the company was transformed into a 
private industry. 

The Earlville Furniture Works were established by S. Bentley, E. C. 
Bently and G. D. Bentley in 1886; they were from New Berlin where 
members of the family had previously been engaged in the manufacture 
of furniture. The present buildings were erected in 1893. The firm 
failed in 189G and the plant is idle. 

The C. L. Cotton Perfume and Extract Company originated with 
C. L. Cotton, a former druggist of the village, in 1878. In that year 
he begaa the manufacture of extracts and later added perfumes to 
his output. The present stock company was incorporated in 1893, 
with a nominal capital stock of $50,000. Five traveling salesmen are 
employed and several hands in the plant. Board of directors — C. L. 
Cotton, president; Henry G. Green, vice-president; F. E. Williams, 
secretary and treasury; F. C. Devallant, H. C. Allen. 

J. N. Holmes carries on a wagon shop and J. D. Washburn has 
a carriage and blacksmith shop. A milk station is operated at the 
railroad depot by the McDermott-Bunger Co., at which about 7,000 
pounds of milk are taken daily. 

The Arnold Furniture Manufacturing Company removed from Fay- 
etteville in 1890 and built the present factory. Desks and book cases 
are made, employing about thirty men. Officers of the company are 
L. S. Arnold, president; H. C. Allen, vice-president; L. W. Arnold, 
secretary and treasurer. 

The first merchants in the village were Marvin Tanner and Henry 
Waters who were in business before 1840. Other early merchants were 
Orange Waite, Sidney B. Webb, Thomas Kershaw, Higgins & Hen- 



582 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

drick, Horace A. Campbell, Webb & Kershaw, Henry R. .Long, Span 
cer and Ely Willis, Charles G. Otis, Job Collins, Otis B. Howe, Benja- 
min F. Skinner, Wolcott Leavenworth, Charles Billings, Nicanor 
Brown, E.Volney Chapin, William O. Bancroft and perhaps a few others. 
The present merchants of the village are as follows: Cushman & 
Brainard, C. W. Smith, R. H. Williamson, Casety & Miller, and R. R 
Hal], general stores; F. C. Buell, L. W. Parr, and F. D. Morgan, hard- 
ware; Jennings & Taylor, confectionery and cigars (wholesale); L. L. 
Sawdy, meats; Eugene Pierce, harness; A. M. Hoadley, clothing; N. 
L. Douglafs, drugs; J. L. Rowe, groceries, etc.; Todd & Gurney, lum- 
ber, etc.; C. F. Foster, furniture and undertaking; George E. Bergen, 
jewelry. Parker Newton and S. B. Cloyes carry on the insurance busi- 
ness in the village. 

The First National Bank of Earlville was incorporated December 15, 
1890, with capital stock of $50,000. The first officers were H. G. Green, 
president; George B. Whitmore, vice-president; G. H. Clark, cashier. 
George E. Nash is now vice-president, the other officers remaining the 
same. 

It is not now known just when the post-office was established here, 
but it was as early as 1824. Dr. Consider H. Stacy was the first post- 
master. An earlier office had been open a half mile north of Earlville, 
near the old tannery, where James B. Eldridge kept a tavern. Recent 
postmasters, beginning with 1880 have been C. L. Cotton, Newell 
Douglass, r. W. Rowe, L. K. Nash, B. B. Wilcox, and S. B. Cloyes, 
incumbent. 

The Earlville Recorder, a weekly newspaper, was started December 
9, 1876, by Frank W. Godfred, who continued it only a few weeks. The 
Enterprise was founded April 5, 1878, by Eugene M. Lansing. The 
paper was ably conducted and was repeatedly enlarged. It was ulti- 
mately discontinued. The Earlville Standard was established in 1886 
by L. D. Blanchard, who sold it to Burch & Briggs in November, 1895. 
It is an independent weekly. 

The present attorneys of the village are S. B. Cloyes and E. N. Cush- 
man. The first law3^er in the village was probably Joseph Whitmore, 
who settled here in 1846 and a few years later removed to Michigan ; 
other attorneys were Alfred Nichols and Ernest C. Dart. The present 
physicians are H. H. White and Earl Wilcox ; Dr. D. B. Payne is the 
dentist. Joseph Stowell was an early physician here and others of the 
past were Drs. Consider H. Stacy, James Sheffield, Laban Tucker, D. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 583 

Ransom, A. S. Nichols, Dr. Babcock, J. A. Ressegieu, Hull S. Gardner, 
Andrew S. Douglass, and possibly a few others. 

Profiting by the lessons of the past, an excellent fire department is 
maintained comprising three companies — Douglass Hose Company, 
Cotton Hose Company and a hook and ladder company. The use of 
engines is not necessary since 1894, when a complete water supply sys- 
tem was established, with a pressure on hydrants of about 100 pounds. 
An electric lighting system was established in 1894 by the Parsons Low- 
down Wagon Company, and the village is lighted from that plant. 
Earlville was incorporated in 1887. 

The First Baptist Church in Sherburne is located at Earlville, and 
was organized in June, 1803, with fifteen members. The first meeting 
house was built on the hill east of Earlville in 1818 and the second one 
in 1835. This was removed to the south side of Main street and re- 
modeled into an opera house. The present handsome church was 
erected in 1887-88. 

The Methodist Church of Earlville was originally a class formed in 
1802. The first society was formed in 1815, and measures were at once 
adopted to raise money for a meeting house. . The building was erected 
in 1810 and was extensively repaired and improved in 1871. This was 
burned in the great fire and the present edifice was erected soon after- 
ward. 

The Episcopal Church of Earlville was organized in 1877 and the 
house of worship erected in the same year. It is a mission station. 

Poolville. — This is a small village and post-ofifice on the east branch 
of the Chenango a little southwest of the center of the town, and a 
station on the Utica, Clinton and Susquehanna branch of the D., L. 
& W. Railroad. The place takes its name from a family named Pool 
who settled here in early years, among whom was Abijah Pool, the 
l)ioneer, who came about 1810, with his sons Abijah and Isaac. Rela- 
tives of this family came in later. Abijah located midway between 
Earlville and Poolville and established a carding and cloth-dressing fac- 
tor3^ Gideon Randall Pool, cousin of Isaac, became a partner in the 
business and it was transferred to Poolville in 1825. The post office was 
opened in 1830. The old carding mill was closed in 1835. The same 
kind of business was re-established by Nathan B. Eaton, who also 
started a store and an ashery ; he failed about 1850. The Eaton woolen 
mill was originally a grist mill and after Eaton's failure, was again used 
for that purpose by Elihu Thompson and William G. Brainard. This 



584 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

mill is now operated by George W. Berry. On the same dam was a 
saw mill which was owned by various persons and was finally demol- 
ished. 

A tannery was built in 1831 by Loomis, Lowd & Co., which, after 
various changes, passed to Henry Berry in 1855; the building is now in 
use as a cold storage warehou.se by George W. and Frank O. Berry, sons 
of Henry. 

Enos Wood established a machine shop in 1830, which was removed 
to Pierceville in 1835. 

A milk station is located at the railroad under control of the Empire 
State Dairy Company, with H. J. ispencer, local manager. About 8,000 
pounds of milk are taken daily. 

A hotel was built in 1832 by Samuel Pool, which was burned in 1879. 
F. H. Kinney built another on the same site which also burned. The 
present hotel was built in 1884-85 by Dr. C. D. Green and is now con- 
ducted by his widow. The Railroad Hotel was built in 1868 by An- 
drew Forbes. It had several different proprietors, and was burned 
April 37, 1898. 

The Methodist Church of Poolville was organized between 1850 and 
1860, and the house of worship was built soon after. The building was 
repaired in 1869 and again in recent years. The present pastor is Rev. 
Mr. Knapp, who also has charge of the church at East Hamilton. A 
Universalist society at Poolville was organized by the members of the 
church at Hubbardsville, with Rev. Mr. Ballon as first pastor. The 
meeting house was erected in 1886. 

One of the first merchants here succeeding Mr. Eaton, before men- 
tioned, was George E . Nash, who began in 1860, in company with H. 
H. Kinney, whose interest he purchased two years later. Mr. Nash is 
still in business and for many years past has been postmaster. 

Cook & Dunham keep a general store, succeeding J. M. Jennings; 
he was preceded by D. W. Hyland, who began trade in 1885. There 
are the usual small shops in the village. 

Hubbardsville. — This is a small village situated on the Chenango in 
the northeast part of the town and is a post-office and station on the 
D., L. & W. Railroad. It derives its name from Calvin Hubbard, who 
settled there about 1813. He operated an early tannery and distillery 
and died at an advanced age. The first merchant here was Ephraim 
Chamberlain, who was in trade before 1835; other early merchants were 
Sherebiah S. Hunt and Elias K. Hart, Charles Green, Gideon Manches- 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— HAMILTON. 585 

ter, Nathan Peck, Clark R. Nash, WiUiam T. Manchester, Dr. Julius 
Nye, Francis G. Shepardson, C. D. Nash, Nathan Brownell and his 
son, Nicanor, John O. Wallace and others. There are at the present 
time two general stores, one of which is conducted by D. D, Livermore 
and the other by Wilmer Rhodes. H. J. Kinney sells meat and Ells- 
worth Dart has a blacksmith shop. 

The Dunbar Mills were built in 1850 by James H. Dunbar and 
Charles Blanchard, on the site of an earlier mill. They are now oper- 
ated by W. M. Jennings. A hotel is kept at the station by John Green. 
The post-office here was established in 1849 by removal from East 
Hamilton, and retained that name until 1856, when it was changed to 
Hubbard's Corners. William T. Manchester was the first postmaster 
and William T. Rhodes is the present incumbent. 

The first Universalist Church at Hubbardsville was organized in 1808 
and built their meeting house in 1833-34. 

East Hamilton. — A small settlement which was known many years as 
Colchester Settlement, is situated about a mile south of Hubbardsville, 
on the east side of the river. It was one of the points at which it was 
proposed in the first decade of the century as the site of the county seat. 
There was at that time considerable business carried on here, which 
has mostly passed away. A general store is kept by Chauncey Mun- 
son, a hotel by Frank Kinney, a restaurant by Frank Cummings, and 
there are two blacksmiths, Elliott Fitch and Stephen Underdown. 

South Hamilton is a settlement in the southeast part, where there 
is a post-office with vSamuel B. Munson postmaster, a grist mill, a saw 
mill and a few shops. 

The vicinity of the center of the town, which has been known as 
Hamilton Center, has no business interests, but was chosen in early 
years, according to the prevailing custom, as the site of the First Con- 
gregational Church, which was built here in 1800. The society was 
incorporated as the Second Congregational Society of Hamilton in 
1798. The building was removed to Poolville about 1842 and finally 
was transformed into dwellings. 

The Second Baptist Church of Hamilton was organized in 1810 and 
the meeting house erected a mile southeast of Poolville. The meeting 
house was built in 1835. 



OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 



The Town of Lebanon. 



This town was formed from Hamilton on February 6, 180?, and is 
one of the five towns of the county erected in that year. It is the 
center town on the south border of the county, bounded north by 
Eaton, east by Hamilton, south by Chenango county, and west by 
Georgetown. It contains a little more than 26,000 acres, about four- 
fifths of which is improved. The surface is hilly and lies mostly be- 
tween the valleys of the Chenango and the Otselic; the first of these 
streams flows through the eastern part of the town, its valley compris- 
ing a fertile and beautiful region, expanding to nearly a mile in width 
and bordered by the steep slopes of the hills, which rise 500 to 800 feet 
above the valley bottom. The town is underlaid mostly by the Ham- 
ilton group and some good stone has been quarried for building pur- 
poses. The soil on the hills is gravelly loam underlaid with hardpan, 
and in the valleys alluvium It is almost exclusively an agricultural 
district, dairying being extensively followed, with hop growing to a 
limited extent. The New York, Ontario and Western Railroad crosses 
the town along its east border in the Chenango valley, connecting at 
Smith's Valley with the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton road, and at 
Earlville with the Syracuse and Chenango branch of the West Shore 
road. 

Lebanon was one of the six towns originally patented to Col William 
S. Smith, who soon transferred the most of it to Sir William Pultney, 
reserving a tract on the Chenango River. Settlement began under the 
auspices of those men through the direct agency of Justus B. Smith, 
brother of Colonel Smith and others. Joshua Smith was sent in to the 
town in 1791 to prospect, built a log house near the Smith's Valley set- 
tlement, returned to report to his principal, but subsequently came 
back to Lebanon and settled here permanently. Justus B. Smith, the 
agent, also settled with his brothers, John and James, and five sisters. 
Jonathan Bates, Enoch Stowell, and John and James Salisbury came on 
in the fall of 1792, the Salisburys settling in Eaton, and Bates and 
Stowell in Lebanon; during that fall they cleared twenty acres of land. 
In the spring of 1794 David Hartshorn and Samuel Felt, with his 
brother David, became settlers. Lent Bradley and Solomon Jones set- 
tled as early as 1797, John W. Bulkley about the same time and David 
and Dunham Shapley and Arunah Moseley as early as 1798. 

As early as 1800 nine separate families of Campbells came into the 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— LEBANON. 587 

town, locating at Campbell's Settlement in the north part. Daniel and 
Elisha Wheeler settled about 1798 and soon built the first grist and saw 
mills in the town on the Chenango. Settlers at about the beginning of 
the century were Malatiah Hatch, Dane Ballard, Elihu Bosworth, Jabin 
Armstrong, Thomas Buell, and Abraham Webster. Silas Seymour, a 
Revolutionary soldier, settled in the town in 1800, Rev. Matthias Cazier 
in 1803, and Orsamus Gilbert and Francis Whitmore in 1805. Other 
pioneers were Ephraim Gray, Benjamin Hewes, Thomas Hueston, Daniel 
Stowell, Deacon Asa Tenney, Capt. Roderick Moore, Philip Kibbie, 
Captain Truman and Jabez Billings, John Sheldon, Giles Collins, and 
Richard Taylor, all of whom have been noticed more in detail in an 
earlier chapter. 

The first town meeting for Lebanon was held on March 3, 1807, in 
the red school house and the following officers elected: John W. Bulk- 
ley, supervisor; Silas Seymour, clerk; Giles Collins, Josiah Lasel and 
Jacob Kennedy, assessors; Malatiah Hatch and Roderick Moore, over- 
seers of the poor; Jacob Kennedy, Daniel Clark and Roderick Moore, 
commissioners of highways; David Hartshorn and Joseph Hitchcock, 
constables; Joseph Hitchcock, collector; George Morey, Walter Baker, 
Clark "Willcocks," Stephen James, Orsamus Gilbert, Samuel Lewis, 
Abraham Webster, Jacob Hartshorn, Justus B. Smith, Ezra Gates, John 
W. Bulkley, Elisha Wheeler, Darius Sperry, Sheldon Smith, Gardner 
Salsbury, Moses Pomeroy, William Taggart, James Dorrance, Roder- 
ick Moore, Archibald Campbell, David B. Hitchcock, Aaron Davies, 
Giles Collins and William Sloan, overseers of highways and fence view- 
ers; Charles S. Campbell, poundkeeper. 

A special town meeting was held November 33, 1807, at which John 
W. Bulkley, Constant Merrick, Jacob Kennedy, Moses Wylie and Rod- 
erick Moore were appointed a committee to select the place for "cen- 
tering the town," as it was expressed. A little later steps were taken 
to raise funds by subscription with which to build a town house; this 
purpose was never carried out. 

Following is a list of the supervisors of this town from its formation 
to the present time, with the years of their service: 1807-9, John W. 
Bulkley ; 1810-11, James Campbell ; 1812-14, Francis Whitmore ; 1815-19, 
Amos Crocker; 1820-31, Francis Whitmore; 1833-28, Daniel Clark; 
1829-30, Josiah Lasell; 1831-34, Francis Whitmore; 1835-36, Jacob 
Hartshorn; 1837, Erastus B. Burroughs; 1838-40, Curtis Hoppin; 
1841-42, Jeremiah Ballard; 1843-44, David Clark; 1845-46, Curtis 



588 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Hoppin; 1847, Joseph A. Norton; 1848-49, David Clark; 1850, Joseph 
A. Norton; 1851-52, David Clark; 1853-55, Jason Owen; 1856-58, 
David Clark; 1859, Aylmer Ballard; 1860-61, John C. Head; 1862-65, 
E. M. Lamb; 1866-67, George W. Baker; 1868-69, Henry Seymour; 
1870, Albert O.' Pierce; 1871, Edwin M. Lamb; 1872-75, Ephraim 
Fisk; 1876-77, Ladurna Ballard; 1878, John S. Ross; 1879-80, Sidney 
D. Smith; 1881, Herman Snell; 1883-83, Edwin M. Lamb; 1884-85, 
Morris N. Campbell; 1886-88, Stephen R. Campbell; 1889-95, De For- 
est A. Wilcox; 1896-99, Stephen R. Campbell. 

There are only two post villages in Lebanon — the village of Lebanon, 
which is the largest, and Smith's Valley, the post-office here bearing 
the name of Randallsville. Lebanon was locally known in past years 
as " Toad Hollow;" it is situated about a mile west of the center of the 
town and is a station on the railroad. Justus B. Smith was the first to 
sell goods here, keeping a small stock in the basement of his house. 
The first merchant to trade in a regular store building was Jonathan 
Thayer, jr., who continued until his death in 1830. Other early mer- 
chants were Orson and William L. Sheldon, who traded in the Gilbert 
store; after a year or two William withdrew; Curtis Hoppin, who bought 
out Orson Sheldon; Joseph A Norton, Edwin M.Lamb, Joseph D.Avery, 
Fisk & Gilbert, Pike & Seymour, Abraham Martin, and a few o:hers. 
The present merchants are S. W. Seymour, succeeded Pike & Sey- 
mour, general store; J. H. Poole, boots and shoes; Irving Collins, es- 
tablished flour and feed store in 1889 and afterwards added a general 
stock ; W. S. Niles, boots and shoes and hardware, succeeded Niles 
Brothers in May, 1898; their general stock was taken by Frank D. Lyon 
who conducts a store. C. M. Henry has a blacksmith shop. 

Horace A. Campbell built the upright part of the original hotel about 
1834 for a store and a little later converted it into a hotel, which he 
kept until about 1853; the house afterwards had several proprietors 
and is now called the Currier House, and kept by George M. Currier. 

The old saw mill built many years ago at Lebanon still stands, but 
is now in use only as a storehouse by L. Ballard ; the dam is gone. A 
tannery was established here in 1838 by Thomas Bright and passed 
through several hands until 1884 when it was burned. It was rebuilt 
the next year and is now owned by S. B. David and T. A. Beach; it 
was used for a time as a saw and grist mill, but is now idle. 

The first physician here was Joseph Stowell, who came from Stowell, 
Mass., and about 1799 settled on the southeast corner lot in this town, 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— LEBANON. 589 

near Earlville, and there practiced until his death in 1831 or 1832. His 
son, Kittridge, succeeded to the horastead. Dr. Constant Merrick 
from Lanesboro, Mass., settled about 180'^ about two miles southeast of 
Lebanon, and about 1806 removed to the village and practiced until his 
death in 1828. Other former physicians were Drs. John Clarke, Eras- 
tus B. Burroughs, Lyman O. Horton, John Baker and his brother 
Cyrus, homoeopathists, Frank D. Beebe, Elam Root, and the late James 
Mott Throop. The physician now in practice is Dr. M. D. French. 

The first postmaster at Lebanon was Jonathan Thayer, appointed 
about 1814 and held the office until his death in 1830. His son Sylves- 
ter succeeded him until 1833, when Orrin Thayer, another son of Jona- 
than, was appointed. He was followed about 1836 by Horace A. Camp- 
bell. Orrin Gilbert was the next incumbent for a short period and was 
succeeded by William L. Sheldon who continued until near his death in 
18-47. H. A. Campbell was the successor and was followed in 1853 by 
Edwin M. Lamb. About 1858 Reuben S Hall was appointed and was 
succeeded by Joseph D. Avery in 1861, and he by Milton E. Danforth 
in 1865. Charles W. Brasse was appointed about 1870 and in 1873 was 
succeeded by John D. Gilbert. He held the office until 1876, when he 
was succeeded by Silas W. Seymour, who has held the office in all Re- 
publican administrations since, while James Mosher has been the in- 
cumbent in Democratic administrations. 

The Congregational Church at Lebanon was organized October 2, 
1802, as the Third Congregational Church of Christ in the town of Ham- 
ilton, with fifteen members. The first settled pastor was probably not 
ordained until 1825, when Rev. S. Scott was called. The meeting 
house was built in 1825 a mile north of the Center and in 1839 was re- 
moved to its present site, where it has been greatly improved according 
to modern ideas. The society is now prospering under the ministrations 
of Rev. Hugh Ivey. 

Steps were taken early in the century that resulted in the organization 
of a Baptist Church in June, 1816. In November, 1819, it was agreed 
to build a house of worship 24 by 23, feet in size. The site was a little 
south of the site of the second edifice, which was finished in 1835 and 
was there occupied until 1889, when it was removed to its present site 
in the village and remodeled and substantially rebuilt. The society is 
now in an active and prosperous condition and the pulpit is supplied 
chiefly from Colgate University. 

A Universalist society had a brief existence many years ago and 



590 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

erected a church about a mile east of the village; the church long ago 
passed out of existence and the building is now in use as a store- 
house. 

South Lebanon. — This is a small hamlet a mile and a half south of 
Lebanon village, containing a school house, a blacksmith shop by Cor- 
nelius Downey; a steam saw mill operated by Charles Bills; a paint 
shop by Samuel Benedict, and a general store by Sidney Catlin. There 
is not and never has been a pjst-office here. The first store at this 
point was opened by W. H. Williamson, a native of Lebanon, who re- 
moved from Hamilton about 1871; he sold out to Lewis H. Wedge in 
1870, who continued the business a number of years. The main part 
of the saw mill was built about 1860 by Sidney Bills for a carriage 
shop and was used for that purpose until 1871, when it was converted 
to its present use. An addition containing a feed grinding mill, was 
built in 1858 for a cider mill and was removed to the side of the main 
building when that was erected. 

Smith's Valley (Randallsville P. O. ) — This is a hamlet in the east 
part of the town, the southern terminus of the Utica, Clinton & Bing- 
hamton Railroad and a station on the New York, Ontario & Western. 
It was once a place of considerable business importance, as the reader 
has learned in an earlier chapter; but trade and industry were attracted 
elsewhere in the natural course of development and the little village 
settled down into rural quite until reawakened by the incoming rail- 
roads. Here was established the first store in the town by the Smith 
family of pioneers, and near by were built mills and shops of various 
kinds. The first merchant here under the second stage of business ac- 
tivity was J. Dayton F. Smith, who began trade in 1870, was associated 
with his son, Adon N., from 1873, and sold out in the next year to 
Charles E. Montgomery. A year and a half later he sold to Sidney D. 
Smith, who continued several years. The present merchants are George 
Waite and Riley Arnst. Peter L. Beers was appointed postmaster just 
previous to the opening of the railroad and was succeeded by Henry T. 
Robinson, J. D. F. Smith, C. Montgomery Smith, Sidney D. Smith, 
and Mary C. Hutchings, who has been in charge about ten years. 

About a mile and a quarter east of Lebanon is a grist and saw mill, 
operated by water, built many years ago and now operated by George 
W. Phillips. The grist mill has existed since about 1810. About 
a mile southwest of Smith's Valley is a saw and planing mill and cheese 
box factory, built by Erastus Clark about 1860 and still operated by 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— LENOX. 591 

him. In the north part of the town, a mile from Smith's Valley, a saw 
mill was built many years ago which has gone to decay. About a mile 
and a half west of Lebanon were two saw mills, one of which was last 
operated by Clinton Stowell; in the same vicinity is a carding machine, 
which is now operated by Mr. Stowell, who has also a large cold stor- 
age business. Another small saw mill a mile above South Lebanon, 
and still another a mile below that place, the latter built about 1887 by 
Marvin Torrey, have both fallen into decay. 

-Lebanon was early divided into school districts and the first commis- 
sioners, chosen in 1813, were Constant Merrick, Amos Crocker, and 
Mosis Wylie; the school inspectors were James Campbell, Curtis Hop- 
pin, and Francis Whitmore. This town now forms a part of the First 
Commissioner District of the county, and has twelve districts with 
school houses, employing in 1897 twelve teachers. The number of 
pupils attending in that year was 251. 

The Old Town of Lenox and Its Subdivisions. 

The old town of Lenox was formed from Sullivan March 3, 1809, and 
at the time of its formation contained 54,500 acres of land. About 5,000 
acres were taken off and added to Stockbridge in 1836. In 1896 the old 
Lenox was divided into three towns, named Lenox, Lincoln and Oneida. 
This division is fully treated in an earlier chapter and for gazetteer pur- 
poses the three new towns will be described as a whole. The old Lenox 
was bounded on the north by Oneida Lake, east by Oneida Creek, south 
by Stockbridge, and west by Sullivan. The surface is level in the 
northern part and moderately hilly in the southern part, which now 
constitutes the town of Lincoln. The soil in the northern part is allu- 
vium throughout the great swamp in that region, and gravelly and 
clayey loam in the southern part. 

Se.tlement in Lenox began in 1793, with the arrival of the Klock 
family on the site of Clockville. To the same locality came the Snyder, 
Moot, Forbes, Tultle, Bruyea, Kilt and Betsinger families at an early 
day. Early settlers on Quality Hill were Sylvanus Smalley, Dr. Asahel 
Prior, David Barnard, Aaron Francis, Abiel Fuller, David Barnard, jr., 
Dea. Ebenezer Cadwell, Isaac Senate, Samuel Louder, Nehemiah 
Smalley, Selah Hills, Job Lockwood, Nash Mitchell, Ichabod Buell, 
and a few others, all of whom had located prior to 1803. Other early 
settlers were Jason Powell, Joseph Phelps, Joseph Bruce, Col. Zebulon 
Douglass, Reuben Hale, Gen. Ichabod S. Spencer, Col. Thomas W. 



593 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Phelps, Harve}' G. Morse, Edward Lewis, William I. Hopkins, Thomas 
Spencer, Walter, Hezekiah and Linus Bee:her, John Hall, Nathaniel 
Hall, Everard Van Epps, John and Gift Hills, Martin Vrooman, Will- 
ard Cotton, Benjamin Smith, Capt. William Jennings, and others to be 
mentioned. 

The early records of this town were destroyed in the great Canastota 
fire in 1873, and it is impossible to give proceedings of town meetings. 
A complete list of the supervisors has been compiled from the records 
of the county clerk's ofifice and is as follows: 

1810, Joseph Palmer; 1811-12, Walter Beecher; 1813, William Hallock; 
1814, Asa Dana; 1815-16, William Hallock; 1817, Sylvester Beecher; 
1818-19, William Hallock; 1820-22, John Whitman; 1823-27, Pardon 
Barnard; 1828, John Whitman; 1829, Samuel Hitchcock; 1830, John 
Whitman; 1831-32, William Hallock; 1833-34, Sylvester Beecher; 1835, 
Nathan T. Cady; 1836, William Spencer; 1837-39, Giles Whitman 
1840-41, Martin Lamb; 1842,. Ambrose Hill; 1843-44, Joshua Duncan 
1845, Charles Stroud; 1846-47, Gideon Raymond; 1848-49, J. N. Whit 
man; 1850-51, N. S. Cady; 1852-53, Lucius Brooks; 1854, E. R.White 
1855, John Montrose; 1856, Duncan McDougall; 1857, Sanford P. Chap 
man; 1858, Ralph H. Avery; 1859-60, Duncan McDougall ; 1861, R. H 
Avery; 1862, D. W. C. Stevens; 1863, Perkins Clark; 1864, J. A. Ben 
nett; 1865, Duncan McDougall; 1866, J. A. Bennett; 1867-69, D. Mc 
Dougall; 1870, George B. Cady; 1871, George Berry; 1872,.G. B. Cady 
1873-74, George Berry ; 1875, Fred C. Fiske ; 1876, B. F. Chapman ; 1877 
H. L. Rockwell; 1878-79, Walter E. Northrup; 1880, Lormg Munroe 
1881-84, Walter E. Northrup; 1885-87, Fred C. Fiske; 1888, Charles E. 
Remick; 1889, E. Emmons Coe; 1890, Charles E. Remick; 1891, Fred 
C. Fiske; 1892-95, Francis Stafford; 1896-97, Francis W. Doolittle. 

Canastota. — -This is a thriving and active village on the line of the 
New York Central railroad, and within the boundaries of the new town 
of Lenox. It was first incorporated in April, 1835, and again reorgan- 
ized on April 12, 1870, under the general law. The first election was 
held on the first Tuesday of May, 1835. Among the early merchants 
of the place were James Graham, who kept a grocery on the canal bank 
in 1817. Reuben Hawley and his brother John kept a store soon after- 
ward. Frost & Kibbe, the Crouse Brothers, and others followed. Lead- 
ing merchants of the present are the Farr Brothers, hardware, started 
in 1879; J. E. Warrick, furniture; H. C. Brown's Sons, general stock; 
P. T. Weaver, crockery; J. W. Wilson, drugs; C. F. McConnell, drugs, 
and C. A. Jones, in the same business. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— LENOX. 593 

The Canastota National Bank was established in 1856, and went into 
voluntary liquidation in 1890. The present First National Bank was 
established in September, 1890, with capital of $50,000. The State 
Bank of Canastota succeeds the private banking business established by 
Milton De Lano in 1876. 

Within comparatively recent years the village has become an impor- 
tant manufacturing center, the leading establishments being the Can- 
astota Glass Company, organized in 1881; the wheel rake manufactory 
of Patten & Stafford, brought from Clockville in 1882; the Smith & 
Ellis Company, makers of desks, book cases, etc. ; the Watson Wagon 
Company ; the cider and vinegar works of Harrison & Co. ; the Lee 
Chair Company, and the canning factory of Fred F. Hubbard. 

The post-oiifice was established in 1829, with Ichabod S. Spencer, 
postmaster. The Canastota Herald was started in 1865 and is now con- 
ducted by the Bee Publishing Company, in connection with the Bee, 
with which paper it was consolidated. The Canastota Journal was 
started as the Canastota News in 1881. It is successfully conducted by 
P. F. Milmoe. The principal hotels are the Twogood House and the 
Lewis House. 

Canastota has a good fire department, an excellent water supply, and 
electric light service. The churches of the village are the Baptist, or- 
ganized about 1819; the Episcopal, organized in 1883; the Reformed 
Protestant, organized 1833, which became the Presbyterian; a second 
Baptist church, organized m 1868, and the Catholic society. 

Oneida. — This thriving and enterprising village in the new town of 
the same name, which was set off from the old town of Lenox in 1896, 
is situated on the Central railroad, in the eastern part of the town. Its 
early business interests were established as a result of the open 
ing of the railroad, trade in that vicinity having previous to that 
time been mainly centered at Oneida Castle and at Durhamville. vSands 
Higinbotham was one of the most prominent of the early settlers on 
the village site, where he was a large landowner, as before described. 
He built the Railroad House and sold lands to settlers on such terms 
as to attract residents and develop the place. John B. Cole built the 
first store, which was opened by Amos Story. George Hamilton, 
Newman Scofield, Stoddard & Lype, Lyman Morse, S. H. Goodwin & 
Co., Ambrose Hill, and others were among the early merchants in the 
village. 

The post-office was established in 18-11, with Erasmus Stone, post- 
38 



594 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

master, whose successors have been Asa Smith, I. N. Messinger, 
Ephraim Beck, John Crawford, Watson A. Stone, Walter E. Northrup, 
John J. Hodge, Richard M. Baker, and again John J, Hodge. 

The first resident attorney in the village was Isaac Newton Mes- 
singer, who died here in 1895. The first physician was Dr. Earl Loomis. 
The later and present professional men are noticed in the preceding 
chapters on the bar and the medical societies. 

Until comparatively recent years manufacturing in Oneida was not 
extensive, but at the present time such important industries as the 
National Casket Company, the Oneida Iron Works, the Westcott Chuck 
Company, the Oneida National Chuck Company, the Oneida Silver Ware 
Manufacturing Company, and many less important establishments con- 
tribute materially to the growth and activity of the place. The mer- 
cantile interests are also extensive and prosperous, as elsewhere shown. 

The Oneida Valley Bank was incorporated in 1851 and in 1865 be- 
came the Oneida Valley National Bank, as at present; capital $105,000. 
The First National Bank of Oneida was incorporated October 1, 1865, 
with capital of $125,000. It went into liquidation January 1, 1874, and 
was succeeded by what is now the National State Bank of Oneida, with 
capital of $60,000. The Farmers and Merchants State Bank was organ- 
ized June 3, 1892, with capital of $50,000. The Oneida Savings Bank 
is a very prosperous institution, which was incorporated February 19, 
1866. The Central Bank is a private institution which was established 
in 1870, with William E. Northrup, president. 

The first school in Oneida was opened in 1841, and from that small 
beginning and through much opposition, the present splendid educational 
system of the village has been developed. There are now a well con- 
ducted High school, a Union school district, established in 1882, and 
adequate buildings for the large attendance of pupils. In the old town 
of Lenox, previous to the division, there were twenty-four school dis- 
tricts with school houses, and the report of 1895 shows an attendance 
of 2,700 pupils. The report of 1898 shows attendance in the new Lenox 
of 910; in Lincoln, 193, and in Oneida 1,498. The value of school 
buildings and sites in the old town was $63,864; in the new Lenox, ac- 
cording to the report of 1898, the value was $38,588; in Lincoln, $2,850; 
in Oneida, $34,039. 

Oneida village has a sewer system which is now well advanced to- 
wards completion, and several of the principal streets are well paved. 
Gas and electric light is supplied and a street railway runs from the 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— LENOX. 595 

village to near Oneida Castle; this was constructed in 1885. A public 
water supply was installed in 1883, by private enterprise and the works 
were purchased by the village in 1895. The efficient fire department 
has grown from the usual small beginning, and since the establishment 
of the water works has consisted chiefly of hose companies and adequate 
equipment, and a hook and ladder company with truck, etc. The prin- 
cipal hotels are the Allen House, which is the same as the old Railroad 
House, built by Sands Higinbotham many years ago; the Madison 
House, the Brunswick, and a few smaller houses. 

The Oneida Dispatch is a flourishing weekly newspaper, which is the 
descendent of the Oneida Telegraph, established in 1851. It is now 
published by the Dispatch Company, with Charles E. Roberts, editor 
and manager. The Democratic Union is published by Baker & Maxon, 
and is now one of the best weekly newspapers in the State. It was 
started in Hamilton in 1856, but was removed in 1863 by W. H. Baker 
to Oneida. The Oneida Post is published every Saturday, by Hugh 
Parker. It was founded in 1883 by the Post Publishing Company. 

St. John's Episcopal Church was organized in May, 1843, and the 
present edifice was erected in 1895. The Oneida Presbyterian Church 
was formed in 1844, and a house of worship was built in 1845; it was 
superseded by the one now in use. The Baptist Society was organized 
in 1842 at Oneida Castle, and took up its existence in the village of 
Oneida in 1848. This present edifice superseded the first one in 1888. 
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in November, 1850, and 
soon afterward the first meeting house was erected, which was super- 
seded by the present edifice. St. Joseph's Catholic Church was erected 
in 1893 and a school building in 1898. St. Patrick's Catholic Church 
was formed in 1843 and a small meeting house built. The old St. Pat- 
rick's church was built in 1851 and the present beautiful edifice in 
1888-89. St. Paul's Evangelical Church was organized in 1890 and the 
meeting house was dedicated in 1891. A Free Methodist Society was 
formed about 1875. 

Clockville. — This is a mere hamlet about two miles south of Canas- 
tota, and now in the new town of Lincoln. The post-office was opened 
many years ago, with Peleg Card postmaster. There was formerly 
considerable manufacturing and mercantile business here, as before 
described, but most of it has disappeared. The grist mill was burned 
in 1896, and an old saw mill, with a cheese box factory and a cider mill 
in connection are still in operation. There is one hotel kept by Charles 
Suits, and Frank Clow and John Ritter are merchants. 



596 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The Methodist Church at Clockville was organized in 1848 and the 
present meeting house was erected in 1894. The Baptist Church was 
organized in 1847 and long ago passed out of existence. 

Wampsville is a hamlet and post-office on the Central Railroad in the 
southeastern part of the town of Lenox. There is at the present time 
only one store kept by A. A. Loucks. The Wampsville Presbyterian 
Society was organized in 1828; the first meeting house was built in 
1832 and was remodeled in its present condition in 1872. 

Other hamlets in the new town of Lenox are Oneida Valley, in the 
extreme notheastern part, with post-office in which Fred C. Parker is 
postmaster, and a store and hotel; the Presbyterian Church here was 
organized in 1847; and Oneida Lake, in the northwestern part of the 
town. 

The Town of Hadison. 

Madison was set off from Hamilton on February 6, 1807, and is one 
of five towns erected in the year following the formation of the county. 
It lies on the east border of the county south of the center and corre- 
sponds with No. 3 of the Twenty Townships. Its surface consists 
chiefly of a rolling upland, with intervening valleys along the course 
of a branch of the Chenango River and a branch of Oriskany Creek, 
which are the principal streams; the former flows south and the latter 
north. The town is abundantly watered with small brooks and springs. 
There are several small ponds, the principal body of water now being 
the Madison Brook Reservoir, in the south part, which covers 235 acres, 
and was connected with the Chenango Canal by a feeder. The ponds 
in the north part of the town have largely filled with marl, but the sur- 
roundings are such that it could not be recovered for lime economically. 
The soil is gravelly loam on the hills and clayey loam in the valleys 
and is rich and productive as a rule. The rocks of the Hamilton group 
underlie the whole town, but are so deeply covered with drift that they 
are not quarried for building purposes. The Utica, Clinton and Bing- 
hamton Railroad runs diagonally across the town from northeast to 
southwest closely following the line of the abandoned Chenango Canal, 
and has stations at Solsville and Bouckville. According to the census 
of 1892 the town has a population of 2,251. 

The territory of Madison forms part of the great tract in which Sir 
William Pultney had an interest, and through his agents the early 
settlements were promoted. Prospectors came in in 1791 and the next 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— MADISON. 597 

year the first permanent settlement was made by Daniel Perkins, who 
took up two lots near the site of Madison village, parts of which he 
afterwards sold to other poineers. Jesse Maynard also settled in that 
year, and his brothers, Amos and Moses, somewhat later. John Berry 
came about the same time. Gen. Erastus Cleveland, who was for many 
years the leading citizen of the town, came in 1792, built mills near the 
site of Solsville, a woolen factory at that point, and other mills on the 
Oriskany, and engaged in potash making, store keeping, and in many 
ways advanced the welfare of the growing community, as elsewhere 
explained. Settlers of 1793 included Col. Samuel Clemens, Thomas 
McMullen, Stephen F. Blackstone, Russell Barker, Warham Wilhams, 
William and David Blair, James Collister, Henry W. and Israel Bond, 
Elijah Blodgett, Joel Crawford, John Niles, Francis Clemens and Seth 
Snow. 

In 1794 settlement was begun by a colony from Rhode Island in the 
southwest quarter of the town, among whom were Charles and George 
Peckham, Samuel Coe, Joseph Manchester, Samuel Brownell and the 
Simmons families. Nicanor Brown and Samuel Rowe were settlers of 
about that year. In 1795 Abial Hatch, Elijah Thompson, Israel Rice, 
James and Alexander White, Abizar and David Richmond, and William 
McClenathan came into the town, and were followed in the next year 
by Dr. Jonathan Pratt and his brothers, James and Daniel, and Nathan- 
iel Johnson ; at about that period also came in Gideon Lowell, William 
Sanford, Judson W. Lewis, Nehemiah Thompson, Peter Tyler and 
Thomas Dick. Other pioneers who came to the town mostly before 
the erection of the county were Capt. Seth Blair, Joseph Head, Samuel 
Collister, Joseph Curtis, Deacon Prince Spooner, Robert, Samuel and 
Timothy Curtis, Reuben Brigham, Agur Gilbert, Joseph and Job 
Manchester, Abijah Parker, Paul Hazard, Jared and Samuel Wickwire, 
Nehemiah Fairchild, Paul Greenwood, Jonas Banton, John Edgarton, 
Eli Bancroft, Abner Burnham, Luther Rice, Dr. Samuel McClure, 
David Peebles, James D. Coolidg,- Solomon Root, Capt. Gilbert Tomp- 
kins, Ralph Tanner, an early tavern keeper at Madison village, Samuel 
Goodwin, early stage proprietor, Solomon Alcott, Daniel Holbrook and 
perhaps a few others, all of whom have been noticed more in detail in 
earlier chapters. 

The town of Madison is one of the foremost in the great hop growing 
industry of this county, and James D. Coolidg_ and Solomon Root, 
above mentioned, were the first in the business in this section. 



598 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The first town meeting for Madison was held March 3, 1807, and the 
officers elected whose names have already been given. Following is 
a list of the supervisors of the town from its formation to the present 
time: 

1807-8, Erastus Cleveland; 1809-11, Seth Blair; 1812-18, Levi Mor- 
ton; 1819, William Manchester; 1820-21, Edward Rogers; 1822-24, 
Rutherford Barker; 1825-27, Samuel Goodwin; 1828, Levi Morton; 
1829-40, William Manchester; 1841, Samuel White; 1842-43, Samuel 
White, 2d; 1844, Samuel White; 1845-46, Samuel White, 2d; 1847, 
Hiram L. Root; 1848, Samuel White, 2d; 1849, William Manchester; 
1850-55, Samuel White, 2d; 1856-58, Gilbert Tompkins; 1859-61, Allen 
Curtis; 1862-77, John W. Lippett; 1878-83, David Z. Brockett; 1884, 
Joseph W. Forward; 1886-87, Albert R. Nicholson; 1888-97, Samuel 
R. Mott. 

The population of Madison on the dates when the census has been 
taken is shown in the following figures : 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1893 

3655 3344 3313 3405 3483 3457 3414 2402 2434 3474 3316 2351 

It will be seen that the number of inhabitants in Madison has fluctu- 
ated and declined less than in most other towns of the county. In a 
general way this may be taken as an evidence of prosperity and con- 
tentment among the people. 

There are three post-offices in Madison — Madison village with the 
same name, Solsville and Bouckville. The largest village is Madison 
which was incorporated April 17, 1810. The first trustees were Samuel 
Goodwin, Trumam Stafford, Alfred Wells, Edward Rogers, and Adin 
Howard. The first merchant in the place was John Lucas, who began 
business before 1800 at the " Opening " and moved it to the site of the 
village about 1807, when the Cherry Valley turnpike was constructed. 
Other early merchants were Alanson B. Coe, a partner with Lucas, Rob- 
ert B. Lane, H. C & O. C. Bicknell, Truman Stafford, Gen. Erastus 
Cleveland, Benjamin F. Cleveland, E. F. Gaylord, Lyman Root and 
Henry Lewis, partners, James D. and Robert W. Lane, and Horace C. 
Bailey (firm of Lane, Bailey & Co.), A. S. Ackerman, Henry Hull, 
Adin Howard, John Morgan and others. The present merchants are: 
F. H. Bicknell, who in 1896 succeeded O.C. Bicknell, successor of H. 

C. & O. C. Bicknell; Louis Fuess, successor of Davis & Fuess, who fol- 
lowed Harry Morgan; George H. Root, successor of Cushman & Root; 

D. E. Smith, E. B. Wells, drugs and medicines, established in 1888; I. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— MADISON. 599 

L. Dunster & Son, groceries, traded since 1896; Thomas Terry and H. 
Morgan (Terry & Morgan), meat market; Thomas A. Ferguson, shoe 
shop; John Bensted, harness shop; John Salisbury and F. Collister, 
blacksmiths. 

The present hotel is the Madison House, kept by F. B. Howard. At 
Madison Lake, a quarter of a mile from the village and near the line 
of the Ontario and Western railroad, are two summer hotels kept by D, 
W. Leland and White & Lewis respectively. This beautiful spot has 
many attractions for those seeking rest and recreation and is attaining 
considerable popularity. 

The post-office was established at the "Opening" at an early date, 
but it is not known just when. Dr. Asa B. Sizer was the first post- 
master, and was succeeded bj' Ralph Tanner, the early tavern keeper. 
He had the position until about 1840, when he. was succeeded both as 
postmaster and tavern keeper by Isaac Curtis, who filled both positions 
to about 1861. James Brown was then postmaster until his death in 
1874, and was succeeded by A. J. Cushman; the officials since have 
been O. C. Bicknell, G. C. White, both of whom again alternated in the 
office. 

The first physician was Dr. Jonathan Pratt, whose early settlement 
has been noticed; others have been Drs. Zadock Parker, Daniel Barker, 
Asa B. Sizer, John Putnam, Marcus H. Sutcliffe, Elisha B. Hopkins, 
still in practice, B. R. Gifford, and Dr. Hammond. There is no lawyer 
in the town. 

Union Free School District No. 1 of Madison was formed December 
7, 1878. The faculty is now headed by William D. Miller, and about 
139 students are enrolled in the various departments. A library of 
about 400 volumes is connected with the school. The present Board of 
Education is composed of Louis Fuess, president; G. H. Barker, clerk; 
O. C. Bicknell, A. J. Cushman, and F. S. Collister. 

There are four churches in the village — the Congregational, organized 
in 1796, and the First Baptist, organized in 1798; both are now in a 
prosperous condition. A Universalist Church was formed here in July, 
1828, with Rev. Nathaniel Stacy, the first pastor. The society was not 
formally organized until 1852, and was reorganized and incorporated in 
18G6. The meeting house was built in 1831 and is still standing, but 
services are not now held. The Wesleyan Chapel (Methodist) was or- 
ganized about 1833 with a class of nine members, and meetings were 
held in the small chapel in the east edge of Eaton about a mile west of 



600 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Bouckville for a few years when the church in Madison was built ; it 
was remodeled and improved about 1871. In 1888 the name of the 
church was changed to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Madison; it 
is a very prosperous organization. 

Bouckville. — This is a small village near the western border of the 
town on the line of the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton Railroad. The 
first settler on its site was John Edgarton, and the first merchant was 
Dr. Samuel McClure; other early traders were Ira Burhans, his son, 
Lindorf, William Coolidg, and Lewis E. Coe. With the opening of the 
Chenango Canal this place assumed considerable mercantile and manu- 
facturing importance, but in recent years both of these branches have 
declined. H. I. and E. L. Peet as a firm, established the extensive 
manufacture of cider about 1860, in a storehouse built by Moses May- 
nard ; they also operated a saw mill and cheese box factory. Samuel 
R. Mott also engaged in the manufacture of cider before 1870. This 
business and also that of Peet Brothers was taken by J. C. Mott, son of 
Samuel, and carried on for a time. In 1890 the Genesee Fruit Com- 
pany took the business, which is conducted during the apple season on 
a large scale ; they also manufacture cider and whiskey barrels. The 
mercantile business established in 1876 by Lewis E. Coe is now con- 
ducted by his wife in company with H. D. Brockett, under the firm 
name of Coe & Brockett. 

The post-office at this place was opened about 1837, with Moses May- 
nard, postmaster; he was then keeping the tavern which he built about 
that date. William Coolidg held the office from about 1861 until his 
death in 1875, when Lewis E. Coe took it. Several years later he was 
succeeded by Isaac Forward, A. J. Wiltse, and F. Parker, the incum- 
bent. 

The Methodist Church here was organized in 1853 and the meeting 
house was erected in the same year. There is only one hotel, called 
the White House, kept by D. T. Livermore. A steam saw mill and 
cheese box factory is operated by Leo Phelps. 

Solsville. — This is a hamlet in the northwest part of the town two 
miles below Bouckville, on the railroad and formerly on the canal.' It 
is in the deep valley of the Oriskany about three-quarters of a mile 
north of Madison village. The excellent water power, as has been 
shown, has been used for various manufactures. The abandonment of 
the canal and opening of the railroad seriously affected its prospects. 
Nathaniel S. Howard, who formerly owned the mill property, had also a 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— NELSON. 601 

small store in company with his brother Ambrose, from about 1831 to 
1839. Other former merchants were Abel and Thompson Curtis,Mars- 
den Kershaw, Benjamin S. Bridge, Augustus N. Peckham, John Har- 
ris, and Warren H. Benjamin & Sons (Frank H. and Will H.), who 
began in 1875 and still continue. 

The first postmaster here was Albert Hall; others have been Mars- 
den Kershaw, Agur Gilbert, Isaac Phelps, W. H Benjamin, Rodney 
Bridge, W. L. D. Lewis, and George R. Smith. 

The old grist mill built by Gen. Erastus Cleveland, as before de- 
scribed, with the improvements subsequently made, is now operated by 
Smith & Spooner. Another grist mill is in operation a mile below the 
village by F. M. Fisher L. D. Lewis has a general store; T. B. Man- 
chester a blacksmith shop, and the hotel conducted by Newton Liver- 
more. A milk station is located at the railroad depot which is con- 
ducted by the Mutual Milk and Cream Company, with A. D. Eames 
local manager. About 1,000 pounds of milk are taken in daily and con- 
siderable cheese is made. 

Pecksport is a flag station on the railroad in the west part of the 
town, which was formerly an important shipping point for the town of 
Eaton. 

The Town of Nelson. 

This is one of the five towns in Madison county that were formed in 
the year following its organization. It was set off from Cazenovia on 
the 13th of March, 1807, and received its name in honor of Lord Nel- 
son, the great English admiral. It is number one of the Chenango 
Twenty Townships, is situated southwest of the center of the county, 
and is bounded on the north by Fenner and Smithfield, on the east by 
Eaton, on the south by Georgetown, and on the west by Cazenovia. 
The town has a population of 1,350 according to the United States cen- 
sus of 1890, and 1,339 by the State census 1893. This is a considerable 
decrease from the number in 1880, which was 1,649. Nelson is divided 
into fourteen school districts that have a school house in each, in which 
were employed in 1897 fifteen teachers. The value of the school build- 
ings is about $5,000. 

The surface of this town consists chiefly of a hilly upland, broken by 
ridges having a general north and south direction. It occupies part of 
the elevated watershed between streams flowing north into Oneida Lake 
and south into the Susquehanna. The principal stream is the Chitten 



602 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ango Creek, two branches of which join near the west line of the town. 
The northern and larger branch rises in the town of Fenner, enters Nel- 
son near the center of the north boundary and flows across the north- 
west part in a southwesterly direction. The smaller branch rises in the 
south central part and flows in a northwesterly direction to its union 
with the main stream ; this, with a more northerly tributary, flowing 
from the east forms the Erieville reservoir, constructed in 1850, to feed 
the Erie Canal; it covers 340 acres, and cost $36,837.03. The Eaton 
reservoir, constructed for a feeder for the abandoned Chenango Canal, 
is partly in this town. The old canal touched the southwest part of the 
town. 

Nearly the whole area of Nelson is underlaid with the Tully lime- 
stone, the Genesee slate, and the Ithaca group. The Hamilton group 
shows at the surface in a small part of the northeast and southwest cor- 
ners of the town. Quarries have been opened, but no stone suitable 
for building purposes is obtainable. The soil is a gravelly loam, well 
adapted to grazing, and dairying is extensively carried on. 

The territory of the town of Nelson was patented to Alexander Web- 
ster on June 4, 1793, and was purchased in the same year by Col. John 
Lincklaen . In that year Jedediah Jackson and Joseph Yaw bought 
land in the north part of the town in the interest of a Vermont company 
and during the succeeding two years twenty-six families, coming mostly 
from Pownal, Vt., settled on that purchase and in other parts of the 
town. The names of the heads of those families were as follows: Jed- 
ediah and Asahel Jackson, Joseph Yaw, Ebenezer Lyon, Daniel Adams, 
Sylvanus Sayles, Oliver Alger, Daniel and Isaac Coolidge, Levi Neil, 
Thomas Swift, Roger Brooks, Ethan Howard, Robert and Solomon 
Brown, Thomas and Jesse Tuttle, Luther Doolittle, Joseph Cary, Jesse 
Clark, James Green, Eliphalet Jackson, John Everton, Amos Rathbone, 
David Nichols, and Rufus Weaver. Other early settlers were James 
Annas, Levi Brown, Richard Karley, John Hamilton, sr. , Moses Smith, 
Enos Chapin, Erastus Grover, Richard Wilber, Ezra and Isaac Love- 
joy, Asa Carey, Haven White, and the Richardson and Wells families; 
these came about 1796 and were mostly from Massachusetts. David 
Wellington, Simeon Haskell, Jesse, Abner and Seth Bumpus, Aaron 
Lindsley, Moses and Solomon Clark, Paul Griffiths, Isaiah and Ezra 
Booth, Joseph, Chauncey and David Case, William Knox, David Ham- 
ilton, Jeremiah Clark (who built the first saw mill in the town), Will- 
iam and Jeremiah Whipple, Thomas Ackley, Benjamin Hatch, Dyer 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— NELSON. 603 

Matteson, Jesse Carpenter, Robert Hazard, all of whom settled prior to 
the town organization in 1807. These and many others are mentioned 
more in detail in earlier chapters and in Part III of this volume. 

The first town meeting in Nelson was held at the house of Rufus 
Weaver, April 7, 1807. The first town officers elected were as follows: 
Ebenezer Lyon, supervisor; John Rice, clerk; Jeremiah Clark, Simeon 
Marshall, and Thaddeus Hazleton, assessors; Thomas Holdridge, Moses 
Boardman and John Knox, commissioners of highways; Day Fay and 
Moses Boardman, overseers of the poor; Eri Richardson, Asahel Wood, 
Alvan Henry, and Benjamin Bumpus, constables; Alvan Henry, col- 
lector; James Bacon and John Jackson, poundkeepers; Elijah Daniels, 
Daniel Butler, Silas Reeves, Joseph Sims, Rufus Weaver, James Annas, 
Benjamin Turner, Uriah Annas, Robert Hazard, George Tibbits, Eldad 
Richardson, Jonathan Wellington, David Smith, Abraham Parker, 
Ephraim Cone, David Nichols, Daniel Coolidge, Richard Green, John 
Rice, Stephen Kingsley, Dyer Matteson, Francis Wood, John Knox 
and Warham Chapman, overseers of highways and fenceviewers. 

Following is a list of the supervisors of the town from its organization 
to the present time: Ebenezer Lyon, 1807-10; John Rice, 1811-13; 
Ebenezer Lyon, 1813-17; Jabez Wright, 1818; Jeremiah Whipple, 1819; 
Ebenezer Lyon, 1820; Edward Hudson, 1831-23; Eri Richardson, 1823- 
26; Oliver Pool, 1837-32; Daniel Lobdell, 1833-35; Benjamin Turner, 
1836-38; George Rich, 1839-41; A.sa Richardson, 1842; Oliver Pool, 
1843; Jeremiah Blair, 1844; John Donaldson, 1845; Oliver Pool, 1846- 
48; Alfred Medbury, 1849; G. D. Richardson, 1850-51; Palmer Bald- 
win, 1852; Jonathan Wells, 1853-54; George Irish, 1855; David A. Ham- 
ilton, 1856; G. D. Richardson, 1857; Artecas L. Sims, 1858-60; Nelson 
Richardson, 1861; S. Perry Smith, 1862-66; Charles K. Knox, 1867; 
Levi P. Greenwood, 1870; Isaac A. Blair, 1871-73; Merritt L. Lyon, 
1874; Isaac A. Blair, 1875; George E. Gaige, 1876-78; Peter R. Duffy, 
1879-86; Jeremiah Blair, 1887; Peter R. Duffy. 1888; Horace K. Smith, 
1889-97. 

Following is a statement of the population of Nelson as shown by the 
census of various decades and semi-decades: 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1893 
3,231 2,100 1,976 1,965 1,876 1,797 1,717 1,780 1,649 1,350 1,350 1,339 

These figures indicate a slow but gradual decrease in population in 
the town. This is not due to its being in any sense an unattractive or 
unprofitable locality for the prudent, industrious and economical farmer. 



604 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

mechanic or tradesman. It is, rather, in keeping with the conditions 
in many other towns in the State and county, in which in the passing 
years, there has developed among the young men a desire to leave the 
homesteads of their ancestry for the alluring attractions and occupa- 
tions of cities and large villages. 

As before indicated this town is a profitable dairying region. There 
are four cheese factories within its limits, one on the Richards estate 
farm, one in Nelson village, one at Erieville, and one four miles north- 
east of Nelson. The factory at Nelson was established in 1868 by A. 
T. Gaines and was later conducted during a period of more than fifteen 
years by William Richards, who at that time operated four other fac- 
tories in this vicinity. The factory northeast of Nelson is conducted 
by J. P. Davis. A large part of the farmers of the town at the present 
time are engaged in the production of milk, which goes to these facto- 
ries or to distant market. The fattening of veal has also in recent years 
become quite an important feature of the agricultural intereht. Among 
the leading farmers of the town are Ward Smith, Orson Graves, W. L. 
Richards, D. M. Jones, Morey Brothers, W. D. Brown, M. D. Lyon, H. 
K. Smith, S. L. Jones, Abelbert Howard, Charles E. Richards, John 
H. Richards and Evan D. Davis. 

There is a grist mill a half mile east of Nelson village, with which is 
connected a saw mill and cider mill, operated by L. H. Hutchinson; it 
was formerly for many years owned by H. P. Hutchinson, an old and 
respected citizen who died in 1897. There is also an old grist mill on 
the road from Erieville to Nelson, formerly operated by S. E. Bump, 
but now idle. 

Erieville. — There are only two post offices in Nelson, one of which 
is in the village of Erieville, the largest settlement in the town. It is situ- 
ated in the south part of the town, with a station on the railroad. It 
contains a hotel on the site of the one built in 1820. The present four- 
story frame building was erected in 1883, soon after the burning of the 
first structure; the house is now occupied by Mrs. H. T. Griffin, who 
succeeded her husband. There are three general stores in the village, 
kept by C. E. Maynard, E.S. Jillson and G. C. Moore; two blacksmiths, 
two steam saw mills, a cooper shop where James Stevenson worked for 
many years, a cheese factory and a milk station. The village is an im- 
portant milk shipping point, being situated in the midst of an exten- 
sive and productive dairying region. The village has two churches; 
the Baptist, which is supplied from Hamilton College, and a Methodist 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 605 

Episcopal, over which Rev. A. W. Battey is pastor; he also has charge 
of a church in Nelson village. 

An extensive milk business is carried on here by C. E. Maynard, who 
in 1897 handled 3,946,065 pounds of milk, making 324,435 pounds of 
cheese, 23,693 pounds of butter, and shipping to the New York market 
4,623 forty-quart cans of milk. Mr. Maynard is one of the leading 
business men of this section and served the district in the Assembly 
two terms. 

An undertaking business is conducted by D. P. Maynard, and E. S. 
Jillson has a flour and feed business in addition to his general store. 
G. C. Moore, successor to G. C. Moore & Co., in a general store, is post- 
master. The village has a Grange Hall, a post of the G. A. R., and the 
lines of the Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Company pass 
through the village, having a local office in the store of G. C. Moore. 

Nelson (Nelson Flats). — This is a small hamlet in the north part of 
the town, containing a small collection of houses, a Methodist church, 
of which Rev. A. W. Battey is pastor, a school house, two general 
stores, one conducted bj' W. R. Richards, succeeding Gage & Whitney, 
and the other by W. H. James, a blacksmith shop, and a post-office, 
which is located in the store of Mr. James, with George W. Holmes, 
postmaster. This store formerly contained a stock of hardware and 
tin, and before that was a hotel in which Myron Hutchinson was the 
last landlord. Several years ago a large evaporator was established by 
C. E. Gaines, and the building is still standing in the main street of 
the village. In the fall of 1885 a large building was erected for a saw 
mill, grist mill and cider mill, a wagon shop and blacksmith shop, by 
the Nelson Manufacturing Company, in which L. C. Barnes, Arthur 
Bailey, Frank Taylor, S. N. Judd and Charles Judd were interested. 
Unfortunately for the place this building was burned in 1887 and not 
rebuilt. 

The Town of Smithfield. 

Smithfield was one of the towns organized in the year 1807 and was 
set off from Cazenovia on the 13th of March. It was named in honor 
of Peter Smith, its proprietor. It is situated in the central part of the 
county and bounded on the north by Lenox and Stockbridge, on the 
east by Stockbridge, on the south by Eaton and Nelson, and on the 
west by Fenner. It contains about 15,630 acres. When organized it 
included what is now Fenner, which was taken off in 1833. The sur- 



606 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

face is mostly rolling, with a large cedar swamp extending through the 
town from north to south, much of which is uncultivated. The soil on 
the hills is sandy and gravelly loam. The drainage of the town to the 
north is into the Chittenango and the Cowasselon Creeks, and from a 
small part in the south into the Chenango. The old Oneida turnpike 
traverses the town, going from Vernon to Cazenovia, while the Stone 
road from Morrisville to Canastota crosses it from north to south. 
Smithfield is wholly isolated from railroads and canals, and receives its 
mail from Canastota by stage. The principal industry at the present 
time is dairying; hops are grown to considerable extent and mixed 
farming is also followed in most parts of the town. 

The territory of Smithfield constituted a part of the great purchase 
made from the State in 1795 by Peter Smith, after having procured a 
lease in the preceding year of the Oneida Indians of the same lands 
for a term of 999 years. The price paid to the State was $350 for the 
whole, comprising more than 50,000 acres. It became and is still known 
as the New Petersburgh Tract. Jasper Aylesworth was sent on by Mr. 
Smith in 1795 to begin the permanent settlement on his purchase, and 
he located on and cleared the land on which the village of Peterboro 
stands. John Taft was a settler near by not long after Aylesworth, 
and the latter married his daughter in 1797; this was the first marriage 
on Smithfield territory. In 1798 Oliver Trumbull came in and settled 
on fifty acres a half mile south of Aylesworth's clearing and there lived 
and reared his family. Between 1797 and 1799 inclusive the numerous 
and prominent family named Bump settled in the town and took up 
farms; the father's name was Ichabod, but the son, Ithamar, was the 
pioneer; he was soon followed by his father and his brothers, Moses, 
Nathan, David, Jonathan, Gideon, Jacob, and a sister who married 
Ebenezer Bronson, father of Greene C. Bronson. 

Among the settlers of 1800 were Solomon Merrill, David Shipman, 
Samuel and Jacob Walker, Jabez Lyon, Robert Streeter, Shadrach 
Hardy, Gideon Wright, Ezra Chaffee, David Tuttle, Mrs. Moody and 
her sons, Samuel and David, Mrs. Mattison and her sons, John, Abraham, 
Eli and Nathan, the Northrup and Matthewson families, Francis Dodge, 
Salmon Howard, Stephen Risley, Moses Howe, John Forte, Reuben 
Rich, David Blodgett, Daniel Petrie, who became the first sheriff of the 
county, and Capt. Joseph Black. Other early settlers are mentioned 
and more at length in an earlier chapter. 

Peter Smith came on from Utica with his family in 1806 and soon 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 607 

afterward began the erection of the plain wooden structure which has 
been known as the Smith mansion, which was remodeled in 1854 by his 
son, Gerrit Smith, and is still standing. Peter Smith was the first 
supervisor of the town and in June, 1807 was elected associate judge of 
the county. Judge Smith in 1810 transferred all of his property to his 
noted son, Gerrit, and in 1825 removed to Schenectady, where he died 
in 1837. 

The first town meeting for Smithfield was held April 7, 1807, "in the 
school house near David Cook's"; this was in that part of the town now 
included in Fenner. The polls were open three days and the vote cast 
numbered over 300. Daniel Petrie was chosen the first town clerk. 
At this meeting there was an active rivalry between the eastern and 
the western parts of the town, two tickets having been nominated; the 
details of the contest are given in the early history of the town of 
Fenner. 

There are two post-offices in Smithfield, one of which is at Peterboro, 
the only village of importance in the town. The village was an im- 
portant one in its very early history as the site of a glass factory and a 
little later by two, which at one period employed a hundred or more 
hands. It was established about 1808. A distillery was built in 1803, 
which was succeeded by a second one in 1814. A tannery was estab- 
lished in 1810 by Benjamin Wilber and another by Abner Hall & Son 
in 1836; both long ago disappeared. A small grist and saw mill was 
built about 1802 by William Sayles which was owned by Peter Smith; 
it was superseded by second mills in 1850, which are not now in 
existence. 

Samuel Stranahan built a dam across the stream here in 1807, erected 
a fulling mill and sold that and his privelege in 1816 to Perry Palmer 
and Wolcott Skidmore. The latter soon sold to his partner who in 1825 
took down the building and erected near by a saw mill and shingle mill 
which he operated more than twenty years. George Peck had an early 
machine and woodworking shop, where he invented the stave cutting 
machine which revolutionized the cooperage business. There is no 
manufacturing industry of account in the town at the present time. 

This town was one of the first to adopt the manufacture of cheese in 
factories, and one was built at Peterboro, which was undoubtedly the 
first in the county. It was begun in the spring of 1861 at Peterboro 
and was the second one in the State. It was erected under direction 
of Mr. Williams, of Rome, who was the pioneer in this business. The 



608 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

proprietor was Harry Blodgett. The business increased and before 
many years passed there were five factories in successful operation in 
the town. One of these was at Peterboro, one at Siloam, one near the 
southeast corner of the town, one at Mile Strip and one on the farm of 
Frederick Putnam. At the present time only three factories are in 
operation — one at Siloam by Albert Miller ; one at Peterboro by Robert 
Warcup, and one in the west part of the town by Levi Miller. 

The first store in the town was opened by James Livingston in the 
same building in which he kept a tavern in 1801. In the same year 
Daniel Petrie opened a second store. Among other merchants of the 
place have been William Solon and Myron Taylor, Elisha Carrington, 
Royal and Dorman Cooper, Asa Raymond, Charles H. Cook, Peter S. 
Smith, Samuel Forman, Dunham & Clink, Harry Curtis, J. G. Curtis, 
Eliphalet Aylesworth, Ives & Woodbury, Dr. N. C. Powers, Andrew 
S. Douglass, Dr. A. C. Baum, James R. Harnett, Charles Cutler, John 
A. Campbell, William T. Marcey, W. C. Ives, Charles N. Snow, W. E. 
Coe, Thomas O. Taylor, J. N. Woodbury, Lucius P. Faulkner, and 
possibly a few others. The present mercantile business of the village 
includes the following: J. N. Woodbury, who has conducted a general 
store more than forty years; W. E. Coe, has sold drugs and groceries 
sixteen years; J. O. Wright has conducted a general store more than 
twenty years; Geo. W. Davis, druggist and physician, nine years; T. 
O. Taylor, clothing; Charles E. Wagoner, confectionery, etc.; A. M. 
Bump operates the saw and grist mills; William Johnson, a tin shop; 
wagon shops by Wiley Conine and David Devan, and blacksmith shops 
by William Ginney and Timothy Ginney; M. L. Dennison sells agri- 
cultural implements, etc. The present physicians are Dr. F. E. Dewey 
and Dr. G. W. Davis. 

The first hotel in the place was the one before mentioned as built in 
1801 by James Livingston, in which he kept also a store. This house 
passed through many hands and was occupied as a hotel until after 1850. 
It is now used for a residence. D.ivid Ambler built a hotel in 1830, 
which was the first temperance house in the State. Gerrit Smith sub- 
sequently purchased it to prevent liquor being sold there, removed the 
building and added the site to his grounds. At about the same time he 
built another hotel which he offered free of rent to any one who would 
keep it without selling liquor; it shared the fate of its predecessor. 
What is now the hotel was opened about 1876 and had a license for the 
sale of beer and wine, the first license granted in the town since 1846. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SMITHFIELD. 609 

It is kept by Frank Martindale. The Cameron House was built in re- 
cent years and is kept by Charles Cameron. The village is connected 
with Canastota by daily stages. 

Peterboro Academy was built in 185:5 with about $2,500, which was 
raised by subscription The buildings now occupied as the Orphan's 
Home were erected for its accommodation and the school opened in 
that )'ear. The site was donated by Gerrit Smith. In 1864 the insti- 
tution received an endowment of |15,000. Like most other academies 
this one subsequently began to decline, and in 1871 Gerrit Smith pur- 
chased all of the stock at 29 per cent, and transferred the property to 
the Home, which was then being organized. He then bought the 
Presbyterian church edifice, which was not in use, and expended $7,000 
in fitting it for a school building, with a public hall above. This prop- 
erty he deeded to the academy trustees, under provision that it should 
revert to his estate whenever it should be used for any other purpose. 
It is still in use for the school. The Union School in Peterboro was 
incorporated in 1896. The first Board of Trustees were Garrett G. Mil- 
ler, W. C. Dorrance, J. O. Wright, W. E. Coe and John N. Woodbury. 
The board is still in office, excepting John N. Woodbury, who was 
superseded by A. M. Bump. The present principal is Arthur H. Jack- 
son, who has two assistants. The school is kept in the old Presbyterian 
church building, which has been refitted for the purpose. The town 
has thirteen school districts with school houses, the value of the prop- 
erty being about $10,000. The number of teachers is sixteen. 

Three different newspapers have been published in Peterboro, among 
them the first one in Madison county; all of them long ago passed out 
of existence. The first one was the Madison Freeholder, established 
in 1808 by Peter Smith and continued to about 1819. The Washing- 
tonian temperance movement brought into existence the Madison 
County Temperance Union, which died in 1853 after only a few years 
of feeble support. In 1854 the Christian and Citizen was founded and 
lived about three years. 

Peterboro is a quiet and attractive village, built about the public 
"Green," in the center of which stands a handsome monument which 
was presented to the town by Aaron T. Bliss of Michigan, who was for- 
merly a resident of Smithfieldand joined the Union army. The monu- 
ment was unveiled July 4, 1893, and bears this inscription : " Erected in 
honor of the men of Madison county who served their country in the war 
which preserved the Union, destroyed slavery, and maintained the con- 
stitution." 

39 



610 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Siloam. — This is the name of a hamlet and post-office on the Oneida 
turnpike two and a half miles east of Peterboro. A tavern was built 
here as early as 1804 by Joseph Black, and in 1808 a second was built 
and kept by Samuel Ellinwood and John Black. In 1810 Jeremiah 
Ellinwood and Elijah Manly built a grist mill and a saw mill was added 
in the same year. A store soon followed by Mr. Black and Alexander 
Ostrander, and the post-office was established. The construction of 
the Chenango Canal and other general causes made a large demand for 
beer and whiskey in this vicinity and in 1880 there were here three dis- 
tilleries and two breweries. The post-office was abandoned for a time, 
but was subsequently re-established. One store is kept here by Fran- 
cis Wright, and no hotel. There is no grist mill now, but a saw mill 
and distillery are operated by Harmon Holmes, who is also postmaster. 

About half a mile from the northern line of the town on the Stone 
road at a four corners is a postal station called Mile Strip. In 1813 a 
young mechanic who had a small shop here made the first steel hay 
forks turned out in this State. His name was Oren Soper, and he 
gained fame and made money in this work. The post-office, with Ros- 
coe Gates in charge, is over the line in the town of Lincoln. Mr. Gates 
conducts a store. 

The first church organized in Smithfield was the Presbyterian, at 
Peterboro, formed in 1806. For a number of years it prospered and at 
one period had a membership of 200. It finally declined and in 1870 
was dissolved. 

The Baptist Church was organized in 1807 and also had an active ex- 
istence many years, its membership reaching at one time about 260; but 
it also fell into decline and its services closed in 1866. 

Siloam was originally known as Ellinwood Hollow, and in 1820 the 
the Baptist Church of Ellinwood Hollow was organized and an edifice 
was erected in the next year. This passed out of active existence. 
The Methodist Church at Siloam was erected in 1896. It is a branch 
of the Stockbridge society. 

The Mile Strip Methodist Church was organized in 1830 and after 
1865 was attached to the Peterboro charge. It is still in existence. 

What was known as the Church of Peterboro, organized in 1843 at 
the instigation of Gerrit Smith, was free from sectarian ruling, as he 
believed all churches should be. In 1847 he built a chapel and offered 
its use to all clergymen. It was long used as a free church, but was 
ultimately converted into a dwelling. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— STOCKBRIDGE. 611 

The Methodist Church of Peterboro was organized in 1854, and ser- 
vices were held at various places until 1858 when a small church was 
built. This society has maintained its existence and improved the 
edifice in recent years. Rev. George W. Reynolds is pastor. 

The Home for Destitute Children of Madison County is situated in 
Peterboro, and is fully described in a previous chapter. 

The population of Smithfield in the years when the census has been 
taken is shown in the following figures: 

1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1875 1880 1890 1892 
3,750 1,699 1,629 1.669 1,514 1,509 1,366 1,227 1,247 1,226 1,043 1,015 

Following is a list of supervisors of this town from its organization to 
the present time with the dates of their election: 

1807, Peter Smith, Roswell Glass; 1808-10, Asa Dana; 1811-13, 
Elisha Carrington; 1814-19, Nehemiah Huntington; 1820, Daniel M. 
Gilbert; 1821-34, Nehemiah Huntington; 1835, Elisha Carrington; 
1836-39, Nehemiah Huntington; 1830-34, Daniel Dickey; 1835, John 
M. Messinger; 1836-38, Czar Dikeman; 1839, Daniel Dickey; 1840-42, 
John G. Curtis; 1843, Stafford Green; 1844, George W. Ellinwood; 
1845, Silas W. Tyler; 1846-47, James Barnett; 1848-49, Alexander 
McGregor; 1850, Amzi G Hungerford; 1851-53, Caleb Calkins; 1854, 
Isaac Bartlett; 1855-56, Charles D. Miller; 1857-58, Joseph E. Morgan; 
1859-60, Abi A. Phipps; 1861-63, James Riley Stone; 1863, Alex. Mc- 
Gregor; 1864r-66, Abi. A. Phipps; 1867-69, Edward Bliss; 1870, W. J. 
Wilbur; 1871, Gerrit S. Miller; 1873-74, R. J. Hollenbeck; 1875-77, 
James G. Messinger; 1878-79, Alex. O. Johnson; 1880, R. J. Hollen- 
beck; 1881-83, Leander W. Burroughs; 1884-91, W. Emmet Coe, 1893- 
98, Albert L. Cameron. 

The Town of Stockbridge. 

With the exception of the two towns of Oneida and Canastota, erected 
from Lenox in 1896, Stockbridge was the latest formed town in Madi- 
son county. It was set off from Vernon and Augusta in Oneida county, 
and Smithfield and Lenox in Madison county on May 20, 1836. Of 
course most of its early history is embodied in that of those towns. It 
lies on the east border of the county and is bounded on the north by 
Lenox and Vernon, on the east by Vernon and Augusta, on the south 
by Eaton and Madison, and on the west by Lenox and Smithfield. It 
contains nearly 19,000 acres, of which more than 15,000 are improved. 



612 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The surface is high upland, broken by the beautiful valley of Oneida 
Creek, which extends north and south through the central part of the 
town, the hills on either side rising in continuous ranges to the height of 
from 500 to 800 feet. These hills, while steep in many places and dif- 
ficult to work, are tillable to their summits. The valley broadens to- 
wards the north and becomes merged in the plain that characterizes the 
northern part of Lenox. The soil is gravelly and clayey loam, fertile 
in most parts. Hops have been in the past and still are in a compara- 
tive sense a large product. For a number of years it was second in the 
county in the quantity of this crop; in recent years the production has 
somewhat declined, while more attention is given to dairying, in the 
products of which the town ranks high. Large quantities of milk are 
shipped to the eastern markets from the railroad stations at Munnsville 
and Valley Mills. There were twenty years ago five cheese factories 
in the town. Considerable attention is given in some localities to the 
growing of small fruits, and the apple crop in good years is large. 

Oneida Creek is the only principal stream in Stockbridge, the main 
branch of which rises in Smithfield, traverses that town from northwest 
to southeast and enters Stockbridge in the southwest part, uniting with 
the direct branch south of the center of the town. As it flows down the 
west hill to the valley bottom it forms many falls and cascades, which 
add beauty to the scenery and in the past years turned many industrial 
wheels. 

There are extensive deposits of limestone and gypsum in this town, 
both of which are quarried. The gypsum is found in the east ridge in 
the north part of the town, around Valley Mills; the limestone in the 
hills on both sides of the valley in the southern and central parts; it has 
been quarried and burned at various points. A number of caves are 
open in the limestone, in some of which noxious gases exist, prevent- 
ing their full exploration. In the bed of a small stream that flows down 
the east hill in the vicinity of Munnsville, were found years ago certain 
identations which local discussion characterized as the foot prints of an- 
imals and men. This theory is now dispelled. 

The New York Ontario and Western Railroad extends along the 
slope of the east hill from north to south across the town, giving a fine 
view of the beautiful valley from its cars. There are stations at Munns- 
ville (now called Munns), at Valley Mills and at Pratts. The popula- 
tion of the town by census of 1893 was 1,704, about fifty less than the 
census of 1890 and about 300 less than the census of 1880. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— STOCKBRIDGE. 613 

The first settlers in Stockbridge were Nathan Edson and his sons, 
John, Barney and Calvin, who located in the southeast part in 1791. 
There were also four daughters in the family, one of whom was the wife 
of Robert Seaver. Descendants of the pioneer long remained in the 
town. Oliver Stewart came in a little later than Edson and located 
near him. Jonathan Snow also settled about the same time on the 
southeast corner lot of the town. William Sloan, George Bridge, and 
James Taft were pioneers of the last century, Sloan settling on a part of 
the Edson lot and Taft on part of the Oliver Stewart lot. Descendants 
of Mr. Bridge still live in town. Matthew Rankin, father of Jairus, 
who was the first physician in the town, and Aaron, a justice of the 
peace, settled early on a part of the Snow lot in the southeast corner of 
the town. Benajah House was a pioneer in the south part. Many per- 
sons leased lands of the Indians in this town and finally became per- 
manent residents; but most of them came in between about 1820 and 
1830. 

The first town meeting in Stockbridge was held at Munnsville on 
June 7, 1836, when the following officers were elected: Henry T. Sum- 
ner, supervisor; Hiram Whedon, clerk; Orin Wright, justice; Elisha A. 
Clark, William Page and James Cowen, assessors; John Hadcock and 
Thomas Wilson, poormasters; Jesse Bridge, Luther Hathaway, and 
John Potter, commissioners of highways; Orange R. Cook, Danforth 
Armour, and Albert G. Bartholomew, school commissioners; William 
Temple, collector; William Temple, Levi Johnson, and Jonathan Car- 
ter, constables; Aaron Rankin, Ores Ranney, and Ephraim C. Brown, 
school inspectors; Clark Buck, sealer of weights and measures. 

These men were almost without exception prominent in the com- 
munity and mostly members of leading families whose members had 
in earlier years aided materially in developing the town and founding 
its institutions. 

Among the prominent and successful farmers in this town, many of 
whom have passed away, may be mentioned the following: McGee 
Wilson, deceased; Williams Bridge, deceased; Addison Snell, deceased; 
Emerson Quackenbush, a large hop producer; Waterman Simonds, who 
built the stone house on the east road south of Munnsville; Captain 
Strong, who also built a stone house south of Munnsville and was a 
successful farmer; Fred Marshall and J. W. Rockwell, both large hop 
producers; Robert Clark, Samuel Spaulding, deceased; Lewis Hinman, 
deceased; Mackey Brothers, on the old Hinman farm; Adelbert Par- 



614 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

dee, George Miller, Warren J. Gilbert, Andrew Perry, Nathaniel Har- 
rington, Rensselaer Coe, John L. Foster, Austin Carver, Elbert Foster, 
Amos Bridge, John Hadcock, all dead; C. W. Dexter, Adelbert Ward, 
Orrin Porter, E: J. Spooner, Albert Lindsley, Charles Bunch, Norman 
Randall, Eri Day, and others who are living. 

Following is a list of the supervisors of Stockbridge from the forma- 
tion of the town to the present time, with the dates of their election 
1836-37, Henry T. Sumner; 1838, Asaph Pratt; 1839, Elisha A. Clark 
1840, Oren Wright; 1841, Samuel W. Hull; 1842, William Smith 
1843-46, Ebenezer Porter; 1847, Grove Hinman; 1848, John McPher- 
son; 1849-50, John Potter; 1851. Jonathan M. Forman ; 1852, Peter H. 
Smith; 1853, William Stringer; 1854, Abel H. Rawson ; 1855, James H. 
Gregg; 1856, John Cleveland ; 1857, Jonathan M. Wilson; 1858, Alvin 
Strong; 1859-60, Jonathan M. Wilson; 1861, Alvin Strong; 1862, Jon- 
athan M. Wilson; 1863, James H. Gregg; 1864, Jonathan M. Wilson; 
1865-68, Robert S. Barr; 1869-70, Julius Treat; 1871-72, A. Watson 
Armour; 1873-75, William H. Stringer; 1876-78, A. Watson Armour; 
1879, Roberts. Barr; 1880-82, Grove S. Hinman; 1883-95, George E. 
Woods; 1896-98, J. E. Quackenbush. 

The population of Stockbridge as shown by the census of different 
dates, has been as follows: 

1840 1845 1850 1855 1860 1865 1870 1880 1890 1892 

3,330 3,315 2,081 2,052 2,068 1,925 1,847 2,033 1,845 1,704 

Munnsville. — This is the largest of the three post villages in Stock 
bridge, and is situated in the southern part of the town in the Oneida 
valley. The first mercantile business here was the store of Asa Munn, 
who removed from Augusta in 1817 and soon afterward built a small 
store; he also engaged in milling and distilling. Later merchants were: 
Charles Chandler and his son Henry, Matthew Pratt, Hiram Whedon, 
William O. Sumner and Lorenzo Frost and James H. Lillibridge, who 
traded three years from 1870. George Colburn was then in trade about 
a year and sold to Clarence W. Dexter, a native and prominent citizen 
of this town. He enlarged the old store and has continued in business 
ever since. Nine years ago he took as a partner Clark W. Davis and 
the firm now is Dexter & Davis. 

A. H. Owen began hardware trade in 1866 and has ever since continued, 
his son now being a partner. C. D. Jacobs was a former dealer in 
boots and shoes. George F. Griner is in the grocery and drug trade, 
succeeding William J. Lyndon, who began in 1876. Julius Treat was 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— STOCKBRIDGE. 615 

a physician in practice from 1851 to 1877, and began mercantile trade in 
1878. W. T. Walker has a general store, succeeding F. L. Van Slyke. 
C. H. S. Lowe has a general store, succeeding his father, James Lowe, 
with whom he was a former partner; Henry Freeman was a member of 
the firm at one period. Dr. S. P. Moore, who has practiced since 1873, 
also conducts a drug store. Mrs. George Cook keeps a variety store. 

There are two hotels in the village — the Hotel Rightmyer, kept by 
Dennis Rightmyer, who took the house in 1874; the Central Hotel, 
conducted by Kelly & Burke, who succeeded Rudolph Zimmer, the first 
landlord. 

What are now the works of the Munnsville Plow Co. were established 
in 1853 by Daniel Holmes, William Stringer, Solomon Van Brocklin 
and R. S. Barr under the name of Holmes, Stringer & Co., and so con- 
tinued a few years in the manufacture of plows and other agricultural 
implements. After various changes in proprietorship, which have been 
described in detail in an earlier chapter, the company was incorporated 
in 1893 as the Munnsville Plow Company, with a capital of $50,000. 
J. E. Sperry is president; W. R. Paul, vice-president; W. F. Bridge, 
secretary and treasurer. 

The grist mill is now operated by C. M. Merrill & Son, who in 1898 
succeeded J. H. Merrill. Before that Jerome Merrill, father of J. H., 
operated it a number of years; the mill was built in 1822. There was 
an early saw mill, but it long since disappeared to make room for a 
woolen mill built by Eben and Whedon Blakeman; the woolen factory 
was not successful as a business. Henry Stewart also had an early 
wool carding mill which was used in recent years for a creamery. A 
Mr. Buck established a tannery at an early day, which was afterwards 
operated by James Hazeltine and others before noticed. There are 
two blacksmiths in Munnsville, L. P. Van Slyke and Joseph Carlton 
George Frost is operating an evaporator and a cider mill, and C. J. 
Bradner has a harness shop. 

The first permanently located physician in this town was Jairus Ran- 
kin, who began practice about 1812. Later ones were Orange Russell 
Cook, Henry T. Sumner, Julius Treat, and William Taylor. The only 
present physician besides Dr. Miller is William H. Griffiths, who has 
practiced many years. R. H. Woolver is the only attorney in the 
town. 

Stockbridge Village. — This little village is beautifully situated on the 
lower slope of the west hill about a mile above Munnsville, and has a 



616 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

station nearly a mile distant across the valley. The place was early 
and long known as Knoxville, from Hermon Knox, who was the first 
merchant there. Other early merchants were David Wood, who bought 
out Knox; Hiram Whedon, for a time a partner with Wood; Amadeas 
Hinman, Andrew J. Hinman, Matthew Pratt and Carlos Atkins. James 
H. Lillibridge began trade in 1877, buying the business of W. J. Nash, 
and continued fifteen years. C. C. White carried on a cabinet making 
business a number of years and sold to C. E. Love in 1891, who still 
continues it in connection with undertaking. C. C. White now con- 
ducts a hardware trade. Charles White has a general store in which 
he succeeded S. M. Davidson in 1898; he is also postmaster. The only 
public house is the Hotel de Van Loon, which has been kept by David 
Van Loon since 1883. Wadsworth Lyman and Luther Elphick were 
former blacksmiths; F. W. Cook began cabinet making in the village 
about fifty years ago and subsequently changed his business to wagon 
making, which he still continues. 

The first physician in the place was Dr. Henry T. Sumner, who began 
practice soon after 1830 and continued until his death. Dr. Fayette F. 
Elphick succeeded and at the present time Dr. A. E. Broga is prac- 
ticing. 

Valley Mills is a hamlet in the northern part of the town, where a 
post-office was established in 1870, with J. D. Dunham postmaster. 
The grist mill there was built about 1848 by Ebenezer Ranney for a 
woolen factory and was operated as such by him a few years, when 
William Bridge and Nathan Hayes acquired the property; since that 
time it has had several proprietors. It is now owned by C. W. Dexter, 
the Munnsville merchant, and the firm of Dexter & Davis have a branch 
store. A cider mill and plaster mill is connected with the grist mill. 

When this town was formed it was divided into fifteen school dis- 
tricts, the same number in existence at the present time. There were 
then in the town 803 children between the ages of five and sixteen 
years. There is only one Union school in the town, which was organ- 
ized at Munnsville in 1894 as district No 1. The present handsome 
building was erected in the same year at a cost of about $4,000, besides 
heating and furnishing. Frank M. Wiggins has been principal from 
the first and gives eminent satisfaction to the district. The school went 
under the Regents in 1896. 

The Congregational church at Munnsville was organized in 1838 and 
the meeting house built about 1834. In 1868 about $3,000 was ex- 
pended in improving the building. Rev. Roland A. Farnham is pastor. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 617 

The Methodist church at Stockbridge was organized as a station in 
1827 and has had a prosperous existence since, as before noticed. The 
building has recently been improved. A Universalist church that was 
organized at Stockbridge about 1837, disbanded about 1865 and the 
building was removed to Munnsville where the upper part is now in 
use as a public hall. There was also in former years a Congregational 
church, organized in 1834 and a house of worship erected; but the 
society soon disbanded and the building was demolished. 

The Town of Sullivan. 

This town was set off from Cazenovia in 1803, February 22, and in 
1809 its territory was greatly reduced bj' the formation from it of Lenox. 
The town was named from Gen. John Sullivan. It is bounded north 
by Oneida Lake, west by Lenox and the new town of Lincoln, south by 
Fenner, Cazenovia and Onondaga county, and west by Onondaga 
county. It contains 44,680 acres, with level surface in the northern 
part and rolling in the southern part. A large area in the northern 
part, bordering on the lake, is low and swampy, through which flows 
the Canaseraga Creek, augmented by the waters of the Cowasselon. 
Chittenango Creek flows through the town, forming a part of its west- 
ern boundary, and supplying splendid water power. Gypsum is found 
and has been extensively quarried, and water lime is also manufactured. 
The soil in the north part is a clayey loam alternating with muck and 
marl; in the south part it is gravelly loam. The somewhat celebrated 
White Sulphur Springs are near Chittenango village, and other mineral 
springs exist. The territory of this town possesses great historic inter- 
est in connection with the Indian wars and the Revolution. 

Settlement in Sullivan territory began in 1790 with the arrival of nine 
families in the vicinity of Canaseraga, whose names are given in the 
preceding general history of the town. Most of these settled perma- 
nently and descendants of some of them are still resident in the vicinity. 
The pioneers were soon followed by John G. Moyer, Capt. Timothy 
Brown, Col. Zebulon Douglass, long the most prominent figure; John 
Matthews, Philip Daharsh, Peter Dygart, Timothy Freeman, Martin 
Vrooman, Capt. Rosel Barnes, Robert Carter, Joseph and Benjamin 
Hosley, Jacob Patrick, John Knowles, John Adams, Robert Riddell, 
John Smith, John Walrath, the Beebe families, John Lower, Peter Ehle, 
David Burton, William Miles, John Keller, Ovid Weldon, Nicholas 
Pickard, John Owen French, Rev. Austin Briggs, Reuben Haight, and 
perhaps a few others. 



618 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

The first mills were built near the site of Chittenango by John G. 
Moyer, the grist mill being converted into a plaster mill about 1815; 
later it was made into a woolen cloth factory and burned about 1826. 
It was rebuilt by John Knowles. John Matthews owned in early years 
the well known Matthews mills on Chittenango Creek, which passed to 
his brother Samuel, of Salina. 

Capt. Rosel Barnes built the first frame house near Bridgeport and 
kept the first tavern. John Knowles became a prominent citizen and 
held the office of judge. John Smith kept an early tavern at Chitte- 
nango, where he took up 200 acres including the village site. Robert 
Riddell, son of Robert, was an early tanner and was associated with his 
brother David ; they succeeded Vincent Wilber. 

Reuben Hawley and William Malcoln were early settlers in the town 
and both kept stores at Canaseraga as early as 1805. Richard Lower, 
son of John, was the pioneer blacksmith in the town. The first phy- 
sician in the town was a Dr. Weed, who removed to Manlius. The 
next ones were Drs. Amos Amsden and John P. Kennedy. The first 
lawyers were William K. Fuller and John B. Yates, who settled in 
Chittenango in 1810. 

The early records of this town are lost, hence the only matters rela- 
tive to town officers that can be given is the following list of supervisors, 
which has been compiled from the archives in the county clerk's office : 

1807-09 inclusive, Jacob Patrick; 1810-14, Solomon Beebe; 1815, 
John Lee; 1810-18, John Knowles; 1819, Horatio G. Douglass; 1820- 
22, John Knowles; 1823-24, H. G. Douglass; 1825, John Adams; 1826, 
Job Wells; 1827-31, William K. Fuller; 1832, John Adams, 1833, 
GeorgeGrant; 1834, John Knowles; 1835-36, Job Wells; 1837, John 
Knowles; 1838, Daniel Walrath; 1839, John Knowles; 1840, Peter Van 
Valkenburgh; 1841-42, George Grant; 1843-44, George K. Fuller; 
1845-46, Daniel F. Kellogg; 1847-48, James Beebe; 1849-50, John 
Knowles; 1851-52, Damon Wells; 1853-54, David Dunham; 1855-57, 
Albert Mabie; 1858, George Grant; 1859, Ebenezer Pennock; 1860, R. 

B. Tuttle; 1861, Albert Mabie; 1862, Alvin Keller; 1863, W. E. Barn- 
ard; 1864, D. D. Walrath; 1805, Timothy S. Brown; 1866-70, Marcus 

C. Walrath; 1871-75, William Lincoln; 187G, D. D. Walrath; 1877-81, 
Francis H. Gates; 1882-89, Albert B. Dunham; 1890-91, Abram Wal- 
rath; 1892-93, Fritz C. Block; 1894-95, Philip H. Wager; 1896-97, 
Fritz C. Block. 

Canaseraga is the oldest village settlement in the town, and is the 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 619 

site of one of the ancient Tuscorara Indian villages. It is situated 
where the Chittenango Creek crosses the .Seneca turnpike a little to the 
northeast of Chittenango. A post-office was early established with the 
name of Sullivan, as at the present time, but it was closed many years. 
Mills were built previous to 1805. Early settlers here were Timothy 
Brown, John Dennie, who built the first frame house and kept a tavern, 
a Mr. Drake, also a tavern keeper, Solomon Beebe, another landlord, 
David Burton, and others before mentioned. The present mills were 
built in 1855 by Simon D. Paddock. Frank has a store and is post- 
master. 

Chittenango. — The early development of this village was due more 
to John B. Yates than to any other one man. He opened a large store, 
built a plaster mill in 1818, carried on transportation business on the 
canal, manufactured lime, etc. Robert and David Riddell established 
a tannery in 1815 in the building formerly occupied in the same busi- 
ness by Vincent Wilber. John Bouck built another tannery in 1817. 

The village was incorporated in 1842 and the names of the first 
officers and all of the village presidents are given in an earlier chapter. 
The post office was probably opened in 181G, with William K. Fuller 
postmaster. 

Later merchants in the village were Fuller & Clary, Yates & Cobb, 
James and George Crouse, John A. Lamphere, F. H. Hutchinson, 
James S. Atwell, Ambrose E. Gorton (still in trade), Robert and Daniel 
Stewart, A. J. and R. B. French, Thomas Clark, John Williams, Will 
iam Bates, Mitchell & Sims, Moses Parmalee and Albert Dunham, 
Hezekiah Beecher, Hugh White, the Atwater Brothers, Curtis & Steele, 
James Walrath, Richard Walrath, Benjamin Jenkins, Richard R. Wal- 
rath and C. V. Harbottle (partners), L. E. Shepard, Robert Kennedy, 
Lyman Gay (father of Harlan L. Gay, the present merchant), Nicholas 
Greminger, Joseph H. Walrath. H. M. Barrett, John Colyer, and a few 
others. Besides those mentined as now in business there are stores by 
A. N. Chariton, Abner Hatch, W. I. Tyler, George C. Clark, Costello 
& Root, and a few small shops. 

Manufacturing in Chittenango has not been extensive. The grist 
mill, after having been transformed into a roller mill, is now operated 
by Frank Suiter. John B. Yates had an oil mill on the site of the later 
paper mill, into which it was converted. Mr. Yates built astone woolen 
factory on the site of the later cotton mill ; the latter was operated suc- 
cessfully for a time, but was finally closed. The old Walrath foundry, 



620 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

established by Daniel Walrath, is operated now by Peter Walrath. The 
works of the Chittenango Pottery Company were established at the Land- 
ing in 1897; after being twice burned, the present brick structure was 
erected. The large canning works of Merrell & Soule (of Syracuse) are 
also located at the Landing. 

The well known Yates House was built in its first form early in the 
century, but is lost sight of in the present structure; Clark Wheeler, 
proprietor. The Dixon House, built in 1827 by Timothy Pratt, is con- 
ducted by O. A. Russell. 

The Chittenango Bank began business in 1853, with capital of $110,- 
000, increased to $150,000; closed its business in 1864. The First Na- 
tional Bank of Chittenango was organized in December, 1863, with 
capital of $50,000, increased to $150,000. It went into voluntary liqui- 
dation in 1883. The private bank of Walter H. Stewart was opened in 
1886. 

The first newspaper in the village was the Chittenango Herald, estab- 
lished in 1833 by Isaac Lyon. After two or three changes in name and 
proprietor, it was discontinued in 1856. The Madison County Times 
was founded in August, 1870, by Arthur White. Luke McHenry has 
owned it since 1883. 

Soon after the incorporation of the village, a fire company and a 
hook and ladder company were appointed, and apparatus purchased for 
fire protection. An engine house was built in 1843. After gradual 
changes made at different times the department now consists of one en- 
gine company, with hand engine; Yates Hose Company, Fuller Hose 
Company, and hook and ladder company. 

The celebrated Yates Polytechnic Institute was founded by John B. 
Yates in 1824, and was long a successful educational institution. It is 
now occupied by the Union school, organized in 1871. 

There are four churches in Chittenango — -Presbyterian, Baptist, Epis- 
copal and Catholic. The Presbyterian society is the successor of the 
Reformed Church, and built in 1838 a house of worship, the Presby- 
terians of that time uniting with the Reformed congregation in the 
work. This building was ultimately sold to the Baptists, by them to 
the Catholics and burned. Previous to that year the several denom- 
inatioiis had held services in what was called the Bethel, a small meet- 
ing house, which was used for school and religious purposes and was 
built about 1816. The Presbyterians withdrew from all connection 
with the Reformed society soon after the latter was organized. The 
Reformed society erected the stone church now in use. 



GAZETTEER OF TOWNS— SULLIVAN. 681 

The Baptist Church was organized here in 1841 and continued in ex- 
istence until about 1860. In 1868 the present First Baptist Church was 
organized, and in 1870-71 built its present house of worship. 

The First Methodist Church was organized in 1833, and their meet- 
ing house built in the following year. It was burned in 1863, soon 
after which the later building was erected. 

St. Paul's Episcopal Church was organized in 1855 and a church 
building erected in 1865 ; the Bethel was used for services up to that 
date. Services were long maintained with regularity, but in recent 
years the society has declined. 

St. Patrick's Church was formed soon after 1850, and in 1859 the 
meeting house, formerly occupied by the Presbyterians and later by the 
Baptists, was purchased. After this was burned the present edifice 
was erected. 

Chittenango Station on the Central Railroad has a post-office, with 
George W. Carpenter postmaster, and stores kept by A. W. Green, 
George W. Carpenter and William Hurlburt. The first merchant here 
was J. T. Burton. The Webb House, kept by F. L. Webb, and a hotel 
by Charles P. Eaton, with a few shops, complete the settlement. 

The village of Bridgeport is situated in the northwest part of the 
town and is partly in Onondaga county. Early settlers here were Isaac 
and John Delamater (1803), John Knowles, John Adams, and the Briggs, 
White, Eastford, Owen, Crownhart and other families. A hotel was 
built here long ago and burned in 1867; the site is still occupied by a 
hotel and another one is kept in the place; Gilbert Singerland and Hol- 
den Bushnell are the landlords. The Bridgeport Mills were built very 
early in the century and now, after many changes in ownership, are 
operated by the Snyder Brother. Stores are kept by Lewis V. Conk- 
lin, John Nichols, Wallace Billington and David H. Brown. Older 
merchants were Dunham & Sharpe, JohnO. Terpenny, Charles Billing 
ton and his brother, and Horace O. Draper, who now has a hardware 
and tin shop. 

Lakeport is a small post hamlet five miles east of Bridgeport. Reu- 
ben vSpencer was the first settler here and built a mill on the brook 
which took his name. Reuben Bushnell was another early settler; also 
William Williams, Richard Chapman and Zina Bushnell. A saw mill 
was built about 1850 by W. H. .Snedeker, now owned by Charles F. 
Pennock. A store building was erected about 1855 by Perry Edwards, 
where several merchants have done business. J. W. Phillips is the 



632 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

present merchant and postmaster. The Larkin House was built about 
1850 as the Lakeport House; it took its present name from David Lar- 
kin and is now kept by Edward Jacobs. The Avon House was built in 
1877 by John Dempsey; it is now unoccupied. 

The Spencer Brook Cheese Factory, a half mile west of Lakeport, 
was transformed into the Spencer Brook House and is kept by Edward 
F. Sternbergh. Charles F. Pennock has another cheese factory in this 
vicinity. 

The First Congregational Church of Oneida Lake was organized in 
1846 and services were held in the old house built in 1824 but unfin- 
ished until the organization; it was much improved in 1876. 

The Union Congregational Society was organized in 1834 in the north 
part of the town and retained its existence until about 1842. There is 
a Free Methodist Society which has a small church about three-fourths 
of a mile east of Lakeport. 



PART II. 

BIOGRAPHICAL 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



JONATHAN D. LEDYARD.' 

Jonathan Denise Ledyard was born at Middletown Point, in the 
State of New Jersey, on the 10th day of June, 1793, and died in Caze- 
novia on the 7th day of January, 1874. 

His father, Benjamin Ledyard, a native of Groton, in the State of 
Connecticut, was a near relative of John Ledyard, the distinguished 
traveler, as well as of Col Ledyard, who was treacherously slain in the 
Revolutionary war, after a gallant defense of Fort Griswold. Benja- 
min Ledyard himself served with credit as a major during the same 
struggle, bemg present at the battles of Monmouth, White Plains and 
others, and after the war settled in Middletown Point, being engaged, 
however, in business in the city of New York as a hardware merchant. 
In 1794, having been appointed by Gov. George Clinton to the county 
clerkship of the newly-erected county of Onondaga, then embracing a 
large portion of western New York, he removed his family, consisting 
of his wife, eight children and numerous negroes, to Aurora, on the 
shore of Cayuga Lake, making the journey from New York to Albany 
in a sloop, thence by wagon to Schenectady, there taking Durham 
boats or batteaux on the Mohawk, and through Wood Creek, Oneida 
Lake, the Seneca River and Cayuga Lake to his destination, where a 
log house, erected upon the very bank of the lake, was ready to receive 
him. At the tavern at Fort Schuyler, kept by John Post, the party 
were met by Peter Smith and James S. Kip, and the former took the 
family to his house, Mr. Kip carrying the baby, then ten months old, 
up the hill, and finding him no light burden. 

The mother of Jonathan D. Ledyard was Catherine Forman, a sister 
of General Jonathan Forman, also of Revolutionary memory, who died 
in Cazenovia soon after the beginning of the present century, and whose 

' From Cazenovia Republican, January 32, 1874, by Charles Stebbins, esq. 
in 



636 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tombstone is perhaps the oldest in the village cemetery, and also of 
Maj. Samuel vS. Forman, who came to Cazenovia with Col. John Linck- 
laen in 1793, and who, after residing here many years, removed to Sy- 
racuse, where he died a few years since at a very advanced age 

The subject of this sketch, upon the death of his mother, which oc- 
curred about 17'.)8, became a member of the family of his brother-in- 
law, the late Col. Lincklaen, and since that time has been a resident of 
Cazenovia, and, for many years past, its most conspicuous citizen. 

At a very early age he was sent to a family school at Albany, then 
kept by the celebrated Dr. Nott, and was afterward placed in a school 
at Whitesboro, under the charge of Dr. Halsey. He then attended the 
grammar school of Union College, after which he followed the regular 
course at that institution, under the presidency of his old preceptor. 
Dr. Nott, graduating in 1813. He pursued the study of law in the 
offices of Childs & Stebbins of Cazenovia, and of General Kirkland of 
Utica, and was admitted to the bar in 1815. 

He never, however, engaged in the active practice of his profession, 
but soon after arriving at his majority entered the land office of Col. 
Lincklaen, the agent of, and, in a small share, proprietor in the Holland 
Land Company in Cazenovia. He was soon associated with Col. Linck- 
laen in the agency, and afterward, in connection with him, purchased 
the interest of the company in the unsold lands and debts of the estab- 
lishment. The increasing infirmities of Col. Lincklaen, followed by his 
lamented death in 1832, cast upon Mr. Ledyard, then a very young 
man, the burden of the entire property, consisting of about 150,000 
acres of land, lying in the counties of Madison and Chenango. The 
depressing effect of the war of 1812 upon the commercial interests of 
the country, the severity of several untoward seasons, and the opening 
of the western country to settlement, in consequence of the projection 
and construction of the Erie Canal, made his task a very heavy one. 
By great energy, untiring industry and strict probity he succeeded in 
meeting his obligations to the company in such a manner as to leave a 
moderate competence for himself and his family. Heat once perceived 
that a coercive policy would result, not only in the ruin of many set- 
tlers upon the tract, but would, in the end, retard the growth of the 
country, by driving them to settle upon the better but more distant 
lands of the new States. Accordingly, he forebore, encouraged, as- 
sisted, sometimes threatened, but rarely prosecuted, until, in 1844, he 
was enabled, from the payments made to him, to discharge the last 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 637 

installment of the very large debt to the company, incurred upon the 
purchase of the propert)^ and received a conveyance of the lands not 
previously deeded. He made himself acquainted with the character, 
habits, and the business and family relations of his clientage, many of 
whom owe their prosperity, in large measure, to his judicial counsel, 
his gentle reproof, or his warm words of encouragement. He was re- 
garded by the people upon his tract more as their friend and adviser 
than as their creditor, and there were few who did not look forward to 
a business visit to him with the pleasurable anticipation with which one 
expects to meet a valued friend. For half a century his name has been 
a household word in hundreds of homes, and his character, manners 
and sayings discussed at their firesides and always with feelings of af- 
fection and reverence. Of many hundreds of purchasers of land from 
him there are very few with whom he ever had any dispute, and almost 
none with whom he ever had any litigation. 

From his earliest manhood he was largely interested in improving 
the thoroughfares of the country. He succeeded Col. Lincklaen as 
president of the Third Great Western Turnpike Co., a work which was 
completed in 1810 at a cost of over $90,000, a colossal sum for those 
days, and, until its dissolution, superintended its affairs with great care 
and faithfulness. In connection with his son, Ledyard Lincklean, he 
was largely instrumental in the construction of the plank road from 
Caz.enovia to Chittenango, and he took a warm interest in the comple- 
tion of the railroad from here to Canastota. 

He was largely interested in agricultural pursuits, and was the first 
president of the Madison County Agricultural Society, formed in 1841, 
and many persons now living will remember with what zeal and effi- 
ciency he executed the functions of that position. 

In early life, like most young men of that day, he entered the militia 
of the State, then, in consequence of its meritorious service during the 
war of 1813, an organization of great influence and standing. At the 
annual musters he was brought in close contact with the leading men 
of this and the adjoining counties, and formed many strong and life-long 
attachments. He took great pride in discharging the duties belonging 
to his several commissions, and rose to the rank of brigadier-general, 
resigning his commission in 1828. 

But it was not in his business and public relations that Mr. Ledyard's 
character was best exhibited. His local and personal attachments were 
unusually strong, and it is for his personal traits that he will be longest 
remembered in this community. 



638 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Occupying the conspicuous position in the village which he greatly 
loved, he fairly discharged the obligations connected with his station. 
He was ever foremost in the support of every project calculated to pro- 
mote the prosperity or to enhance the beauty of the place. Indeed, it 
may well be said of him, " Si monumetilum quaeris, circumspice" for 
there has been scarcely an improvement made in or near the village 
which does not owe its origin to his forethought, assistance, influence 
or example. 

In every charitable enterprise he was always counted upon as a cer- 
tain and liberal contributor, and his heart and purse was ever open 
to the call of every worthy applicant . 

Simple in his personal habits, and unostentatious in his mode of life, 
he ever exercised a generous and graceful hospitality, and, for the last 
half century, his mansion has not been a day without a fire on its hearth 
or a hospitable host to welcome a neighbor or a passing traveler within 
its doors. 

His mental and moral qualities were such as to attach to him the 
warm affection of those with whom he was brought in immediate con- 
tact. His kind heart went out to his kinsfolk and friends with a wealth 
of affection which secured a corresponding return. Gentle in his man- 
ners, sympathizing in his emotions, magnanimous in his feelings, just 
in his dealings and frank in his bearing, he possessed, in an extraordin- 
ary degree, the affection of his family and friends, which in the latter 
years of his life ripened into a loving veneration. 

Descendants of Jonathan Denise Ledyard, and Jane Strawbridge, his 
wife. Children : 

Lincklaen Ledyard (name reversed by Act of Legislature, 30 March, 
1844, to Ledyard Lincklaen), married Helen C. vSeymour (only child, 
Helen, wife of Charles S. Fairchild). 

John Denise Ledyard, married Elizabeth Fitz-Hugh (no children 
survived them). 

George Strawbridge Ledyard, married Anne Fitz-Hugh. Children: 
John Denise, Richard Fitz-Hugh, Jane, wife of Eliphalet Reming- 
ton; Mary Fitz-Hugh, Helen Seymour, Wolters (of whom the first two 
are no longer living). 

Helen, married John F. Seymour; no descendants. 

L. Wolters, married Elizabeth Vail; only one daughter, Murray. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 629 

JOHN LINCKLAEN. 

The name of this native Hollander stands prominent among those of 
the distinguished men who opened the lands of the Empire State to 
settlement and promoted the welfare of the pioneers. John Lincklaen 
was born in Amsterdam, Holland, on December 34, 1768. His early 
years were passed in Switzerland where he received education from a 
private tutor. At the age of fourteen years he entered the navy of 
Holland, remaining in the service several years and receiving promo- 
tion to the rank of lieutenant. During this period of service he was 
called upon to travel extensively in Europe and Asia, and visited Cey- 
lon and Smyrna. In 1790, at the age of twenty-two years, he came to 
America in the interest of Peter Stadnitzki, one of the members of the 
great syndicate known as the Holland Land Company. Bearing letters 
of introduction to Theophilus Cazenove, then of Philadelphia, Mr. 
Lincklaen arrived in that city in due time and there completed arrange- 
ments for a journey of exploration into the wilderness of central New 
York. In the month of September, 1792, he started, in company with 
two experienced woodsmen, and journeyed northwards towards the 
Chenango Twenty Towns, contemplating the purchase of one or more 
of them. His journal kept on that journey is in existence and is of 
deep interest. He reached the east line of the Gore on the 8th of Oc- 
tober, carefully investigated its natural advantages, and on the 11th of 
that month, as he recorded, he encamped at the foot of Cazenovia lake. 
After thoroughly exploring the surrounding region, he reported to Mr. 
Stadnitzki, the result of which was the purchase by the Holland Com- 
pany of Road Township and No. 1 of the Twenty Towns, comprising 
in all about 130,000 acres. Mr. Lincklaen was appointed agent of the 
company. 

In the winter of 1793 Samuel S. Forman became acquainted in Phil- 
adelphia with both Mr. Lincklaen and Mr. Cazenove, and engaged with 
them to come into the new purchase, on the site of Cazenovia village 
and act as clerk in the conduct of the company's store. The story of 
his early experiences in that capacity has been told in this work. Mr. 
Forman met Mr. Lincklaen by appointment in New York in April, 
1793, where a large stock of goods was purchased and brought on to 
Utica, whence instalments were transported to Cazenovia. Mr. Linck- 
laen came on with a number of settlers, as elsewhere related. On the 
afternoon of the 8th of May the little company encamped at the south 



630 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

end of the lake, where tents were pitched and steps taken for the build- 
ing of houses. Mr. Lincklaen entered with energy and efficiency upon 
the sale of the lands, and so liberal were the arrangements for payment 
made by him, that settlers came in rapidly. Roads were laid out, 
bridges built, mills erected and by his zealous activity, unfailing good 
judgment, and unceasing labor he was soon surrounded by a prosper- 
ous community of which he was the founder. His service as agent of 
the land company continued for a number of years, during all of which 
period he was esteemed for his liberality, his integrity, and his ability. 

Mr. Lincklaen was also associated during one period with the Hol- 
land company in their ownership of the great purchase in the western 
part of the State. Through his native qualifications, his habits of ac- 
curate observation, and his extensive reading, he acquired a large fund 
of information and was always especially conversant with the current 
affairs of the world. His tastes were scholarly and refined and his 
demeanor and social conduct that of the courteous gentleman. His 
stately brick mansion overlooking the lake, built in the first decade of 
the century, and now the home of Charles S. Fairchild, was noted for 
its generous hospitality. 

Mr. Lincklaen married a sister of Jonathan Denise Ledyard in 1797, 
and to his brother-in-law the land business passed in course of time. 
Mr. Lincklaen was a consistent and broad minded Christian. For some 
years he leaned towards the Unitarian faith, in which several of his in- 
timate friends were believers; but later in life he was led to adopt the 
Trinitarian belief, to which he adhered until his death. He was fore- 
most among the founders of the old church in Cazenovia. 

In 1820 Mr. Lincklaen was stricken by paralysis, and he died on the 
9th of February, 1822, at the comparatively early age of fifty-four 
years, leaving no descendants. 



ELISHA PAYNE. 

Elisha Payne was a lineal descendant of one of three brothers by 
the name of Payne, who settled in Plymouth as early as 1621, and who 
were forced to leave England for the same cause that drove the Pil- 
grims to find a home in the New World. He was born in North East, 
Dutchess county, N. Y., December 3, 1762. His parents, Abram and 
Rebecca Payne, were natives of Connecticut. The former was born in 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 631 

1722, and died in Hamilton, April 31, 1801, in his eightieth year. The 
latter died in the same place December 25, 1810, aged eighty-six years. 
They settled in Dutchess county about 1760. They had four sons and 
four daughters. Elisha was the youngest of the children and the only 
one that left issue. In consequence of the misfortune that befel their 
parents in the loss of their property, Elisha and vSamuel cared for and 
supported them until they died. Elisha had but few advantages for 
an education, such only as were afforded by the common schools of 
his town, but his habits were studious and he was fond of reading. 
Every good book that he was able to get he read carefully, and so 
stored his mind with valuable information that enabled him to compe- 
tently discharge the duties of the various offices of trust and responsi- 
bility that were confided to him by his townsmen and those in authority 
in after years. On the 17th of September, 1787, he was married to 
Polly Brooks, a native of Essex, Conn. She was born January 12, 1706, 
and died May 4, 1796. By her he had four children, three sons and 
one daughter, viz. : Abram, John, Samuel and Mary. 

August 17, 1797, he married Esther Douglass, daughter of Rev. Caleb 
Douglass of Whitestown, one of the pioneers of that section, and a de- 
scendant of the Douglass family of Scotland. Esther was born July 25, 
1778, and died at Hamilton September 12, 1853. By her he had four- 
teen children, twelve sons and two daughters, two of whom died in in- 
fancy. The names of those that grew to maturity are here given in the 
order of their birth : Elijah, Elisha, Mansfield, Joseph, Nelson, Charles 
C, Thomas, Maria, Henry B., William, Esther and Edwin. 

In 1794 Samuel Payne settled in the dense forest near what is now 
the south line of the village of Hamilton. Elisha came in the next 
year and bought lot No. 2, on which more than half of the village of 
Hamilton is situated. The name of Payne Settlement was given to 
this locality, and a few years thereafter Elisha changed it to Hamilton, 
in honor of one he greatly admired, Alexander Hamilton. 

Elisha built a rude log cabin near, in which he lived a short time, 
but the influx of New England people who came as actual settlers, or 
with a view to settlement, demanded a larger and more commodious 
building in which they could find a temporary home. Accordingly, 
Mr. Payne built a large frame house, which he kept as a tavern for 
several years, and until another building was put up for that purpose 
in 1812. Mr. Payne was anxious that a village of importance should be 
built up here, and as an inducement to mechanics and others whose 



633 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

presence would help to bring about that result, he gave them land and 
helped them build their homes on the same. He gave the land for the 
park that now greatly beautifies the village, and the same was used 
many years by the militia of the adjoining towns as a parade ground. 
Mr. Payne thoroughly identified himself with every enterprise that 
seemed to him would be of permanent benefit to Hamilton. He in- 
vested largely of his means in the construction of a turnpike from 
Cherry Valley through Hamilton to Skaneateles, the successful com- 
pletion of which was mainly due to his influence. He was the friend 
of education, and was one of the few who were instrumental in estab- 
lishing an academy, which flourished here many years. It was owing 
to his influence and his great success in securing subscriptions to the 
Society that the Seminary was finally located at Hamilton. 

In politics Mr. Payne was a Federalist, and afterwards a Whig, and 
always took a great interest in his party's success. He was one of the 
first judges of the Court of Common Pleas, appointed by Morgan Lewis, 
governor, March 31, 1806, and held that ofifice about nine years. 

In the early years of his residence here the people bestowed on him 
several offices of trust and honor, but in the closing years of his life he 
declined all offices of a public nature. Mr. Payne was devoted to the 
cause of Christianity. He was one of the founders of the Baptist 
Church in Hamilton and one of its earnest supporters, and assisted in 
building three churches in Hamilton. In his domestic life Mr. Payne 
was a kind husband and loving father, teaching his children by his up- 
right life the value and importance of virtue, and inspiring them with 
the worthy ambition to be men and women in the loftiest sense of the 
word. His teachings were not forgotten,. but are fully exemplified in 
the lives of his children. 

Elisha Payne died February 4, 1843. 



BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CHAPMAN, 

Well known during all of his mature life as a successful attorney and 
a public spirited citizen of the old town of Lenox, was born at Clock- 
ville, March 24, 1817. He was a son of Col. Stephen Chapman, the 
Clockville pioneer, and his wife, Keturah Palmer, who was a native of 
Stonington, Conn. The family migrated to Madison county in 1812. 
Stephen Chapman was a mechanic, but being a ready speaker and 




B. F. CHAPMAN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 633 

making himself familiar with the common forms of law, he was early 
employed in the trial of minor cases in the community and finally 
studied law in the office of Israel S. Spencer. He was an influential 
citizen of the town and secured the establishment of the first post-office 
at Clockville in 1814, in which he was postmaster from that year until 
1847, with only a brief interval. 

Benjamin F. Chapman was endowed by nature with marked charac- 
teristics and on the death of his brother Stephen in 1831, who had 
already been admitted to the bar, his father decided that he should 
study law. He entered Stockbridge academy in 1834 and the next 
spring began attendance at the Hudson River seminary, where he 
showed remarkable aptitude for mathematics. In the fall of 1835 he 
began the study of languages in Fayetteville academy, remaining there 
until he entered Hamilton college in August, 1836, graduating in 1839. 
He was a ready speaker and the prize orator in his junior year. Upon 
his graduation he was one of the honor speakers, delivering the philo- 
sophical oration. Entering his father's office he pursued law study 
until his admission to the bar in 1841 and subsequently to practice in 
all the courts. In the course of his educational career he became a 
skilled surveyor and was engaged in that profession to a considerable 
extent. He was also a popular lecturer, and took an active part in 
local politics, holding a number of town offices, and was also district 
attorney for the county. Mr. Chapman married in 1841 Huldah Wil- 
cox, and was father of three children. In 1880 he took up his residence 
in Oneida, and died May 39, 1893. 



PERRY G. CHILDS. 

Perry G. Childs, one of the early settlers and long a prominent citi- 
zen of Cazenovia village, was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1779. He 
was a son of Dr. Timothy and Rachel Easton Childs, and married in 
1807, Catharine Ledyard, daughter of Benjamin Ledyard, of Aurora, 
N. Y. Mr. Childs received a liberal education and early in his life took 
up the study of law and was in due time admitted to the bar. He was 
possessed of exceptional intellectual attributes, as well as a high sense 
of personal honor and integrity, and soon after his settlement in Caz- 
enovia became a successful practitioner and one of the foremost men of 
the town in respect of its public affairs. When the village was incor- 



C34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 

porated in 1810 he was chosen one of the first board of trustees, and 
his name appears in the tax list of 1811 as owner of property valued at 
$1,50). More than eighty years ago he built the fine old residence in 
Cazenovia which is now occupied by Mrs. John Stebbins, who is his 
granddaughter. Mr. Childs was called to fill various positions of re- 
sponsibility, for which his excellent judgment, wise foresight, and con- 
servative consideration eminently fitted him. When the old Madison 
County Bank began business on the 1st of January, 1832, Mr. Childs 
was chosen its president, a position which he occupied many years to 
the entire satisfaction of all who were interested in the institution. Mr. 
Childs died in 1835 while still at the height of his mental and bodily 
powers. His wife died in 1849. They left seven children, as follows: 
Catharine Rachel, who married Augustus W. Smith; Helen, who mar- 
ried Sidney T. Fairchild, father of Charles S. Fairchild; Henry, who 
died in 1837; Sophia Ledyard, who married Rev. George S. Boardman; 
Perry G. Childs, jr., who died in California in 18.93; Jane S., who mar- 
ried K. N. Guiteau and resides in Minnesota; and J. D. Ledyard Childs, 
who died in 1858. 



C. WILL CHAPPELL. 

C.WiLL Chappell was born in Cazenovia, Madison county, April 5, 
1845, a son of Chester L. and S.arah M. (Jackson) Chappell. His grand- 
father was one of the earlier settlers of Cazenovia whither he removed 
from Andovor, Mass. Mr. Chappell was educated at Cazenovia Sem- 
inary but began active life at the early age of fourteen as a clerk in 
Charles Crandall's Cazenovia bookstore. In this business he was sub- 
sequently associated with William Watkins under the firm name of 
Chappell & Watkins for about one year. At the end of that period 
Mr. Chappell took a position with a New York publishing house whose 
output was principally school text books, and remained in their em- 
ploy as a traveling salesman until 1869. In that year he went West, 
locating in Atchison, Kansas, where for a few months he held a part- 
nership in a book and stationery business. Returning East in January, 
1870, he settled in Oneida where he has since resided. On his arrival 
here he engaged in a clothing business in the opera house block on 
Main street (Chase & Chappell). This business was continued until 
1879. In 1877 the firm of Chappell, Tuttle & Co. purchased the busi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 635 

ness of E. W. Jones who, some years previously, had established a 
business in Oneida as a dealer and jobber in undertakers' supplies. 
Chappell, Tuttle & Co. continued this trade for two years and in 1879 
purchased the business of Maxwell, McWeeney & Co. of Rochester, 
Mr. Maxwell retaining his interest and the firm becoming Chappell, 
Chase, Maxwell & Co. This firm, which became known as one of the 
largest in this country, began the manufacture of caskets and under- 
takers' supplies at Oneida September 1, 1879. The jobbing house in 
Rochester was continued for some years, and in 1883 a branch was es- 
tablished at New York city. In 1890, b}^ the consolidation of the three 
largest and most prominent casket houses in the United States, namely, 
Chappell, Chase, Maxwell & Co., Hamilton, Lemon, Arnold & Co., and 
the Stein Manufacturing Co. of Rochester, the National Casket Com- 
pany was formed with a capital stock of $3,000,000, which was after- 
wards increased to $6,000,000. Mr. Chappell was made first vice-pres- 
ident of the corporation, and general manager of these large interests, 
a position he still retains. Some idea of the proportions of this business 
may be gained from the fact that it gives employment to from 1,500 to 
2,000 skilled mechanics, as well as a large force of clerks and salesmen, 
and that customers are found in every State in the Union. At the 
Oneida plant are from 350 to 300 employees with a yearl}' output of 
about 30,000 caskets. In addition to the cares which are involved in 
the management of a business of this scope, Mr. Chappell, who has 
been a busy man all his life, has been interested as a stockholder or 
director in most of the manufacturing enterprises of Oneida. He has 
served as a director of the Oneida Valley National Bank, and for sev- 
eral years as trustee of the Oneida Savings Bank of which he is now 
president. As a citizen he has shown no lack of zeal in promoting 
the welfare of this village, and was especially active in forwarding the 
high school project. He was also interested in the inception of the 
Warner Water Works, and was one of the incorporators of the street 
railroad. Mr. Chappell has served for upwards of twenty years as super- 
intendent of the Sunday school of the Cochran Memorial Presbyterian 
church, of which he is also a trustee. The Chappell residence on Eliza- 
beth street, which is an ornament to the village, was built by Mr. Chap- 
pell in 1886, and in 1896 he further beautified the grounds by the 
addition of a park on the site of the old Seminary buildings which he 
had purchased and demolished. Mr. Chappell is a Mason of the thirty- 
second degree, holding membership in Doric Chapter of Oneida, and 



636 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Central City Commandery, and Syracuse Consistory of Syracuse. He 
has served as president of the National Burial Case Association, and is 
now president of the Eastern Burial Case Association. For a period of 
four years he acted as trustee of Cazenovia Seminary. Politically he is 
a Democrat, and has frequently served as a delegate to county and 
State conventions; he was an active supporter of Cleveland in 1884 and 
1888, and in those years campaigned the county. After the Chicago 
convention of 1896 he took a stand with the sound money Democrats 
and at once organized a sound money club in Oneida, the second in this 
State, the first having been formed by the late Roswell P. Flower. Mr. 
Chappell has found much recreation in travel, and has visited at differ- 
ent periods old Mexico, Bermuda, and the West Indies. In 1896 he 
made a Mediterranean trip, his itinerary including the Holy Land, 
Egypt, Greece, and Turkey. He first married in 1869, Emily, daugh- 
ter of Lewis S. Bridger of Oneida Castle. In 1874 he married Mary 
E., daughter of Calvin Wells of Oneida Castle. 



S. ALLEN CURTIS. 

Among the pioneers of the town of Madison who came into the county 
just before the beginning of the present century, were members of the 
Curtis family, whose settlement has been noticed in the history of that 
town. From one of these is descended S. Allen Curtis, a lifelong and 
respeted citizen of Madison. He was born at Erieville December 24, 
1846, and is a son of Allen Curtis, who still lives in the town, where he 
was born September 11, 1811, a son of the pioneer. Allen Curtis is 
now serving his fiftieth year as Justice of the Peace, at the age of 
eighty-nine — an official record which for length of duration, cannot be 
equaled in the State During" his long life in Madison he has been 
closely identified with its growth and progress and his influence has 
ever been exerted for the welfare of the community. 

S. Allen Curtis remained on the home farm until he was twenty-four 
years old, when he was appointed station agent on the railroad at Sols- 
ville, and where he also established a coal business. Eight years later, 
in 1879, he received the appointment of keeper at the county poor farm, 
in which capacity he served four and a half years, when he resigned to 
engage in the coal business at Eaton station, as a member of the firm 
of Bonney & Curtis. In 1886 he was elected Superintendent of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 637 

Poor of Madison county and four times has been re-elected to this office. 
He is regarded throughout the county as a prudent and competent public 
officer, under whose care the unfortunate poor are comfortably main- 
tained and the interests of the county carefully guarded. Mr. Curtis is 
a staunch Republican and wields a wholesome influence in the local 
councils of that party. 

On November 38, 1878, Mr. Curtis was married to Gertie M. Bridge, 
of Madison. Two children have been born to them — M. Ethel, aged 
fourteen years, and Elma, aged thirteen years. 



EDWARD F. HASKELL. 

Edward Frost Haskell, who died in Oneida November 2, 1892, in 
the thirty-ninth year of his age, was an honored member of the Madison 
County Bar, and a man who, although in the prime of life when he died, 
had already made a wide reputation. He was born at Orange, N. J., 
October 31, 1853, a son of Llewellyn and Marianna (Frost) Haskell. 
His father, a New York merchant of large interests, resided at Orange, 
and was the owner and founder of Llewellyn Park in that place, where 
he was an esteemed and prominent citizen. The people of Orange have 
honored his memory by placing his bust (by Powers) at the entrance 
of Llewellyn Park. His mother was a native of Charleston, N. C. , and 
came of the old Southern family of Frost; her great grandfather was 
the first Governor of South Carolina. Mr. Haskell was prepared for 
college at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute, and entered the University 
of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He began the study of law in the office of 
Hon. John E. Smith of Morrisville, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. 
Following his admission he formed a partnership with Judge Smith 
which continued five years, or until Mr. Haskell's election to the State 
Legislature in 1883. During their association Mr. Haskell acted as 
assistant district attorney, Mr. Smith being then the prosecuting officer. 
Mr. Haskell served two consecutive years in the Assembly, and was 
chairman of the Committee on Railroads, being perhaps the youngest 
man who has held that position. He was a man of brilliant ability and 
wide attainments, and possessed social qualities which gained for him 
many warm friends. After his retirement from the Legislature he set- 
tled in Oneida where he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice until his 
untimely death. He was a member and for some years vestryman of 



638 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

St. John's Episcopal Church; he was also a Knight Templar Mason. 
Mr. Haskell married in 1873, Mary E. Howe, daughter of Henry Clin 
ton Howe, for nearly forty years a woolen manufacturer in Madison 
county. Three children were born to them: Edna Rutledge, Florence, 
and Edward Llewellyn. 



VERY REV. JAMES A. KELLEY. 

Very Reverend James A. Kelley, dean of this Diocese, and pastor 
of St. Patrick's Church in Oneida for nearly fourteen years, was born 
at Waterloo, N. Y., September 15, 1850. He received the rudiments 
of his education in the public and select schools of Syracuse, N. Y., and 
having completed the course at Niagara College, entered St. John's 
Jesuit College at Fordham, N. Y., where he took the usual course and 
graduated as Medal Man, the first of his class. He was ordained to the 
priesthood at the Seminary at Troy, N. Y., May 30, 1874, and was im- 
mediately delegated by his bishop to perform the duties of his sacred 
calling as pastor in the Adirondack region of Northern New York, 
where he labored about seven and one-half years in the erection of 
churches, five of which he brought to completion. Later he was trans- 
ferred to the pastorate of St. Mary's Church at Baldwinsville, N. Y., 
and remained there lour years and a half, during which time he re- 
modeled and enlarged the church edifice, and was prominent in numer- 
ous works for the general welfare and advancement of his congregation 
He came to Oneida in 1886 and his indefatigable labor here in the build- 
ing up of his parish speaks for itself; he believes in work rather than 
words. Known of all men, he is daily accomplishing work that will 
stand as an honor to the village, a pride to all its citizens, a beacon light 
of religious zeal and generosity, and a monument to Catholicity that 
will live in testimony of its founder and his people for generations to 
come. To his energy is largely due the erection of the new St. Pat- 
rick's. On May 30th, 1899, Father Kelley celebrated his twenty-fifth 
anniversary, his silver jubilee. His parish extends twelve miles 
south, eight miles north, and five miles east and west of Oneida village, 
and numbers about 350 families. The church property includes the 
handsome new church edifice, dedicated in 1889, the parochial residence 
adjoining which was erected in 1897 and is an ornument to the village, 
and the beautiful parish cemetery of thirty-five acres. The history of 





GEORGE H. ENSIGN. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 639 

the growth and development of the parish is given elsewhere in this 
volume. At the time of this writing (1899), the tenth anniversary of 
the dedication of the church is approaching, and in preparation the in- 
terior of the edifice is being redecorated, and a pipe organ and three 
marble altars are now being erected. The work of Father Kelley in 
this community has not only endeared him to his own people, but has 
gained for him the confidence and esteem of all. 



GEORGE H. ENSIGN, 

PROPRIETOR OF MAPLE GROVE STOCK FARM, 

Of the town of Nelson, Madison county, N. Y., was born in that town 
March 2, 1852. He is a son of Thomas Ensign and Laura, daughter of 
James and Betsey Bailey. Thomas Ensign was born in Hartford, Conn., 
October 37, 1812, and is a son of Isaiah and Eunice (Vining) Ensign, 
who came to this county about 1833 and was soon followed by his fam- 
ily of eight children, named as follows: Louisa, Alma, William, Hul- 
dah, Sally, Willis, and two others (Isaiah and Eunice) who died in Sims- 
bury, Conn. Thomas Ensign's children were James, Albert, Anson, 
Amelia (wife of Minor Anderson), George H. (the subject), and Cor- 
nelia. 

George H. Ensign was educated in his native town, at the same time 
sharing in the farm life of the homestead, in which occupation he be- 
came well know as one of the progressive and successful farmers of the 
county. In addition to his dairying interests, he has given a large 
share of his attention to the raising of Holstein cattle, of which he has 
one of the finest herds in the country. The name of Maple Grove 
Stock Farm, the homestead, is now widely known and its pure blooded 
stock finds an extensive sale. Mr. Ensign is a public spirited citizen, 
has shown an active interest in the advancement of education in his 
town and in the general welfare of the community, but has not aspired 
to political honor. 

Mr. Ensign married Carrie Louise, daughter of Ralph Ross Wallace, 
on July 6, 1886. He has four children: Anna Laura, Charles Sidney, 
Belle Elizabeth and Wendall George. 



640 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

GERRIT A. FORBES. 

Gerrit a. Forbes, justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New 
York, was born May 30, 1836, near Clockville, Madison county, a son 
of Isaac J. and Abigail (Sayles) Forbes. His grandfather was Jacob 
Forbes, a farmer of the town of Lenox, who reared a family of ten sons 
and three daughters, of whom Isaac J. was the youngest. He died in 
Clockville at the age of eighty-six. 

The father of Jacob Forbes was a Scotchman, who came to Mohawk 
valley at the time of its early settlement. The family name, although 
known as Forbes in Scotland, in the Mohawk valley took the form of 
Forbush. Isaac J. Forbes, the father of the subject, was born at Clock- 
ville, Madison county, and died at La Fayette, Ind. , when about fifty 
years of age. His wife was a daughter of Silas Sayles and a grand- 
daughter of William Sayles, formerly of Connecticut, who came to this 
part of the State. Silas Sayles was at one time postmaster at Peter- 
boro. To Isaac J. Forbes and his wife were born eleven children, three 
sons and eight daughters, of whom Gerrit A. was the sixth in order 
of birth. The mother of these children died in 1852, at the age of 
forty-six. She had been a schoolmate of the famous American philan- 
thropist, Gerrit Smith. Oaly two of her daughters are now living, 
namely Mary A. H., widow of Daniel King, residing at Syracuse, 
N. Y., and Harriet T., widow of Darius Johnson, Canastota, N. Y. 

Judge Forbes was reared a farmer boy and received a common school 
education. In 1860, feeling a strong inclination toward the legal pro- 
fession, he began the study of law with the Hon. B. F. Chapman of 
Clockville, was admitted to the bar May 13, 1863, and became the law 
partner of Judge Chapman August 1, 1863. From January 1, 1871, to 
January 1, 1874, he occupied the office of district attorney for Madison 
county and was elected to the office of Justice of the Supreme Court in 
November, 1887. 

July 10, 1862, Mr. Forbes married Ellen Brooks of Clockville, N. Y., 
daughter of Colon and Matilda (Hills) Brooks. She is the mother of 
two children, Maude I., wife of Daniel Fiske Kellogg, city editor of 
the New York Si:n, and Claude L., a graduate of Yale University, 
attorney at law, Syracuse, N. Y. Mrs. Kellogg is a graduate of the 
Canastota Academy and her husband of Amherst College. He was 
valedictorian of the class of 1881 ; they have one son, Daniel Fiske 
Kellogg, jr. 




^^"^^^^^^ ,k^^ay^ory:J 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 641 

Judge Forbes has practiced law in Canastota since 1868, where he 
settled in 1873. In 1884 he became the head of the law firm of Forbes, 
Brown & Tracy at Syracuse, N. Y., having taken the place of the Hon. 
George N. Kennedy in the firm of Kennedy & Tracy. Mr. Brown 
was of the old law firm of Pratt, Mitchell & Brown. Mr. Pratt was 
justice of the iSupreme Court and attorney-general of the State. Judge 
Kennedy was retired by age from the Supreme Court bench January 
1, 1893. 

Judge Forbes is a Republican and in fraternal matters is a Mason and 
an Odd Fellow. He was president of the Board of Education of Can- 
astota for twelve years, and has been prominently connected with all 
public enterprises and all movements having for their aim the material 
prosperity and moral advancement in the community in which he lives. 



W. JEROME HICKOX. 

W. Jerome Hickox, who died at his home in Oneida Castle, March 
4, 1894, in the fifty-fifth year of his age, was one of Oneida's most 
valued and influential citizens. He was born in Syracuse, N. Y., Octo- 
ber 24, 1839, and until he reached young manhood resided in that city. 
He then located in New York where he was engaged for several years 
in a commission business. Previously he had been for a considerable 
period in the employ of the Syracuse and Oswego Freight Company. 
In 1873 he located in Oneida, and two years later at Oneida Castle, 
where he resided until his death. Mr. Hickox was identified with most 
of the leading business enterprises of this community; he built the 
handsome block on Madison Square which is an ornament to the village 
of Oneida; was a director of the Oneida Valley Bank, the Oneida Sav- 
ings Bank, and in numerous local corporations from which he withdrew 
finally on account of increasing business cares. He was a large holder 
of real estate in and about Oneida; a man of great public spirit he 
showed no lack of zeal in promoting the welfare of the village and will 
be remembered as an exemplary citizen; he did much to beautify 
the streets and adorn the parks of the village. Mr. Hickox was 
a man of sterling integrity, and excellent executive ability, a genial 
and whole hearted friend, and possessed of sympathetic qualities of 
heart and mind which caused his untimely death to be mourned by a 
wide circle. As a business man he was eminently well fitted to control 



642 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

large interests, being keen of perception and prompt of action. Mr. 
Hickox possessed a fine physique and was a man of commanding pres- 
ence and gentlemanly bearing. During the Civil war, he was stationed 
at City Point, Va., with Colonel Bradley of Syracuse, in the Commis- 
sary Department, whom he assisted for some time. Endowed with all 
those qualities of character which command respect, few citizens of 
Oneida have attained a more honored name than he. Mr. Hickox mar- 
ried, June 9, 1875, Florilla, daughter of the late Timothy Jenkins, who 
survives him. 



EDGAR LAKE MILLER, M. D. 

This well known physician is a son of Hiram and Susan (Powers) 
Miller, is the second of their seven children, and was born in Columbus, 
Chenango county, October 11, 1839. His father was also a native of 
that town, where he was born in 1808. He was an intelligent farmer 
and taught school in the winter seasons. He died at Oelwein, Iowa, at 
the age of eighty years. His father, Drake Miller, was born at Catskill, 
N. Y. , in 1775, and after spending a few years at Sharon Springs he re- 
moved to Columbus, N. Y., where he cleared a large farm and reared 
a family of six boys and six girls. Drake Miller's father was Lemuel 
Miller, a son of Stephen Miller, both of whom passed their lives on the 
Hudson river. Stephen Miller's father was Johaan Mueller, who came 
to this country from Holland and settled on what was then the Tappan 
Zee, near Tarrytown, on the Hudson river. 

Edgar L. Miller was educated in the district schools and in Professor 
Lamb's select school at West Edmeston, N. Y. Whan he was eighteen 
years old he taught a school of seventy scholars at Burdick Settlement, 
Chenango county. At the age of nineteen he went to Iowa, where he 
worked as clerk in a store at Coytown, Fayette county, and taught school 
during the years 1859-60. On September 30, 1861, he enlisted as a 
private in Co. F, 13th Wisconsin Infantry. He served one year when 
an attack of malaria fever compelled his discharge, in September, 1862, 
and he returned home. In July, 1863, he again enlisted in Co. D, 15th 
New York Cavalry, as sergeant, and for "bravery in action" was 
promoted to Second Lieutenant, and later to First Lieutenant of 
his company. He was finally mustered out of the service October 1, 
1865, after which he took a course in the Bryant & Stratton college at 




EDGAR L. MILLER, M. D. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 643 

Buffalo, N. Y. He then went to Leavenworth, Kansas, and was en- 
gaged in insurance business about two years; but in 1869, determining 
to enter the regular army, he enlisted in the 1st United States Artillery, 
from which he was soon transferred to the General Service Corps and 
stationed in the Adjutant- General's office in Detroit. He regularl}' ap- 
plied for an army appointment, but owing to his disabilities incurred 
in previous service he was disqualified; he was, however, retained in 
the paymaster's department until March 1, 1874. He then came east 
and settled in Eaton, where he studied medicine with his brother, Dr. 
H. P. Miller, for one year. He then took a two year course at the 
Syracuse University and was one year in the Long Island Hospital 
Medical Colledge, graduating June 21, 1877. Dr. Miller at once began 
practice at Eaton and is at the present time one of the most widely 
known and successful physicians of the town. He has been attending 
physician to the Madison county hospital and insane asylum for twenty- 
two years. 

On October 17, 1875, Dr. Miller married Adelaide White. They have 
one son, James Edgar Miller, a student in Colgate University. 



CALVIN HUBBARD. 

The subject of this brief memoir from whom the village of Hubbards- 
ville was named, was born in Sunderland, twelve miles from Northamp- 
ton, Mass., February 16, 1784. He was the son of Jonathan and Hannah 
(Barnard) Hubbard. But little is known of his boyhood days, except 
at the age of fourteen he accompanied his parents to what was then 
Litchfield, Herkimer county, N.Y., and that he learned the shoemaker's 
trade at Warren, in the same county. At the last named place he mar- 
ried Susannah Allen, daughter of Amasa and Susannah (Fish) Allen. 
Her father was born at Petersham, Mass., October 9, 1753, and was a 
son of Edward and Mary Allen, who were settlers there in 1750. The 
late Dr. Samuel Allen of Copenhagen, Lewis county, N. Y., for many 
years agent there of the late Abram Varick, of Utica, and in the war of 
1812, of the firm of Allen & Canfield of that place, merchants and con- 
tractors for the fleet at Sackett's Harbor, was her brother. She died 
December 16, 1863, aged seventy-six years, eight months and six days. 
By her Mr. Hubbard had two children: Emily, born November 4, 1808, 
and Corydon, born June 5, 1814; the latter died at four years of age, 



644 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and Emily married Elias K. Hart, of Oneida county, and died Septem- 
ber 10, 1853. 

In 1808 Mr. Hubbard went to Sherburne, Chenango county, where 
he remained five years, and in June, 1813, settled on the site of Hub- 
bardsville, where he engaged in farming, distilling and tanning. He 
was successful in his business and followed it until his final retirement 
from active life in 1853. He was a man of strong convictions, fearless 
in expressing them, and of great energy. His integrity was never 
questioned and he always stood high in the respect of his fellow towns- 
men. Originally a Whig, he later became an ardent Abolitionist, and 
was instrumental in aiding many poor slaves to reach a land of freedom. 
When the Republican party was formed he joined its ranks and was 
active in promoting its interests. He lived to see the triumph of the 
Union and the downfall of slavery. Mr. Hubbard died on May 17, 
1876, at the age of ninety-two years. 



STEPHEN H. FARNAM. 

Stephen H. Farnam, who died in Oneida, November 17, 1897, in the 
seventy-fifth year of his age, was for many years a well known and 
highly esteemed citizen and merchant of this village. He was born in 
Hartwick, Otsego county, N. Y., May 22, 1822, a son of Noah and 
Rhoda (Bancroft) Farnam. When quite young he took up his residence 
in Little Falls, Herkimer county, N. Y., where he was engaged for 
many years in a manufacturing business, his principal product being 
axes. At one time his factory was entirely demolished by high water, 
but he demonstrated his excellent business ability and characteristic 
energy by at once rebuilding, and few knew or realized the blow his 
interests had suffered. Mr. Farnam conducted this factory for some 
time after his removal to Oneida in the spring of 1862. On his arrival 
here he bought the hardware business of Saunders & Barnett, forming 
a copartnership with A. R. Turner. This association continued until 
1867 when Mr. Turner was succeeded by Mr. Farnam's son, W. J. 
Farnam, and the business was conducted under the firm name of S. H. 
Farnam & Co., until 1890 when Mr. Farnam retired, having gained a 
competency and well merited rest, for he was essentially a self-made 
man, and the architect of his own fortunes, having started in life at 
the early age of thirteen years with no capital. During his residence 




STEPHEN H. FARNAM. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 645 

in Oneida he was identified with many prominent local enterprises. At 
the time of his death he was president of the National State Bank, 
having been one of the original directors of the old First National Bank. 
He was also president of the Glenwood Cemetery Association, and to 
him and T. F. Hand, and the late Hon. George Berry, are the public 
indebted for one of the handsomest burial grounds in Central New 
York. He was one of the organizers and first directors of the Oneida 
Gas Light Company, and served on its board of directors until his 
death. Mr. Farnam was a valued citizen, and on every occasion pos- 
sessed and exhibited the most genial and manly traits of character; he 
gave earnest and faithful service to many of the town's enterprises, and 
was generous in his support of all public institutions. He was a regu- 
lar attendant of the First Presbyterian church, and a member of Oneida 
Lodge, No. 270, F. & A. M. Mr. Farnam first married Elizabeth 
McChesney, and four children were born to them, two of whom sur- 
vive: W. J. Farnam, and Mrs. James Selkregg. In 1886 he married 
Sarah Lara way Newkirk of Leeds, N. Y. , who survives him. 



JAMES COOLIDG, 

James Coolidg, of Bouckville, Madison county, was born in Box- 
borough, Massachusetts, July 33, 1786. He, with his father, James D. 
Coolidg, came to Madison county in 1806, and settled on a farm near 
the present village of Bouckville. J. D. Coolidg was the first person 
who owned a hop yard in the county, and the success and growth of 
that business dates back to the early period of his settlement. He was 
a successful farmer and April 11, 1844, owned five hundred acres of 
land. 

James Coolidge, when a youth, assisted his father in all the arduous 
duties of the farm, and as was too often the case in these early pioneer 
days, his advantages for securing an education were extremely limited, 
not being able to attend school more than five or six weeks during the 
winter. After his marriage he fitted himself for a surveyor, giving 
proof of severe application and praiseworthy ambition. In after years he 
devoted much time to the work of surveyor. Mr. Coolidg, in early life, 
worked at the carpenter's trade, and was always quite ingenious 
in the use of carpenters' tools. He served his town in many ways, and 
gained the respect of all. He was a magistrate twenty-four years. He 



646 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

engaged in farming until about 1860, when he sold his farm and en- 
gaged in lighter occupation, until his death. His first wife, Janet Ken- 
dall, was born in 1792, married 1814, died 1816. Second wife, Sophia 
Stebbins, born 1798, married 1819, and died January 26, 1832. Third 
wife, Sallie Simmons, born 1801, married 1833, and died September 24, 
1834. Fourth wife, Harriett Hazzard, born 1802, married 1834, and 
died 1838. Fifth wife, Phoebe Thompkins Lawrence, born 1798, mar- 
ried 1842, and died January 6, 1849. Sixth wife, Mary Coburn Smith, 
born 1803, married 1851, and died May 11, 1877. He had four children, 
three dying in infancy and one son, Francis Coolidg, born December, 
1814, who removed to Kansas. 



JOHN E. SMITH. 

It has been truthfully said that Judge Smith knows personally more 
people in Madison county than any other resident. He was born in 
the town of Nelson, and Madison county has been the scene of his boy- 
hood ; of the struggles of his young manhood, and of the well earned 
success of his maturity. His father, James, was a native of Massachu- 
setts and lived several years while a boy at New Lebanon, N.Y. After 
attaining his majority he purchased fifty acres of woodland in the town 
of Nelson, built a log house thereon, and cleared a farm to which he 
gradually added. He had eight children by his first wife and after her 
death married Susan Tackabur}'. Of this union two sons were born: 
James W. , and John E. Smith. When the latter was ten months old 
the mother died, the father followed a few years later, and these two 
sons were left with their half brother, S. Perry Smith. John E. Smith 
early decided to embrace the profession of law, and when 21 years old 
borrowed money and began to read with Lucius P. Clark. In 1867 he 
was graduated from the Albany Law School, and immediately opened 
an office at Morrisville, where he has ever since resided. He assisted 
his brother James to acquire a professional education and that gentle- 
man until the time of his death was a successful physician. He later 
assisted his half-brother Perry to acquire a professional education. 

In the fall of 1877 Mr. Smith was elected district attorney of the 
county on the Republican ticket. He was succeeded by Henry Barclay, 
who became ill, and Mr. vSmith consequently continued to officiate, be- 
ing appointed to succeed Mr. Barclay, after the latter's resignation, by 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 647 

Governor Cornell. In the fall of 1885 he was elected to the New York 
State Senate from the twenty-third district, comprising the counties of 
Herkimer, Madison and Otsego. While serving this term he was on 
the committees on Judiciary, Privileges and Elections, Commerce and 
Navigation, and others. During the first winter as chairman of the 
committee on Privileges and Elections, he heard and decided the con- 
test made by Judge Yates for the senatorial seat occupied by Senator 
Wemple. A good deal of partisan feeling was engendered and although 
he was politically opposed to Senator Wemple, Mr. Smith decided in 
his favor. He introduced many important bills, and took an active 
part in the contests between Morton and Miller, supporting the latter 
gentleman to the last. In debate he spoke frequently and effectively. 
In 1887 he formed a co-partnership with C. V. Kellogg and E. M. Wells 
of Syracuse, which continued until July, 1889, when he was appointed 
First Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of 
New York. In this responsible position he served until July, 1891, and 
during his incumbency prepared the Gould Bank cases and tried and 
convicted William Gould. He was also connected with the Faulkner 
cases at Danville, and briefed and argued in the United States Circuit 
Court the noted opium cases of the northern part of the State in which 
Gardner was convicted, although defended by Richard Crowley of 
Lockport. He also briefed and argued several other important cases 
in that court, among them that of Stephen A. Merzan, who was tried 
and convicted in the United States Ministerial Court at Alexandria, 
Egypt, for muder. He also briefed and argued the case of Charles M. 
Ross, a British subject sailing on the vessel " Bullion," who murdered 
the second mate, Kelly, in the waters of Japan. Intricate questions 
involving international constitutional law were involved. Upon his 
conviction being sustained, the case was appealed to the United States 
Supreme Court. The Attorney- General, in arguing the case, used 
Judge Smith's brief, and the court affirmed the decision of the lower 
tribunal. In 1889 he again became a candidate for State Senator. At 
first Hon. S. R. Mott made a vigorous contest against him for the 
delegation of the county, but finally withdrew. In the convention, how- 
ever, he was opposed by Wilbur of Otsego, and Sheard of Herkimer. 
The balloting continued for seven days; on the 938th ballot Mr. Smith 
was nominated. He ran against John Henderson on the Democratic 
ticket, and Professor Green on the Prohibitionist ticket, and was elected 
by about 2,100 plurality. During this term he served on the Finance 



648 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

General Laws, and Poor Laws committees, and was conspicuous in dis- 
cussions and general work. 

As a lawyer Judge Smith has been for years a leader of the county 
bar, and has figured in many important trials, including several murder 
cases. He usually goes on the stump during gubernatorial and presi- 
dential contests, and also frequently speaks on other public occa- 
sions. He possesses a pleasing personality, an affable manner, and as 
above stated, there are few people in Madison county whom he cannot 
call by name. For fourteen consecutive years he served as one of the 
examiners of applicants for admission to the bar, first in the third and 
afterwards in the fourth department; therefore most of the younger 
attorneys of this section know him well. In March, 1899, Governor 
Roosevelt appointed him judge of Madison county, to fill the vacancy 
caused by the death of Judge Kennedy, and at the Republican County 
Convention of 1899 he was unanimously nominated to this high posi- 
tion. Judge Smith married in March, 1864, Mary E. Osborne, daughter 
of Wells Osborne of Smithfield. Three sons have been born of this 
union: G. Wells, of the county bar; Edwin Dudley, who died when 
about five years of age, and Kenneth O. Smith, now preparing for 
college at Colgate academy. 



JACOB TEN EYCK. 

In the past history of the town of Cazenovia the Ten Eyck family 
has occupied a conspicuous and honorable place. Jacob Ten Eyck re- 
moved from Albany to Cazenovia about the year 1807, when only 
twelve years of age and found employment in the pioneer store man- 
aged by Samuel Forman, which has been noticed in Chapter VI. This 
store had then been open only a few years and the little settlement 
around the beautiful lake was in its early infancy. Mr. Ten Eyck 
came to his mercantile occupation endowed with those native qualities 
that never fail to win success. In the year following his arrival in 
Cazenovia he purchased the stately mansion, which was then incom- 
plete, built by Mr. Forman, which he finished and occupied, and which 
has ever since remained in the family. He remained in the store five 
or six years, enjoying the confidence of his employers and acquiring a 
thorough business knowledge. At the close of that period he estab- 
lished a mercantile business on his own account, which he successfully 




HENRY TEN EYCK. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 649 

conducted until about 1830. While thus engaged he also became in- 
terested in extensive business undertakings in the western part of the 
State. When he closed his mercantile career in Cazenovia Mr. Ten 
Eyck was widely known as a prosperous, enterprising and honorable 
merchant whose business standing was the highest and whose practical 
financial judgment and foresight were unquestioned. 

The old Madison County Bank was organized in 1831, as elsewhere 
noticed, and Mr. Ten Eyck was chosen as one of the first board of di- 
rectors. Perry G. Childs was elected the first president of the bank, in 
which office he was succeeded by Mr. Ten Eyck. He held this position 
until near the time of his death and was succeeded by the late B. Rush 
Wendell, Mr. Ten Eyck married a daughter of Joseph Burr and both 
he and his wife died in Savannah, Ga., in 1853, within three days of 
each other, of yellow fever. They left one son, Henry Ten Eyck, and 
two daughters. 

Henry Ten Eyck married Elizabeth Wendell and occupied the beau- 
tiful homestead on the shore of the lake, where his widow now resides. 
Mr. Ten Eyck died on April 4, 1884. They had an adopted daugh- 
ter who is now the widow of Capt. Theodore C. Rogers, of the 
United States army. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers had a daughter, who is now 
Mrs. Elizabeth Ten Eyck Carpenter. 

B. Rush Wendell, before mentioned, came to Cazenovia in 1846 and 
was the founder of the family in Madison county. He was then a 
young law student. He married Margaret (Ten Eyck) Burr and to 
them were born four sons, one of whom is deceased. The living are 
Burr Wendell, Rush Wendell, and Ten Eyck Wendell, all residents of 
Cazenovia. In the social and business life of the village these families 
have occupied positions of distinction. 

42 



PART Hi. 

PERSONAL REFERENCES. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 



Abbott, William Wallace, was born in the town of Nelson, December 30, 1844. a 
son of William B. and Esther (Walsworth) Abbott, who had three children: William 
Wallace, Elizabeth L. (born December 26, 1846), Emma E. (born July 18. 1848), all 
natives of the town of Nelson. William B. followed farming and was a son of Caleb 
and Lucinda Odell Abbott, who had six children named William B. , Charity Ann, 
Chancey H., Lucinda. Caleb, jr.. and Marsha Elvira. Lncinda's first husband was 
Bolivar Schermerhorn and they had one son, Simeon Schermerhorn. William B. 
came from Sullivan county and settled in Madison county about 1818, where he car- 
ried on general farming. William Wallace Abbott was educated in the common 
schools of the town of Nelson and was associated with his father in business until his 
father's death on November 14, 1883. After his death he to k full charge of the 
business. February 21, 186G, he married Martha, daughter of James Ham, and they 
have one son, Chauncey. Mr. Abbott has been active in town affairs, has been in- 
spector, and excise commissioner nine years, and has zealously supported the schools. 



Abbott, Frank J., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Lebanon, MadLson county, Sep- 
tember 1.5, 1845, a son of Daniel and Esther (Holt) Abbott. Daniel was a native of 
Lebanon, born in 1805, a son of Daniel Abbott, born in Massachusetts and came to 
Lebanon about 1800, where he spent his last days. The father of Frank J. Abbott 
was a blacksmitli by trade and settled on the farm Frank J. now owns in December, 
1858, and here died in 1891. His wife died in 1883, and they had five children, three 
now living. Frank J. was reared and educated in Lebanon, and since twelve years 
of age has lived on the farm he now owns. In politics he is a Republican. He was 
married in 1875 to Sarah Blair, who was born in Madison Center, October 4, 1853; 
they have had two children: Rinaldo and Herman F., both deceased. Mrs. Abbott 
is a member of the M. E. church, which the family attend and support. Mr. Ab- 
bott's great-grandfather was in the Revolutionary war. 



Abell, JabezW., son of Horatio and Aurilla (Whitney) Abell, was born in Caze- 
novia on the farm where he now resides, September 13, 1841. The deed of this place 
given to his grandfather, also Jabez, in 1793, has never gone out of the possession of 
the family. The last named was one of the earliest settlers of the town of Cazenovia 
and a man of importance in his time. Horatio Abell was all his life a farmer in 
Cazenovia and a man universally liked and esteemed by his associates. He was born 
on the home farm, August 8, 1802, and died there May 30, 1852. Of his union with 



4 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Aurilla Whitney only one son was born, Jabez W. Abell, The latter was educated 
at Cazenovia Seminary; has been principally occupied in farming, and is one of the 
representative men of the town. He is a member of Cazenovia Lodge, No. 616, 
F. & A. M. ; Manhus Chapter No 72, R. A. M. ; and for some time of the Central 
City Masonic Veterans Association. In politics he is a Democrat. He married, 
September 37, 1866, Mary A. Jones, daughter of Thomas Jones of Cazenovia. Of 
this union is one son, Jabez W. Abell, jr. 



Adams. Herbert E., son of George M. and Miriam L. (Switzer) Adams, was born 
in Cazenovia on the farm which has always been his home on February !?>, 1859. His 
father was a native of Dutchess county, whence he came to Cazenovia with his 
parents among the earlier setilers. He died in May, 1887, in the 71st year of his 
age. Of his union with Miriam L. Switzer were five children, four of whom are now 
living: Charles H., Frank S.. Herbert E., and Cora B., wife of John H. Jones of 
Cazenovia. Herbert E. Adams has always been engaged in farming, and is one of 
the representative citizens of the town of Cazenovia. He married in 1880, Cassie E. 
Harter, daughter of Philip J. Harter of Cazenovia. Of this union are three 
daughters: Jessie M., Inez B , and Florence E. R Adams. 



Andrews, Calvin G., was born in the town of Arlington, Bennington county, Vt., 
July 37, 1833, a son of Calvin and Amy (Weaver) Andrews, who were residents of 
Vermont and had eight children: Joseph, Caleb, Mary Williams, Alraira Wilcox, 
Calvin G., Sarah Ann Moore Daniel E. and Amy Colwell. Mr. Andrews's father 
died September 8, 1841, and his mother .February 4, 1841. After the death of his 
parents he lived with his brother until he was about seventeen years of age, when 
he started in life for himself as a farm laborer. September 10, 1856, he married 
Nancy A., daughter of Collins and Ermina Andrews, and they have one child liv- 
ing: Lora E., wife of Frank A. Wagner. In 1858 Mr. Andrews purchused a saw 
mill in Vermont, which he operated about six years, when he moved to the town of 
Nelson and settled on a farm, where he carried on general farming until five years 
ago, since which time he has lived retired. He has always taken an active interest 
in school and educational work and was trustee of the school in his district many 
years. 



Atkinson, John, son of William and Mary (Saxton) Atkinson, was born in York- 
shire, England, and came to this country with his parents in 1830. They located 
first at Manlius and the following year came to the town of Cazenovia, where Mr. 
Atkinson took charge of the mill at Bingley which had been erected by George Rob- 
erts four years previous. The mill had then only two run of stones. For a time Mr- 
Atkinson managed the mill at Cazenovia village and subsequently bought the mill 
at Bingley, which has ever since been owned by the Atkinson family. William At. 
kinson died m 1873 and was succeeded by his son James. John Atkinson became a 
farmer in the town of Wayne, Erie county. Pa., and afterward removed to Nelson, 
where he conducted a farm for a period of eight years. At the end of that time he 
returned to Cazenovia and bought the interest of his brother James in the Bingley 
mills. Mr. Atkinson has served as assessor three years and justice of the peace in 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 5 

the town of Nelson four years. He married, in 1849, Lucelia Morse, daughter of 
Abner Morse of Nelson. Of this union there are five children: Mary, wife of Will- 
iam Lucas; Mercy, wife of Frank Brown of Iowa; Florence, Glendora and William. 
The latter was born in Wayne, Pa., August 28, 1854, and is a well-known citizen of 
Cazenovia, being engaged in milling and other interests. He married, in December, 
1890, Ella Wheeler, daughter of Oscar Wheeler of Sheds Corners. 



Audas, Garritt, who has been in business in Oneida for sixteen years as a funeral 
director and undertaker, was born in Vienna, Oneida county, N. Y. , June 3, 183.5, a 
son of Peter and Mary (Hailstone) Audas. His parents, who were both natives of 
Yorkshire, England, came to this country in the early twenties, and settled in Clin- 
ton, N. Y., thence removing to Western Pennsylvania, and later to Vienna in Oneida 
county. Peter Audas who was a farmer and millwright died December 10, 1890, 
having reached the advanced age of ninety-one years. Garritt Audas was educated 
in the common schools and until he was eighteen years old assisted in the conduct of 
his father's farm, also learning the carpenter's trade. He then went to Cleveland. 
Oswego county, N. Y., where for two years he was employed in a box factory. Later 
he worked as a carpenter and boat builder in that town and built many boats for the 
Erie Canal. When the Ontario & Western railroad was built he engaged in the busi- 
ness of contractmg to construct bridges, and built most of the bridges in this section 
as well as many on the Auburn Branch. He then engaged in business in the town 
of Cleveland as a furniture dealer and undertaker. During his residence there he 
served as justice of the peace, as village trustee several terms, and as deputy sheriff 
of Oswego county four years. In May, 1883, Mr. Audas purchased the undertaking 
business of W. R Thompson in Oneida where he has since resided. For a time he 
was the only undertaker in town and by virtue of his long establishment he is well 
known in this vicinity. He married. Novembers, 1857, Jerusha H. Covell, and three 
children have been born to them: Anna M., wife of Prof. N. Knight of Johns Hop- 
kins University: Edward N. and Jessie E. (who died June 8, 1883). 



Austin, Harvey O. , p. o. Peterboro, was born in Stockbridge, August 3, 1821, a son 
of Orrin, son of Amos Austin, born in Connecticut in 1752. and who came to Stock- 
bridge about 18'J0, where he cleared a farm ; he died in Smithfield, May 15, 1833. 
Orrin Austin was born May 26, 1792, and came to Smithfield about 1834. where he 
lived until his death in 1879; he married Lucy Edson, born in Stockbridge, June 8, 
1802, daughter of Calvin Edson, one of the first settlers of Stockbridge. Nathan Ed- 
son, father of Calvin, was an early settler of Madison, N. Y. , and died in Stockbridge, 
August 16, 1825. Calvm Edson married Dolly C. May, born in Massachusetts, De- 
cember 5, 1783, and died December 12, 1882. Harvey O. Austin was educated in the 
common schools and carries on farming, having a farm of 108 acres. In politics he 
is a Republican. July 3, 1884. Mr. Austin married Lillis A. Inman, born in Fenner, 
December 27, 1844, a daughter of George and Aurilla (Edson) Inman. Her parents 
were among the early settlers of Fenner, her father died in 1853 and her mother now 
lives in Smithfield. They had five children, Mrs. Austin the only one now living. 
Mrs. Austin was educated in Cazenovia Seminary and Utica Academy and followed 
teaching for about nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Austin have an adopted son, Grover 
P. Trowbridge. 



(I OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Avery, George F., son of James R. and Sarah M. (Fowler) Avery, was born in 
Stittville, Oneida county, N. Y., August 30, 1849. His father was a farmer and also 
a native of Stittville where he resided all his life. Mr. Avery received an education 
confined to the district schools and the Holland Patent graded school. At the age of 
twenty he began to learn the carpenter's trade which he followed in Marcy and Utica. 
Later he removed to lUion, Herkimer county, N. Y., where he remained three years 
engaged in contracting and building, erecting numerous buildings for the Remington 
Company. From Illion he removed to his native place where he followed the con- 
tracting business about one year, and at the end of that period went to Fall City, 
Neb. Here he was engaged in building and contracting and also for a time con- 
ducted a mercantile business and dealt extensively in live stock. In 1884 Mr. Avery 
settled in Oneida where be has since resided He has erected numerous residences 
in the village, including those owned by John Maxwell ; Theodore Hand; Charles 
PoUey ; R. B. Downing; and H. C. Stone; he has also erected the German Catholic 
Church; the Cree & Crandall Block; and St. Patrick's parochial residence. Mr. 
Avery has also been engaged extensively in fire appraising for individuals and insur- 
ance companies. He is a member of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows, and a member 
and trustee of the Methodist Church. He married in 1874, Emma J. Cronk, daughter 
of Jasper Cronk of Boonville, Seven children have been born to them two of whom 
survive; Charles R., and Edward E. 



Boardman, Rev. Dr. George Smith, who died at Cazenovia, February 7, 1877, in 
the eightieth year of his age, was for fourteen years pastor of the Presbyterian church 
m Cazenovia. He was born in Albany, N. Y. , December 29, 1796, and was gradu- 
ated from Union College in 1816 and at Princeton Theological Seminary in 1819. In 
1821 he took up a pastorate in Watertown, N. Y., which continued for sixteen years, 
at the end of which period he accepted a call from a Rochester church, where he re- 
mained six years, with the exception of six months in 1842 when he labored at Colum- 
bus, Ohio, in connection with a very marked revival of religion in that place. In 
1843 he took charge of the cburch of his denomination at Rome, N. Y., which he left 
in 1847 to enter upor; a short pastorate at Cherry Valley. He entered upon his long 
and fruitful pastorate in Cazenovia in 1850. Dr. Boardman was thrice married and 
three children were born to him: Derick Lane, John, and George Brayton Board- 
man. His third wife, who survives him, was Miss Sophia Ledyard Childs, of Caze- 
novia, a daughter of Hon. Perry G. Childs. 



Bulger. Edward, was born in Stockbridge, this county, February 22, 1830, a son of 
Patrick and Mary Ann (Kern) Bulger. His father, a native of Ireland, came to this 
country in early life and settled first in Clinton, thence removing to Stockbridge, 
where he became a very successful farmer, bujnng land until he owned several hun- 
dred acres; he gained the confidence and respect of the entire community and died 
in 1877, honored and esteemed by all who had known him. Of his union with Mary 
Kern ten children were born, seven of whom survive: Mrs. Martin Stisserof Oneida; 
Mrs. Philip McCabe; Mrs. 'Williara Dailey; Mrs. Daniel Santry; Edward; James of 
Willow Spring, Mo. ; and Andrew of Smithfield. The subject of this notice was 
educated in the common schools of the town of Stockbridge, and has followed the oc- 
cupation of farming all his life. He left Stockbridge and came to his present farm 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 7 

in the year 1857. Here he has 124 acres, all under cultivation with the exception of 
twenty-five acres of woodland. Mr. Bulger has been a large hop grower, but in re- 
cent years has given his attention to other crops. By virtue of his long residence 
here he is well known in this vicinity, and at different times has served in minor pub- 
lic offices. He married in 1857, Lucy A. Allen, daughter of Daniel Allen of the town 
of Lenox. Two children have been born to them; Allen E., and Carrie D. Bulger. 

Baker, Richard M., son of Matteson and Sophia E. (Byer) Baker, was born in Clin- 
ton, N. Y., July 29, 1843. His father was a Methodist minister and a prominent ad- 
vocate of the cause of temperance; for some years he published a temperance organ 
at Utica, called the Washingtonian News. Richard M. Baker was educated in the 
public schools of Utica, and at Whitestown Seminary. He learned the printing 
trade in the office of the Utica Observer where he remained two years, and then went 
to Hamilton as foreman of the Democratic Union which W. H. Baker had established 
in that village. He continued in that position until the death of W. H. Baker, which 
occurred in 1873, and then, in company with S. A. Maxon, purchased the paper. Mr. 
Baker has been identified with the Union since its establishment, and is consequently 
well known throughout the county. He served four and a half years as postmas- 
ter in Cleveland's last administration. He is a stockholder and director of the 
Oneida Valley National Bank; a vestryman of St. John's Episcopal Church; and a 
member of Oneida Lodge, No. 270, F. & A. M. He married, in 1862, Frances M., 
daughter of Warren M. Rice of Hamilton. Four children have been born of this 
union; Clinton R. ; Mrs. H. L. Sanford; Mabel A. ; and Richard M., Jr. 



Burdick, James F. , who died at South Bay, February 18, 1873, in the 40th year of 
his age, kept the only hotel at South Bay for many years, and was well known 
throughout Madison county. He was born March 23, 1833, in Columbia county, N. 
Y. Mr. Burdick was a man of quiet tastes and generous impulses. He possessed 
all of the qualifications of a good landlord, and is remembered for his genial cour- 
tesy and warm hearted friendliness. He spent all of his life at South Bay. October 
13, 1861, he married Charlotte Ostrander, a daughter of Philip Ostrander of Jordan, 
N. Y. Of their union four children were born, only one of whom survives; Mrs. 
David C. Armbrust of Oneida. 



Betsinger, Peter, who died in Oneida, November 6, 1876, in the 75th year of his 
age. was a lifelong resident and well known citizen of this vicinity. He was born in 
Clockville. this county, January 13, 1801, a son of John Betsinger. His father was 
one of the earliest settlers of this region and of Mohawk Dutch descent. Mr. Bet- 
singer was all his life a farmer in the town of Lenox, being located near Clockville. 
He removed to Oneida in 1871 and resided in that village until his death. He was a 
man of genial nature and drew to himself many warm friends. For many years he 
was a regular attendant of the Methodist Church. He first married Catharine Forbes 
and twelve children were born to them, of whom six survive: Mrs. Salina Keller of 
Perry, Iowa; Mrs. Catharine Randall of Russell, Pa.; Mrs. Dianna Palmer, and Mrs. 
Clara A. Palmer, both of Michigan; Nicholas N. , of Marcellus, N. Y. ; and Daniel 
L., who resides on the home farm near Clockville. On May 24, 1863, Mr. Betsinger 



8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

married Sarah E. Whaley, daughter of Samuel P. and Sarah (Knapp) Whaley, who 
survives him. 



Behr, Joseph, member of the Oneida village board of trustees, was born in Rome, 
N. Y., June 27, 1856. His father, a native of Germany, came to this country in 
early life and settled near New York city, thence removing to Rome, and later to 
Verona, Oneida county. Mr. Behr was educated in the common schools, and assisted 
in the conduct of his father's farm until he reached his majority. He was employed 
for a period of two years in the cheese factory at Verona Landing, and later for 
five years at the casket factory in Oneida. In 1887 he began business as a grocer, 
forming a partnership with George Dradell under the firm name of Dradell & Behr. 
Their association continued five years, and at the end of that time Mr. Behr sold his 
interest and established his present business at No. Ill Elm street, where he has 
been located seven years. Mr. Behr is now serving as a member of the village board 
of trustees. He married in 1882 Miss Emma Dick, a daughter of Jacob Dick of 
Oneida. 

Barton, Avery, was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., September 9, 1852. a son 
of Jacob Perry Barton, a farmer and lifelong resident of Schoharie county. Mr. 
Barton spent his boyhood on his father's farm and when fifteen years old came 
to Oneida to enter the employ of George Lawrence, for whom he subsequently be- 
came a traveling agent. Later he formed a partnership with Robert A. Stewart, 
which is still continued, deahng in malt, grain, etc., the firm name being now Stew- 
art, Barton & Co. Mr. Barton now looks after the Utica business of the firm. He 
has resided in Oneida many years, has served as collector, and is a well known 
citizen. He married in 1876, Louisa, daughter of the late Christian Harp, and one 
daughter has been born to them, Nellie Louisa Barton. 



Harp, Christian, who died in Oneida September 17, 1886, in the 83d year of his 
age, was a well known and highly respected citizen of Madison county for many 
years. He was born in the town of Lenox May 2, 1804, and during his active life 
followed the occupation of farming. In 1883 he removed to Oneida, where he lived 
quietly until his death. Mr. Harp held the office of poormaster several years, and 
also served as assessor and collector. Although a man of quiet nature he became 
well known in the county. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and gained the 
confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He married first Han- 
nah Ratnour, and eight children were born to them, five of whom survive; A. Jack- 
son Harp of Oneida; George Harp of Pratt's Hollow; Martin Harp of Oneida; Bar- 
ney Harp of Cleveland, N. Y. ; and Mrs Catharine Miller of Kansas City. His sec- 
ond wife was Perlina Baldwin Holdridge, and of this union were four children : 
Warren C, Helen, and Amelia, all deceased; and Mrs. A. Barton of Oneida. 



Brown, Brewster S., who has been in the drug trade in Oneida for twenty- five 
years at one location, was born in New York city, May 13, 1850, a son of P. H. and 
Julia Ann (Seely) Brown. When he was four years old his parents died and he came 
to Oneida to reside with his maternal grandmother. He received his education in 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 9 

the Oneida public schools and at the old Oneida Seminary. In 1875 he began to 
learn the drug business with John H. Rogers, who in that year established the store 
at No. 64 Main street now conducted by Mr. Brown. In 1886 he purchased a half 
interest in the business and the firm of Rogers & Brown continued until the death 
of Mr. Rogers in the fall of 1890. Dr. F. C. Drake now came into the firm (Brown 
& Drake) and withdrew January 1, 1895, since which time Mr. Brown has conducted 
the business alone, having completed, as above stated, a term of twenty-five years 
in one location. Mr. Brown married in 1887 Margaret Louise, daughter of Samuel 
Morrell of Canajoharie, and of their union is one daughter. 



Baker, William M., son of William H. and Catherine (Simmons) Baker, was born 
in the village of Hamilton, this county, January 31, 1863. His father was a news- 
paper man of large acquaintance in this county, and for many years editor of the 
Democratic Union, which he moved from Hamilton to Oneida. He died in Oneida 
in June, 1872. William M. Baker was educated in the public schools of this village 
and at the age of seventeen entered the banking house of E. C. Stark & Co., where 
he remained for a period of six years. In 1885 he formed a partnership with W. E. 
Hazeltine for the conduct of a general dry goods business under the firm name of 
Hazeltine & Baker. Mr. Hazeltine retired from active interest in 1896, and was suc- 
ceeded by Thomas F. Reidy, forming the present firm of Hazeltine, Baker & Reidy. 
Mr Baker has served one term as village trustee and three terms as village presi- 
dent, and during his incumbency did much to forward the recent far reaching im- 
provements in this village, being a prominent member of the so called reform 
administration. With his associates in the village government he was instrumental 
in placing the Warner water works under control of the village, and personally 
attended to floating the bonds, securing exceedingly advantageous terms; took steps 
towards discharging the Ontario & Western debt; built the trunk sewers; organized 
the board in charge of the lateral sewers ; put in ornamental drinking fountains ; began 
the paving of the village streets; agitated the question of all night electric lights, and 
was chairman of the committee which secured the new village charter, providing for 
the paid fire department, police force, etc. It is not the intention or purpose of this 
work to give individual praise, but it is a safe and conservative statement to affirm 
that through the efforts of Mr. Baker and his associates the village of Oneida has 
taken a leading position among the foremost of the larger cities of the State in point 
of modern public improvements. In politics Mr. Baker has been a Democrat, though 
not a politician in the usually accepted sense of the term. He married, in August, 
1884, Fannie E. Wallace, daughter of Dr. Jason T. Wallace of Oneida. Six children 
have been born of this union, five of whom survive. 

Boden, Edwin R.. M. D., has practiced medicine in this county since 1881, and in 
the village of Oneida since 1885. He was born in Southfields, Orange county, N. Y. , 
January 14, 1860, and obtained his education in Trinity School, New York city, and 
at the Long Island College Hospital, from which institution he was graduated M. D., 
in the class of 1881. He began practice the same year in the village of Munnsville. 
this county, where he remained four years. In the fall of 1885 he came to Oneida 
where he has since been in active practice. Dr. Boden is a Republican in politics 



10 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and has served as village auditor, health officer and village clerk. He is a member 
of Oneida Lodge, No. 270, F & A. M.. and of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He married, in 1885, Lena L. Rockwell, daughter of Francis F. Rockwell, of 
Oneida. Two children have been born of this union; John F. , and Frank R. Boden. 



Burr, William M., president of Cazenovia village three years, and a lifelong resi- 
dent and prominent citizen, was born in Cazenovia, a son of William M. and Cather- 
ine (Ten Eyck) Burr. His father, one of the first merchants of this village, came 
from Hartfbrd, Conn., when seventeen years of age, in the year 1811. He engaged 
in general produce and commission business and became one of the strongest busi- 
ness men of the community. For many years he served as president of the old Mad- 
ison County Bank and his advice and counsel regarding business transactions were 
widely sought. Although one of the wealthiest men in this section he was a man of 
quiet tastes. Of his union with Catherine Ten Eyck were born four children : Mar- 
garet Ten Eyck, born March 38, 1827, married September 8, 1847, Benjamin Rush 
Wendell of Albany; Catalina Ten Eyck, born September 4, 1830, died August 4, 
1832; William M., born June 15, 1831; and Anna Foster, born May 10, 1837, married 
September 30, 1863, Robert J. Hubbard of New York, and died July 28, 1884. Mr. 
Burr died in January, 1869, in his seventy-sixth year. William M. Burr, jr., was 
educated at Union College and with the exception of farming has never engaged in 
active business. He married Emily K. Wilkinson, daughter of John and Mary 
(Holden) Wilkinson of Germantown, Pa. They had six children: Mary Louise, born 
February 32, 1855, married June 38, 1888, William M. Gibson, M. D., of Utica, N. Y. ; 
Jacob H. Ten Eyck, born October 3, 1856. married February 14, 1885, Katherine 
Stebbins of Cazenovia, and for a number of years has been a banker in Cazenovia ; 
Catherine Ten Eyck, born March 10, 1859, married September 17, 1885, Richard Fitz 
Hugh Ledyard, who died August 16, 1892; Anna Foster, born February 28, 1867, died 
September 30, 1867; William M., jr., born November 6, 1868, died in New York city 
in his twenty third year; and Margaret Wendell, born January 22, 1871. 



Bonney, Col. Benjamin F., p. o. Hamilton, was born on a farm at Hamilton, N.Y., 
Mav 24, 1818. and educated in the schools of Hamilton and Homer. He grew up on 
the farm and after his school days became a clerk in a dry goods store. In 1834 he 
enlisted in a company of " Light Infantry," and in 1838 was chosen colonel of the 4th 
Regiment. He. followed clerking more of less until 1844, when he conducted a store- 
house for three years, then managed a hotel for a year, and in 1850 entered the drug 
store of John J. Foote, becoming a partner in 1854, which partnership continued 
until 1866, when Mr. Bonney went south and spent two years. Returning he pur- 
chased the business from Mr. Foote and associated with him James K. Welton. This 
partnership continued until 1887, when Mr. Welton died, but the business still con- 
tinued under the old name until April, 1893, when he sold the business of the firm and 
retired from active business life. Mr. Bonney was postmaster at Hamilton from 
1869 to 1883; he is president of the village improvement association, and has been 
since its organization. He has also been president of the Woodlawn Cemetery As. 
sociation for six years and is a member of the board of education of " The Baptist Ed- 
ucation Society of the State of New York;" is also one of the directors of the Na- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 11 

tional Hamilton Bank and has been for twenty years; was a trustee of the first Bap- 
tist church for some j-ears. In 1847 Mr. Bonney married Augusta C. Allen and they 
have one son, J. Franklin Bonney. Mrs. Bonney died in 1888 Mr. Bonney's pa- 
rents were Col. Benjamin and Lucinda (Wilder) Bonney. The Bonneys are an old 
American family and Mr. Bonney's grandfather, Benjamin Bonney, was a member 
of the Massachusetts Assembly durmg the Revolutionary war. The family came to 
Hamilton, Madison county, in 1808. Col. Benjamin Bonney was for many years 
connected with the militia, and promoted to the rank of colonel ; he served in the war 
of 1813, was first stationed at Sacketts Harbor. Mr. Bonney's grandfather, Abel 
Wilder, was a Revolutionary soldier and fought at Bunker Hill. He was beside 
Gen. Warren when that celebrated soldier was shot in that battle. 



Betts, W. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born in the town of Lebanon, Madison county, 
N. Y., November 9, 1859. He was a farmer's son and worked on the farm until 
twenty-one years of age, when he went into the meat business at Hamilton. This 
business he has conducted with great energy and marked .success and to-day there is 
not a more thoroughly equipped meat establishment in the county than he has in the 
Betts block. This building is 111 x 25 feet in dimensions and is equipped with all 
the accessories neces.sary to a first-class meat business, including cooler, ice house, 
engine and boiler, steam sausage cutter with capacity of 600 pounds of meat per 
hour, steam jacket kettle, cellar, elevator, etc. He makes all his own sausages, lard, 
etc., and also does a substantial pork packing business. His customers are always 
assured of the best and his business is consequently the leader in this part of the 
county. This fine business Mr. Betts has built entirely upon his own efforts and 
ability. The lodge room for Hamilton's various societies is situated in the Betts 
block. Mr. Betts is himself a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows, 
the fire department and the Select Knights. In 1884 he married Delia M. Kimball; 
they have three children: William H., Mabel D. and Ernest. Mr. Betts's parents 
were James and Selina (Baker) Betts, both natives of England, but who came to 
America when young and were married in Madison county. 

Bridge. William L. , was born in Lincoln, September 17, 1844, a son of Orange and 
Laura Armour Bridge. Orange Bridge was born in Augusta, Oneida county, and 
was reared a farmer. He was engaged in the grocery business at Canastota and 
had a blast furnace at MerrillsviUe, and for twelve years a grist mill at Lenox. He 
spent his last days at Warapsville, where he died October 8, 1882. William L. was 
educated in the common schools and Whitesboro Academy, and was in business 
with his father four years. He now has a farm of 135 acres and owns a wood lot of 
ten acres. In 1885 he erected a large barn, which burned in 1894, and in 1895 he re- 
built and now has a barn 40 x 80, with wing 26 x 49. In 1870 Mr. Bridge married 
Florence Nichols of Vernon, Oneida county ; they had three children: Milton Jay, 
Clifford (deceased) and Louis Armour. Mr. Bridge was a Republican and has been 
assessor three years in Lenox. He enlisted in September, 1864, and served until 
October. 1865, in Co. D, 1st N. Y. Mounted Rifles. 



Baldwin, Charles C, was born in Fenner, October 15, 1833, a son of Moses, born 



12 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

March 31, 1798, a son of Jonathan Baldwin, who lived and died in Massachusetts. 
Moses Baldwin came to Lenox and soon to Fenner, where he was one of the leading 
farmers for a number of years. He came to Lincoln and bought the place Charles 
C. now owns and here died March 22. 1869. November 20, 1823, he married Ruth 
Miles, born in Massachusetts, March 29, 1802, and they had four children: Mary J., 
born May 28, 1830, died November 11, 1873; Charles C. (as above); Sallie M., born 
June 13, 1836, died November 10, 1878; and William W.. born September 33. 1838, 
and now lives in Kidder. Mo. Mrs. Baldwin died February 36, 1885. Charles C. 
Baldwin was educated in the common schools, is a farmer and owns 188 acres of 
land. He has one of the best dairy farms in Lincoln and has twenty thoroughbred 
Holstein cattle; he is also a breeder of thoroughbred Chester white hogs. Mr. Bald- 
win is a Republican, but not an aspirant to office. April 12, 1871, he married Sarah, 
daughter of Elnathan and Sallie (Reeves) Hatch, natives of Nelson. The Hatch 
family came from Connecticut and the Reeves from Long Island. Mr. and Mrs. 
Baldwin have one daughter, Lamira, educated in Canastota Academy and resides at 
home. 

Burroughs, Lorenzo J., trustee of Cazenovia village, was born in the town of 
Stockbridge, Madison county, N. Y., September 20, 1847, a son of William J. and 
Laura (Parker) Burroughs. His father, a substantial farmer, was a native and re- 
spected citizen of Stockbridge for many years; he died in February, 1870, in the 
sixty-sixth year of his age. He had been one of the largest business men of the 
section, extensively manufactured cheese boxes, operated a grist and saw mill and 
at one time managed three cheese factories in that region. For some years he was 
in association with Andrew Parker, under the firm name of Parker & Burroughs. 
Lorenzo J. was educated in the schools of Stockbridge and Hamilton. After com- 
pleting his education he assisted in the conduct of his father's extensive interests and 
also spent one year in northern Michigan, being engaged in getting out and shipping 
hop poles to this vicinity, an industry which was then of considerable magnitude. In 
1873 he went to Smilhfield and engaged in business as a hop grower and dealer and 
farmer. Here he remained about ten years, removing to Cazenovia in the spring of 
1884, when he bought a farm just outside the corporation (the old Loomis farm), and 
until 1893 was actively engaged in hop growing and general farming; he then re- 
moved to Cazenovia village. In politics he has been a Republican ; he has served as 
assessor for a term of four years, and as trustee of Cazenovia village for two years. 
Mr. Burroughs has been one of the leading hop growers and dealers of this section. 
He is a member of Cazenovia Lodge of Masons. In 1871 Mr. Burroughs married 
Harriet Gostling, daughter of John Gostling of Fenner. Of their three children only 
one survives — Mabel A. Burroughs. 



Buckingham, C. A., supervisor of the town of Cazenovia. was born in Otselic, 
Chenango county, October 22, 1853, a son of Joel and Sally (Card) Buckingham. His 
father was a native of Georgetown, and a son of Reuben, who came to Georgetown 
with his parents, who were among the earliest settlers of this town. Joel Bucking- 
ham was a Jeffersonian Democrat, and a prominent citizen for many years of Otselic, 
holding office as town clerk, postmaster, collector, etc. He built the cheese factory 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 13 

at Otselic in 1867, and was largely engaged in the manufacture of cheese and butter, 
and also conducted a like business for several years in the town of De Ruyter. Of 
his union with Sally M. Card four children were born: Jenette, who married David 
Newitt of Otselic; Cassius M., now of Utica; Clayton A , now of New Woodstock, 
and Arthur A. (deceased). C. A. Buckingham, the subject, was educated in the 
schools of Otselic and assisted in the management of his father's business interests 
for some time, finally purchasing the De Ruyter cheese factory, which he conducted 
six years. In 1885 he purchased the cheese factory at New Woodstock, which he 
still conducts, being now one of the largest manufacturers in the county; the weekly 
output of his factory is about 20,000 pounds of cheese, and 3,500 pounds of butter, and 
his shipments of milk to the New York and Brooklyn markets average about 200 cans 
daily. He has been a Democrat in politics and never held public office until elected 
supervisor m February, 1898. He is a member of De Ruyter Lodge of Masons. In 
1882 he married Maud L. Perkins, a daughter of Tracy K. Perkins of South Otselic; 
their children are Roy C. , Rena M., Leon D., Lulu A., and Arthur F. 



Barkinson, Theodore Joseph, was born near Oswego, of English parentage, and 
died at Chittenango Falls, May 9, 1892. In early childhood after the death of his 
mother he came to live in the family of his uncle, William Atkinson, of Bingley, where 
he grew to manhood and learned the milling business. The older inhabitants of the 
surrounding county still speak of him as a good boy and a good miller. Soon after 
the close of the war he went to Oswego into the confectionery store of his brother-in- 
law, Manister Worts, and after the death of William Atkinson he returned to the 
mill at Bingley, where he remained until he bought out the general store at Chitte- 
nango Falls and was appointed postmaster at that place. In October, 1875, he 
married Sophia E. Lucas, who succeeded him in the post-office, which office she still 
holds. Mr. Parkinson had many rare traits of character and his death was mourned 
by a wide circle of friends. An agreeable temper was his most marked characteristic, 
and his uniform kindness and ever ready helpfulness in all emergencies endeared 
him to all. 



Bass, Edgar C, M. D., has practiced medicine in the village of Cazenovia since 
1866 He was born in Warren, Herkimer county, N. Y., May 29, 1831, a son of 
Lovell and Mary (Harwick) Bass. He was educated at Oxford Academy, Chenango 
county, and began his medical studies under the direction of Dr. John Swinburne of 
the city of Albany. Subsequently he entered the Albany Medical College from 
which he was graduated M. D. with the class of 1858. He began practice the same 
year in the village of New York Mills, Oneida county, where he remained until the out- 
break of the Civil war. Dr. Bass went out as assistant surgeon of the 146th N. Y. 
Vols., and after serving over a year was discharged from held service owing to dis- 
ability, and entered the hospital service. He served at Harwood and Campbell hos- 
pitals in Washington, remaining in the latter until 1866, when, as above stated, he 
began practice in Cazenovia. Dr. Bass has been a staunch Republican in politics; 
has served as president of the village three terms ; as a member of the board of 
trustees twelve years, and as president of the water board since the installation of 
the system. He is also a member of the United States Pension Examining Board; 



14 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the Madison County Medical Society; New York State Medical Association, and is 
the veteran of Cazenovia Lodge F. & A. M. ; also holding membership in Manlius 
Chapter, R. A. M. Dr. Bass married in 18.59, Lucy L. Brand, daughter of Nathan 
Brand of Leonardsville, this county, who died March 33, 1894. 



Bumpus, Pearl D., p. o. Nelson, was born in the town of Fenner, December 1 1869, 
a son of Augustus H. and Martha E (Lombard) Bumpus. They had three children: 
Merchant Z., Pearl D., and Jessie D. Augustus H. was born April 35, 1833, on the 
farm where Pearl D. now lives. He was married March 27, 1867, and died January 
19, 1891. By occupation he was a farmer and was a public spirited man, holding 
the offices of overseer of the poor, collector, and constable. Augustus H. was a son 
of James and Eliza Ann (Caswell) Bumpus. Their children were James, William, 
Polly M., Peleg, Enoch D., Augustus H., Merchant B., Henry A., and Charles W., 
all born on the farm where Pearl D. now lives, and all dead with the e.xception of 
Henry A. and Enoch D. The first of the family to come to the town of Fenner was 
James, who came from Nelson about 1825. Pearl D. was educated in the common 
schools of the town of Fenner and in Cazenovia Seminary. His early life was spent 
with his father on the farm. When he was twenty-one years of age his father died 
and he remained on the farm which he worked with his brother, Merchant Z. When 
he was twenty-five years of age he purchased his father's estate from the heirs and 
now lives on the old homestead. He has always taken an interest in town and county 
affairs, in educational matters, and has held several of the appointive offices. 



Black, L. D.,p. o. Pratt's Hollow, was born in Smithfield, September 2, 1844, a son 
of Samuel, and grandson of John Black, who came from Massachusetts to Smithfield 
among the first settlers. Samuel Black was born in Smithfield and died there in 
1889. His wife was Freelove Wright and they had six children ; she died in 1875. 
L. D. Black was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. He is a 
farmer and has 112 acres in Eaton and has since bought a farm of 106 acres in Stock- 
bridge. He has a dairy of twenty cows, and is also a successful hop grower. He 
married Lucinda Ingalls and they have two children: Pernie, wife of Albert Cam- 
eron of Peterboro, an extensive farmer and supervisor of Smithfield; and Frank S. , 
at home, who married Flora Field. 



Beal, George, p. o. Hamilton, the popular postmaster of Hamilton, N. Y., was born 
in this village and received his education in the local schools. He learned the trade 
of cabinet maker and pursued that vocation for seven years, when he became a mem- 
ber of the firm of Bartle & Beal, bakers, which existed for ten years, doing a large 
business until forced out by the syndicate. Mr. Beal then entered the partnership of 
Rowlands & Beal, furniture dealers and undertakers, which firm still exists. In 1894 
Mr. Beal was appointed postmaster at Hamilton by President Cleveland, and his 
conduct of the office has been highly acceptable to both political elements. He has 
given his whole attention to the duties of his office and it is worthy of note that when 
the great fire of 1895 destroyed Hamilton, the post-office building also being burned, 
the public of Hamilton got their mail just as before with the slight exception that 
only one mail was delayed a few minutes. Mr. Beal has been a member of the board 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 15 

of education fourteen years and has also served as loan commissioner. He married 
Elisa Agnes Wahn of Preston, Ont., September 5, 1876; they have two sons, Fred- 
erick W., and George M. Mr. Beal is a prominent Mason and is justly regarded as 
one of the representative citizens of the county. 



Barrett, Gerry P., p. o. Fenner, was born in the town of Smithfield, September 20, 
1827, a son of William P. and Electa (Soper) Barrett. William P. came from Kill- 
ingly, Conn., and settled near Peterboro when a young man. He had six children: 
James S,, Haskell, Frederick, Gerry F., Lucy Jane and Hilah Louise. Mr. Barrett 
followed wagon making and repairing and in 1834 moved to the town of Fenner, 
where he engaged in lumbering and farming. He took an active part in public life 
and was known as a strong Abolitionist. He died in 1867, at sixty-five years of age. 
Gerry F. Barrett was educated in the common schools of Fenner. His early life was 
spent with his parents, with whom he was associated until their death. While Mr. 
Barrett has always taken an active part in town and county affairs, he has never 
aspired to political honors. His father enlisted in the war of 1812 when sixteen years 
of age, and was stationed at New London, Conn. 



Baum, Carl, p. o. Hamilton, was born in Heidelberg, Germany, and came to Amer- 
ica in 1866. He resided in New York city until 1871, when he returned to Germany 
for two years, then returned to America in 1873, and remained in New York until 
1875, when he settled in Hamilton. In 1895 he established the clothing and merchant 
tailoring house of Carl Baum & Sons, which became Carl Baum & Son in March, 
1897, the junior partner being Carl W. Baum. In 1865 Mr. Baum married Anna 
Marie Doersam, and they have four children: Mary W., Louis Philip, Carl W., and 
Louisa A. Mr. Baum is a master Mason and a member of the Select Knights. He 
has been a member of the Hamilton fire department for twenty-two years; was fore- 
man three years, and is president at the present time. Carl W. Baum is a member 
of the order of Odd Fellows. 



Beal, Thomas H., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Hamilton, N. Y., December 29, 1852, 
a son of John Beal, a native of Wexford, Ireland, who came to America in 1848, and 
Catherine Code, his wife. Thomas H. was educated in his native village, and began 
the active duties of life as a clerk, in which capacity he continued for twelve years, 
when he formed a partnership with J. M. Banning, which existed seven years and 
was dissolved in 1884. In July, 1885, he was appointed postmaster at Hamilton by 
President Cleveland and occupied that office until May, 1890. Soon after entering 
upon his duties as postmaster he moved the office to the Smith Block and equipped it 
with a modern outfit; the people of Hamilton are indebted to him more than anyone 
else for the fine post-office accommodations they now enjoy. In 1891 he purchased 
the old Banning drug business and conducted it one year, when he took O. S. Nichols 
as partner and bought out Bonney & Weltou's drug business. In 1896 Mr. Nichols 
died and Mr. Beal conducted the business alone until May 1, 1898, when the firm be- 
came Beal & Beebe. In 1882 Mr. Beal was nominated for the assembly by the Dem- 
ocratic party and made a splendid contest in a Republican district, and was again 
nominated in 1883. In 1892 Mr. Beal was put forward by his party for Congress and 



16 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

cut down a regular Republican majority of 8,000 to 3,500. He has always been an 
ardent Democrat and has frequently been a delegate to county and State conventions, 
as well as chairman of the county committee. He is a prominent Mason ; a member 
of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery, Shrine and Veiled Prophets, and has 
been high priest of the chapter for the past ten years. He is chief engineer of the 
Hamilton fire department and has been a member of the department for twenty-five 
years. 



Blair, Seth, was one of the foremost men among the pioneers of Madison, and 
came to the region with an honorable personal and military record. He was born in 
western Worcester county, Mass , and on September 1, 1776, enlisted in Capt. Ly- 
man's Co., Dike's Regiment, but later on enlisted in Col. Craft's Artillery Regiment, 
serving for a time in each command. On July 3, 1777, he enlisted in Col. Keyes's 
Regiment and marched to Rhode Island, serving to January 1, 1778. In 1798 Patriot 
Blair came to Madison and bought and paid for the land claimed to be owned by 
another person, but a little later the real owner appeared and Blair was obliged to 
pay again for his property. It was near the center and here the pioneer afterward 
lived, one of the prominent men of the town ; he was the first assessor of Madison 
and served two years; was supervisor in 1809-11; overseer of the poor 1813-17; 
assessor again m 1815-17; several years judge of elections, and was one of the com- 
missioners to locate the county seat in 1810. He was pensioned as a Revolutionary 
soldier May 12. 1883, and received $46.60 annually until his death on May 6, 1852, 
aged ninety-one years and six months. He brought to this locality a wife and five 
clildren, the latter being named Elam, Fanny, Polly (who married Isaac Taylor), 
Harvey and Sophia, and the children born in this town were Adolphus, Louisa, Seth, 
Hannah, Mary Ann and Janette, the last mentioned of whom still survives and en- 
joys the pleasant distinction of a membership in the " Daughters of the American 
Revolution." Thomas Taylor came from Essex, England, in 1795, and settled in 
Bloomfield, Mass. ; his children were Isaac, Sally, Eliza, George Theobold and 
Thomas, jr. The family came among the pioneers and settled in Madison, where 
the pioneer provided each of his children with a good farm. He was one of the 
founders of the Congregational church and for many years was a deacon. Isaac 
Taylor, who was born in England, January 26, 1789, came to America with his 
father in 1794 and married Judith Manchester; they had one daughter, Judith. The 
wife died in 1814 After Mrs. Taylor's death he married Polly Blair; they had five 
children: Thomas, Samuel, Fanny. Harvey I. and Mary J., each of whom was a 
useful person in some walk in life. Harvey I. Taylor was born in Madison in 1825 
and still lives in the town. He has always been a farmer and successful in his en- 
deavors in life. Mr. Taylor has been active in the cause of temperance and prohibi- 
tion. He was also an abolitionist and his zeal and conscientious efforts on these lines 
have often met with opposition. During the Cleveland-Blaine campaign this oppo- 
sition found satisfation in girdling the trees in front of his residence. In 1850 he 
married Rebecca House, daughter of J iraes House; they have one child. Nellie, 
who married Herbert Cleveland. Mr. Taylor was brought up under Congregational 
influences, but for more than thirty years has been a member of the M. E. church 
and has held the office of trustee, treasurer, steward and class leader. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 17 

Benjamin. Frank M., was born in Monroe county, January 24, 1851. His father, 
Marcus O. Benjamin, was engaged in agricultural pursuits and married Mary C. 
Hooker. Frank M. Benjamin was educated in Lewisburg Academy and afterwards 
learned the profession of telegraphy and railroad transportion business in Oberlin, 
Ohio. He was engaged for a number of years as telegraph operator at Albion, Lock- 
port, Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls, Rochester and Syracuse on the N. Y. C. and 
H. R. Railroad. When the N. Y. W. S. and B. Railroad was opened from New York 
to Syracuse in 1883 Mr. Benjamin came to Wampsville as agent for that company, 
and in 1897 was appointed agent for the N. Y. C. and H. R. Railroad Company. In 
188.5 he engaged in the coal, wood and fertilizer business and by strict attention to 
business has built up a large and profitable trade. In 188.5 Mr. Benjamin married 
M. Ada Avery, daughter of Lyman Avery; they have one daughter, Ruth A. Mr. 
Benjamin is one of the self-made men of Madison county, taking an active interest 
in educational and church affairs. 



Burchard, Slyvester, p. o. Hamilton.. — Jabez Burchard was the pioneer head of 
one of the most respected early families in the southeast part of Eaton. Some time 
between 1810 and 1815 he left his native place, Granby(near Springfield), Mass., and 
purchased some three or four hundred acres of the historic Baron Steuben tract of 
land in the Mohawk valley. Here he was a farmer and blacksmith, but after about 
ten 3-ears he removed to Marshall, and thence to Remsen, where, with his son Syl- 
vester, he carried on his business of blacksmithing. In the meantime Theodore and 
Seneca Burchard, sons of Jabez, came to Eaton and occupied farms. Here also soon 
came Sylvester Burchard with his family and settled on the land now comprising the 
farms of Sylvester Burchard and W. J. Buell, on which he passed the remainder of 
his days. He died December 30, 1851. His wife was Anna Piatt (whose parents 
came from New Canaan. Conn.), by whom he had these children: Esther, who mar- 
ried Warren J. Buell; Lucina, who married, first, Newton Richards, and second, 
Sidney Tompkins; Sylvester, who now owns a part of the old home farm; Samuel, of 
Oswego; Louise, who married Frank Pierce of Hamilton: and Cynthia, who married 
Dr. N. L. Andrews of Colgate University. Sylvester Burchard, present occupant of 
the old farm, and who, perhaps, is one of the best and most successful Holstein cattle 
growers and judges in this State, was born September 17, 1834, and has spent his 
life thus far in farm work. His father started the first large dairy in this county, 
securing sixty cows from the northern counties of the State, and so successful were 
his efforts that he paid for half of his land (-300 acres) with the profits of the venture. 
His herd was comprised almost wholly of short-horned grade cattle, but in 1878 the 
son Sylvester replaced them with Holsteins. Slyvester, junior, and Mr. Buell suc- 
ceeded to the stock growing business on the death of Sylvester, senior (1851), and 
from that time to 1872 they were partners. Then the farm was divided and the 
partnership relation ended. In 1880 an association of cattle breeders was formed, 
comprising five members, and Mr. Burchard was chosen manager, having charge of 
from forty to sixty head of superior stock. In 1882, in company with Solomon Hoxie, 
he went to Europe and purchased for different parties throughout the United States, 
317 head of thoroughbred Holsteins and delivered them to their owners. After some 
six or seven years the association above mentioned was dissolved, since which time 



1« OUR COUNTY AND ITS PP:OPLE. 

Mr. Burchard has bred cattle entirely on his own account. His present herd num- 
bers about sixty head. He has been president of the Holstein-Fresian Cattle Asso- 
ciation of America, and also a member of the State Grange. On November 5, 1856, 
Mr. Burchard married Terressa Joslin of Eaton, who died in 1859. His second wife 
was AUie Morse of Eaton, and to them were born four children; Seneca Barton, 
Herbert Morse, Anna Terressa, and .Sarah Louise. Mr. Burchard is an earnest Re- 
publican, yet not active in politics. He is a member of the Baptist church of Hamil- 
ton, and for twenty years has been one of its deacons. He has also been for many 
years a member of the Board of Education in connection with Colgate University and 
a member of its executive committee, 



Broad, John H., p. o. Morrisville, publisher of the Madison County Leader, and 
under whose management the paper has been established upon a substantial basis 
and has become recognized as one of the best general and family publications in the 
county, was born at Lee Center, Oneida county, January 14, 1871. He was the son 
of William H. and Hannah (Harris) Broad, and the eighth of their ten children. In 
1870 the parents came from the Cornish Cliffs of Cornwall, England, and settled at 
Lee Center. The father was a currier by trade. He removed to Morri.sville in 1875 
and for many years had charge of the finishing departments in the Tillinghast tan- 
nery. John H. Broad received his early education in the Morrisville Union School 
and at the age of fourteen years entered the office of the old Madison Observer to 
learn the printer's trade. Later on he worked in Oneida about two years and for a 
time in New York on the Ledger. He then returned to Morrisville and in the fall of 
1890 became owner of a fourth interest in the Leader, at that time published by 
Stillman & Nash ; later he secured a half interest and eventually the entire business. 
Even then Mr. Broad was not of full age and the wiseacres predicted his early down- 
fall, but the paper still lives and flourishes under his management, while the office 
and mechanical equipment is one of the most complete in the county. Best of all, 
whatever success the Leader and its owner have achieved, has been due wholly to 
the energy, perseverance and capacity of Mr. Broad. The paper is thoroughly Re- 
publican and one of the influential organs of the party in the county. In 1898 Mr. 
Broad was appointed by President McKinley postmaster at Morrisville. On May 26, 
1894, Mr. Broad married Mary G., daughter of the late James S. Stewart, the latter 
a well known lawyer in this county, and for several years county clerk. 



Brown, Eugene, p. o. Eaton, was born in Eaton, May 5, 1842, and was the son of 
John and the grandson of Capt. Chad Brown, the latter one of the pioneers of the 
region, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Eugene was brought up on the 
farm, and on August 5, 1863, enlisted in Co. D, 114th N. Y. Vols., serving until June 
8, 1865, when he was mustered out as corporal. He was wounded at Port Hudson, 
but after a few months in the hospital he rejoined his regiment. After his military 
service Mr. Brown spent two years in Illinois, then returned to Eaton and in 1871 
purchased the village creamery of Avery & Wadsworth, of which he was the owner 
and successful proprietor until the spring of 1898. In his business life and endeav- 
ors Mr. Brown has been abundantly successful, a result due entirely to his own per- 
sonal effort and industry. In politics he is a Democrat and has occasionally been the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 19 

candidate of his party for town office. In 18()9 Mr. Brown married Delia A., daugh- 
ter of Adon Brown of Eaton. 



Buell, Warren J., p. o. Hamilton. — Thomas Buell came from New Hampshire with 
his family in 1795, and settled in the south part of Lebanon. All his goods and 
property were loaded on wagons drawn by two ox teams, while one or two cows 
were driven along the route by sons of the pioneer. He built a log house and opened 
a fine farm on which he lived until his death October 1, 1830. The children in this 
notable family were Darius, who died in 18G3; Samuel, who died in 1850; Thomas, 
who died in 1873; Roxa. who married John Boutwell and died in 1864; Eli, who was 
a teacher of vocal music and died in 1869; Ira, who died in 1874; Elijah, who died 
in 1854; Irene, who died young; Joseph, who died May 34, 1837; Irene, 3d, who 
married Rufus Dunham and died in 1864; John, who died in 1877; Chauncey, who 
died on the old home farm in 1864; and Orrin, who died in 1880. Joseph Buell mar- 
ried Permelia Stowell. He was born in Lebanon, May 31, 1796. and died there in 
1837. His children were Angeline, Jenette, John, Warren J., Thomas, Leroy, Fay- 
ette and William, all of whom except William, are now living, and are useful men 
and women in their respective walks of life. Warren J. Buell was born in Lebanon, 
September 13, 1836, and has nearly always been a farmer. At the age of twenty-one 
he began work for himself. On March 34, 1853, he married Esther Burchard of 
Eaton, and then became a resident in that town, living on a part of the splendid 
Burchard farm, of which he is now the owner. He was partner with Sylvester Burch- 
ard in cattle breeding and farming from 1853 to 1878. but since the last mentioned 
year has operated without a partner. He is an earnest member of the Hamilton 
Baptist church, having been deacon seven years, and is a member of the educational 
board of Colgate University. The children of Warren and Esther Buell were Jennie, 
who married Prof. E. P. Sisson of Colgate Academy ; and Samuel, who died an infant. 
George C. Buell, one of the most thorough an d en terprising farmers of the town, is the 
son by adoption of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Buell. Dr. Joseph and Content (Alexander) 
Stowell came from New Hampshire in 1803, and settled near Earlville. Dr. Stowell 
practiced medicine and was also a farmer. He died in 1843, and his wife in 1863. 
Their children were Permelia, who married Joseph Buell ; Eunice, who married Aaron 
Lawton ; Jeremiah Kittridge, who died in Michigan ; Caroline, who married Orrin 
Bull; Alexander, who died in Michigan; Cynthia, who married Warren Felt; and 
also Hannah, George, Sanford, Semantha and Nancy Stowell, of whom no accurate 
date is obtainable. 



Bicknell, Bennett, came from Mansfield, Conn., to Morrisville, and was among the 
early settlers in that interesting village. He was also one of the most active busi- 
ness men of the locality, having been a merchant, distiller, and proprietor of a grist 
mill. In 1838 he purchased and edited the Observer and Recorder, and almost at 
once made that one of the most influential papers of the region. In March, 1830, 
Harrison C. Bicknell became associated with his father in the publication, but after 
several years the younger Bicknell and Edward Norton became owners and publish- 
ers. About the time the elder Bicknell bought the paper he was one of the leading 
Democratic political factors in this part of the State and was member of Assembly in 



20 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1812 and State Senator from 1814 to 1818; also member of Congress in 1827 and in 
1833. During the war of 1812-15 he was in service at Sackett's Harbor, and held a 
major's commission. His children were Moses, Harriet, Louisa and Harrison C. 
The latter was born and always lived in Morrisville, and like his father was a man of 
influence in the county, though perhaps less prominent in politics. His first wife 
was a Miss Chambers, by whom he had two children: Byron and Mary. His second 
wife was Eliza Ann Cloyes, by whom he had five children: Otis C. (who died in in- 
fancy), Lucinda, Ann Eliza, Harrison C. , and Otis C. Otis C. was born April 1, 
1849, and in December foUowmg his father died, but the mother kept the family to- 
gether for six years, when she married again. When about fourteen, Otis began life 
as a clerk and so continued until the spring of 1866, when he came to Madison and 
was employed by Lucas & Lane until 1871. He then became partner with Mr. Lucas, 
but in 1879 Mr. Lucas died, and the firm then became Bicknell Brothers. In 1885 the 
brother went west and Otis C. succeeded and has been in active business to the pres- 
ent time. Like his ancestors, Mr. Bicknell has always been a firm Democrat and his 
name has frequently been found on his party's ticket as the candidate for some im- 
portant office. He has been a member of the board of education four years, and dur- 
ing the two administrations of President Cleveland Mr. Bicknell was postmaster of 
Madison. He married Josephine Curtis, by whom he had five children, four of whom 
are now living: F. Hyatt, Curtis, Blanche, and Harold. 



Barker, George H., p. o. Madison. — Russell Barker was the pioneer head of a not 
large, but generally thrifty, progressive and respected family of descendants in Mad- 
ison county. He came from New England and was of the same sturdy class of 
pioneers as were the majority of colonists in this part of the county. Rutherford 
Barker, son of Russell, was born December 17. 1779; his wife was Hannah Wood- 
hull, by whom he had ten children: Nancy, born 1802, married Isaac Coe and died 
April 21, 1885; Sally E., born 1803. married Dr. John Putnam, and died in 1848; Nel- 
son, born 1805, died 1806; Rus.sell, born 1807, died 1810; Mariette, born 1809, died 
1870; Henry R., born August 5, 1812, and died July 31, 1856; Julia Ann, born 1815, 
married Amos Locy, and died 1849; Maria, born 1818, married Daniel Locy, and died 
1894; Hannah, born 1820, married Lyman Harding, and died 1897; Leverett W., 
born 1823, and died 1854. On October 13, 1838, Henry R. Barker married Ann C. 
White, who was born July 22, 1810. He was a speculator and dealer, an upright, 
honest business man, one whose efforts in life were amply rewarded. His life was 
spent in Madison. In his family were two children: Samuel R., born February 22, 
1842, and died September 14, 1851, and George H., born February 3, 1844. George 
H. Barker's life has been spent almost wholly in Madison and his time has been given 
largely to dealing and speculating in whatever promises a fair return. He is known 
as one of the safest hop buyers in the region. For about ten years he has been one 
of the directors of the National Hamilton Bank. He is also interested in local affairs 
in Madison village, is a conservative Democrat, yet in no sense an office seeker. His 
wife was Rosalia, daughter of Henry Risley, and descended from one of the most re- 
spected families of the town. 



Brockett, H. D., p. o. Bouckville. — David Zelora Brockett was a native of Herkimer 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 31 

county, and when about twenty-five years old came to Madison and purchased what 
is now known as the C. Z. Brockett farm, and vyhich, both then and now, is regarded 
as one of the best farms in this county. Later on Mr. Brockett owned what is known 
as the "Prize farm," presumably the best piece of agricultural land in this region. 
After about fifteen years on this farm Mr. Brockett moved to Madison village, where 
he died in 1891. His first wife was Elizabeth Cole, by whom he had one daughter 
who died young. His second wife was Fanny Hale. No children were born of this 
marriage, but Mr. and Mrs. Brockett had a daughter by adoption: Minnie, wife of 
A. L. Brigham of Madison, and also a sou, Hurd D. Brockett, merchant at Bouck- 
ville. Hurd D. Brockett was boru in Syracuse, September 13, 1859, and when five 
years old came to live in the family of D. Z. Brockett, of which family he was after- 
ward a member. At the age of fourteen he started out for himself, and after working 
for a time as a farm hand he was employed as clerk by Cushraan & Ives of Madison. 
From there he came to work for L. E. Coe, at Bouckville, and on March 1, 1883, he 
became a partner in the firm of Coe & Brockett, which firm is known at the present 
time, although the senior member is now dead. In the meantime, however, Mr. 
Brockett sold out and was for three years in the drug trade in Madison village; but 
at the end of that time he returned to the firm at the urgent request of Mr. Coe. 
The latter died February 38, 1897, since which time Mr. Brockett has continued the 
business for the firm. On December 16, 1882, Mr. Brockett married Cora A., daugh- 
ter of Allen Curtis. They have one child. 



Benjamm, Warren H., p. o. Solsville, who for more than forty years has been 
identified with business interests in Madison and Solsville, was born in Truxton, and 
was the son of Charles Benjamin, a shoemaker, who settled in De Ruyter in 1831. 
At the age of seventeen years Warren began work as apprentice to the tinsmithing 
trade, and in April, 1845, began work for Ayer & Arnold. He afterward found em- 
ployment at Waterville, where he worked two years and in the spring of 1854 located 
in Madison village and worked for John Morgan till 1864. He soon left the shop and 
worked four years on a farm in Eaton, but in December, 1868, returned and worked 
one year in Mr. WoodhuU's shop. After a year he and John Morgan bought out the 
WoodhuU shop and carried on a general tinsmithing business till 1871, when the firm 
dissolved. Mr. Benjamin then worked two years for Mr. Morgan and in the spring 
of 1875 settled m Solsville and established a business for himself, dealing m general 
hardware, groceries and doing a tinsmithing business. From the outset the venture 
has been successful and Mr. Benjamin is now regarded as one of the solid business 
men of the town. The firm of W. H. Benjamin & Sons comprises Mr. Benjamin and 
sons Frank H. and Will H. On January 1, 1849, Mr. Benjamin married Mary J. 
Waters of Fabius. The children of this marriage were Frank H., Fred D. and Will H. 
Frank H. benjamin has been town clerk of Madison for twenty-seven years and is 
one of the active Republicans of the town and county. 



Brown, Everett, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Smithfield, March 10, 1836, a son of 
Othniel, and grandson of David Brown, born in Connecticut, September 4, 1761, and 
spent his last days near Binghamton, N. Y. His wife was Abigail Dexter. Othniel 
Brown came came to Smithfield about 1820 and here he lived until his death on Jan- 



22 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

uary 5, 1880. His wife was Hannali Elting, whom he married March 15, 1820, and 
had seven children, five now living. Mr. Brown was a teacher for some time, and 
also a farmer. Mr.=. Brown died in 1868. Everett Brown was educated in the com- 
mon and select schools. He is a farmer and owns 190 acres of land, but has lived 
retired since 1865. In politics he is a Republican. His father was captain in the 
State militia. His mother, Hannah Elting, was a daughter of Henry Elting, and 
Catharine Burhonce, his wife, of Holland descent. Henry Elting and wife had 
eight children, none of whom is now living. William H. Elting was a prominent 
lawyer in New York City. Mr. Brown's brother, E. Dexter Brown, of Rhinelander, 
Wis., was a prominent lumberman. His son, Anderson Wesley Brown, was the 
originator of Rhinelander, Wis. Mr. Brown's great-grandfather, Chad Brown, was 
a colonel in the Revolutionary war. He lived in Providence, R. I., and married 
Zermiah Evans. 



Bruce, E. N., was born at Quality Hill, June 7, 1816. His father, Joseph Bruce, 
was a native of Ro.xbury, born January 1, 1789. and came to Madison county in 
1805; he was the first postmaster in the town of Leno.x. In 1810 he married Maria, 
daughter of John D. Nellis, and through life was identified with mercantile business 
and farming. He was a prominent man in the growth and early settlement of his 
town, a man of great energy and sterling integrity, and widely known and respected. 
He died January 27, 1872. E. N. Bruce was educated in the common schools at 
Quality Hill and taught school for several years. In 1839 he married Sarah A. Cran- 
son, who died August 17, 1859, and December 21, 1861, he married Charlotte Markell, 
who died September 19, 1865. Ou March 21, 1866, he married Mrs. Sarah Clark, 
daughter of John Green, who died September 10, 1891; their only child, Cornelia A., 
married John W. Stanton. Mr. Bruce is one of the progressive men of Madison 
county. In 1888 he erected the opera house which bears his name. 



Barrett, Adelbert M., was born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, November 5, 
1844. His father, Edwin R. Barrett, was a native of Oswego count)-, where his 
father, Morrison Barrett, was one of the pioneer settlers. His father served seven 
years in the war of the Revolution. Edwin R. Barrett married Sevilla Isbell, and 
through life was engaged as a contractor and builder. A. M. Barrett was educated 
in the common schools and Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie. He learned 
the carpenter's trade and in 1870 moved to Cana.stota and in 1875 established his coal 
and lumber business and planing and saw mill. In 1868 Mr. Barrett married An- 
nette, claughter of Amzi Ellis; they have two daughters. Flora F. , and Lena S. Mr. 
Barrett is one of the progressive men of Madison county, taking an active interest in 
school and church matters and is recognized as a man of high character, who enjoys 
the respect of his associates. In 1862 Mr. Barrett enlisted in Co. B., 117th N. Y. 
Vol. Infantry, and took part in the siege of Fort Wagner, the battles of Drury's 
Bluff, Petersburg Heights, Chapin's Farm and Fort Fisher. He served until the end 
of the war in 1865. 



Barott, W. E. , was born in Westmoreland, Oneida county, October 2, 1851. His 
father, Edwin R. Barott, was a native of Oswego county and his grandfather Barott 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 23 

served in the Revolutionary War. Edwin R. married Sevilla, daughter o£ Chauncey 
Isbell, and through life was engaged as a contractor and builder. W. E. Barott 
was educated in the public schools and learned the carpenter's trade with his father. 
In 1882 he came to Canastota and has erected many fine buildings in that place. In 
1877 Mr. Barott married Gertrude, daughter of Edgar Williams, and they had four 
sons, Chauncey E., Ernest I., William E., and Roger B. Mr. Barott is one of the 
leading men of his town, taking an active interest in school and public matters, and 
has ever advanced the best interest of his town and town's people. 



Brown, William Delos, was born in the town of Nelson, November 20, 1831, a son 
of Zedock and Mary Ann (Alger) Brown, who had six children, viz. •. Edward, Lorey, 
William Delos, Abigail, Adelaide and Betsey Maria, all born in the town of Nelson 
except Adelaide, who was born m Erie county, N. Y. Zedock was a son of Robert 
and Betsey Brown, who had nine children: Cortes, William, Russel, Zedock, Henry, 
George, Nancy, Betsey and Jane. Zedock was a blacksmith and tool worker, and 
his father followed farming and settled in Nelson about 1793. William Delos was 
educated in the common schools of the town of Nelson. His father died when he 
was about ten years of age and he was thrown on his own resources, starting in life 
as a farm laborer. When he was twenty-seven years of age he purchased a farm 
where he now resides and carries on general and hop farming. In 1859 he married 
Mary Etta, daughter of Elisha and Lucy Dryer Whipple; they have one child, 
Charlotte, wife of Frank D. Hamilton. Mr. Brown is active in all public spirited en- 
terprises, such as schools and churches, of which he has been a contributing and 
supporting member for the past fifty years. 



Cody, Francis A., who died at his home in Oneida Castle, September 34, 1898, in 
the seventy-eighth year of his age, was during all his life a resident of this region. 
He was born in Vernon, Oneida county, January 14, 1821, a son of Samuel and 
Clarissa (Hitchcock) Cody. His father was an early settler of the town of Vernon 
and a man of considerable wealth and influence. Mr. Cody was educated in the 
schools of his native town, and during all of his active life was a successful farmer. 
He was one of the first hop growers of this section, and also dealt largely in live 
stock, especially cattle and Canadian horses, frequently bringing large droves to this 
market. He removed to Oneida, near Oneida Castle, in 1879, and at his pleasant 
home there lived quietly until his death. Mr. Cody's home farm was located near 
Vernon Centre, but he owned several farms in Oneida and Madison counties. In 
politics he was a Republican, but never sought nor held public office. He was a 
man of strong convictions from which he could not readily be swerved, but withal a 
staunch and warm hearted friend. In his business relations he was strictly honor- 
able and honest. He had a generous nature, and was a man of charitable impulses 
and not afraid to count as friends those among the humble and lowly. Mr. Cody 
first married Phoebe Faulkner and six children were born to them, four of whom 
survive: James F. Cody and Mrs. Jane Miller of Oneida, Francis Cody of Vernon 
Centre, and Kendall Cody of Fanner. In 1871 Mr. Cody married Welthia A. Wilcox, 
who survives him. She was a daughter of Erasmus D. and Sarah (Gibson) Wilcox, 
and her grandfather was one of the " six " first settlers of the town of Vernon and 



24 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

assisted in felling the first tree cut in that town. Three daughters were born of this 
union: Cora P., Neva E. , and Clarissa Belle, who died in 1887. 

Cheney, Prentice D., son of Timothy C. and Ann Belden (Cook) Cheney, was born 
in Syracuse, N. Y., April 30, 1836. His father was a mason contractor and one of its 
citizens in the infancy of the city. He served as supervisor; erected the first Wiet- 
ing Block and the old Penitentiary and Court House. Prentice D. Cheney is a lineal 
desceudent in the eighth generation of John Cheney who settled in Roxbury, Mass., 
in 1635, held large allotments and is recorded as having frequently held public office 
in the Colonial Government. Mr. Cheney was educated in public and private schools 
in Syracuse, and learned the mason's trade under his father, with whom he worked 
about five years. In 1856 he began business as a contractor in Syracuse, where he 
resided until 1862. While there he built the City Hall, an engine house and several 
private residences. Mr. Cheney has served as president of the village, and as a 
member of the board of trustees several terms. He married first Sarah F. Bristol, 
niece of Rev. Dr. Bristol of Syracuse, and of this union four children were born, 
two of whom survive; Mrs. E. E. French of Albany and Frank P. Cheney of Sy- 
racuse. For his second wife he married Carrie A. Barnett, a daughter of Dr. Milton 
Barnett of Morrisville. 



Chapin, Samuel, jr., who has been in the jewelry trade in Oneida nearly fifty years, 
was born in Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., May 18, 1831, the oldest son of Samuel and 
Fannie (Sage) Chapin. His education was limited to the common schools, and at an 
early age he entered his father's jewelry store in Vernon to learn the trade, which 
he has always followed. His father had previously been a wagon maker, but gradu- 
ally took up the jewelry business, at which he finally became expert, having learned 
the trade from the various watchmakers he had employed. He came to Oneida in 
December, 1848, and started the first jewelry store in the village, still continuing his 
store in Vernon. In 1850 he disposed of this business and brought his family to 
Oneida, where he is still living at the advanced age of ninety-three years. The sub- 
ject of this notice purchased his father's business in company with Ephraim Beck, 
forming the firm of Chapin & Beck. Mr. Beck retired after one year and Mr. Cha- 
pin continued alone. His father had meantime decided to engage in business and 
for a time they were in friendly competition, later combining their stocks and form- 
ing the present well-known firm of S. Chapin & Son. Mr. Chapin is a well-known 
and valued citizen of Oneida. He has never sought nor held public office of any 
kind. He married in 1891 Miss Carrie De Pledge of Oneida and one son has been 
born to them, Stewart Lyle Chapin. 



Coe, E. Emmons, cashier of the Farmers' and Merchants' State Bank of Oneida, 
was born in the town of Smithfield, this county, April 24, 1845, a son of E. E. and 
Susan (Matthewson) Coe. His grandfather, David Coe, a native of Connecticut, was 
one of the earliest settlers of the town of Smithfield, coming when there was but one 
frame house between the villages of Peterboro and Vernon. He built the first saw 
mill of the town, cleared his own farm, and was named as the wealthiest man in 
town, with the exception of Peter Smith (father of Gerrit Smith). He was a man of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 25 

the hardy pioneer type, industrious, and of rugged honesty. He gained the respect 
and confidence of all his fellow citizens and died honored and respected by all who 
had known him. E. Emmons Coe was educated in the district schools in the vicinity 
of his home, and at Clinton Liberal Institute at Clinton, N. Y. Before he was eight- 
een years old he taught school in winter and worked on his father's farm in the sum- 
mer months. He was engaged in farming until he was twenty-four years of age. In 
1869 he came to Oneida, and in company with Charles O. Loomis established a 
wholesale leather busmess under the firm name of Loomis & Coe. Mr. Loomis re- 
tired after four years, and Mr. Coe conducted the business with good success until 
1888 when he sold out. Mr. Coe organized the Farmers' and Merchants' State Bank 
in 1893 with a capital stock of $50,000, and a surplus now of 815,000; he has served 
as cashier of the bank since the organization. Mr. Coe has shown no lack of zeal in 
supporting public enterprises, and has represented the old town of Lenox as super- 
visor; he is a trustee of the Oneida Savings Bank; and a member and past grand of 
Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows, which he joined over thirty years ago. He married 
in 1864, Eliza M. Kerr, a daughter of Dr. Robert Kerr of Oneida county. Of this 
union is one daughter, Mrs. F. M. Hamlin of Rome, N. Y. 



Cavana, Martin, a physician and surgeon of more than local reputation, and a 
practitioner in Oneida village since 1875, was born at Marcy, N. Y.. February 24, 
1849, a sm of M. P. and Mary (Hughes) Cavana, and grandson of Martin Cavana. 
He was educated at Whitestown Seminary, and the University of Michigan, and 
began the study of medicine at Holland Patent, N. Y. , under Norton Wolcott, M. D. 
Later he attended two regular courses and one preliminary course of lectures at Ann 
Arbor, Michigan, and at Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York city, where 
be was graduated M. D. in February, 1872. In the winter of 1893-93 he took a post 
graduate course in operative gynecology at the New York Post Graduate College. 
Ur. Cavana commenced practice at Oneida Castle in May, 1872, and three years 
later removed to Oneida where he has practiced nearly a quarter of a century. He 
is a member of the New York State Medical Association, and an e.i£-member of its 
council; New York State Association of Railway Surgeons, its secretary in 1892 and 
1893, and its president in 1894; National Association of Railway Surgeons ; American 
Academv of Railway Surgeons; Medico-Legal Society of New York ; ex-member of 
United States Board of Pension Surgeons; and Surgeon of the New York, Ontario & 
Western Railroad, northern division. He has served as captain of the Oneida Bat- 
tery, Light Artillery, for several years ; as chairman of the Madison County Repub- 
lican Committee, and on the village board of Police and Fire Commissioners. He is 
a member of the Republican Club of the City of New York; the Oneida Chamber of 
Commerce, and a thirty-second degree Mason. In 1890 Dr. Cavana established the 
Oneida Private Hospital at Oneida, and the Oneida Sanitarium at Sylvan Beach, of 
both institutions of which he is proprietor and manager. He has gained a wide rep- 
utation in the medical world as an expert in gynecological surgery. He married, 
June 5, 1872, Miss Sarah J. Robinson of Holland Patent, N. Y. Their only child, 
Martin Cavana, jr., aged seventeen years, died in 1894. 



Cramer, Norman L. , was born in the town of Fenner, this county, October 15, 



26 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1844, a son of Andrew F., and Caroline (Button) Cramer. He was educated at Caz- 
enovia Seminary, and at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., from which 
he was graduated with the class of 1873. Mr. Cramer was engaged in the profession 
of teaching for a period of twelve years, his first position being that of instructor in 
the Ripley Female College at Poultney, Vt. , where he remained one year. For three 
years he served as principal of the High School at Portland, Conn. ; was principal of 
the High School at Grand Rapids, Mich., one year; and for seven years was princi- 
pal of different schools in the State of Connecticut. Following this period he was 
engaged for three years in the office of the Shaler & Hall Quarry Company at Port- 
land, Conn. In 1886 he came to Oneida and bought an interest in the leather goods 
business of E. E. Coe who had started in the early seventies. They continued one 
year under the firm name of Coe & Cramer, and Mr. Coe was succeeded by W. E. 
Phillips, forming the firm of Cramer & Phillips. After six years Mr. Phillips with- 
drew and was succeeded by Nelson G. Stark, forming the present firm of Cramer & 
Stark. In August, 1864, Mr. Cramer enlisted in Co. M of the Harris Light Cavalry, 
and served until the close of the war. He is a member of John R. Stewart Post, No. 
170, G. A. R , and has served in nearly all the offices of this organization. Mr. Cramer 
married, in 1878, M. Josephine Cady, a daughter of Rev. William O. Cady, of Port- 
land, Conn. Of this union is one son, Myron C. Cramer. 



Coles, Theodore, son of Amos and Agnes (Troth) Coles, was born in Medford. N. 
J., October 6, 1845. He was educated at Medford Academy, and until he reached 
his majority assisted in the conduct of his father's farm. He gained his first business 
e.Kperience at Bordentown, N. J , as a clerk in a shipping office, and after one year 
took a position in the oflBce of an agricultural implement factory in Philadelphia, 
where he remained two years. Subsequently he engaged in the real estate business 
in Chicago, and later in an architectural iron business in San Francisco. From the 
latter city he came to Durhamville, Oneida county, to take a position as superintend- 
ent of the Durhamville Glass Works. He resigned this position to become treasurer 
of the Canastota Knife Co., where he remained until 1896. In that year Mr. Coles 
established the Oneida Rubber Tire Works which he still continues. In 1898 he pur- 
chased the plant previously owned by the Oneida Gas Works, and rebuilt the same 
for the better accommodation of his own business. Mr. Coles has been actively in- 
terested in and a prominent supporter of the Madison County Historical Society. He 
married Frances Newton Messinger, daughter of the late [. Newton Messinger of 
Oneida. 



Chapiii, Dvvight, son of Samuel and Fannie (Sage) Chapin (a sister of Russell 
Sage), was born in Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., April 25, 1837. His father was a 
jeweler, a native of Ballston Spa, Saratoga county, N. Y. He lived in Vernon sev- 
eral years, and removed to Oneida in 1850 and established the first jewelry store in 
this village. He is still living in his ninety-third year, and his wife in her ninety- 
first year. Mr. Chapin's education was limited to the district schools. He was thir- 
teen years old when the family came to Oneida, and shortly after went in the office 
of the Oneida Telegraph, established by David Frost, and the first paper in the vil- 
lage. Mr. Chapin assisted in the preparation of the first issue published. He re- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 27 

mained in the printing business seven years, three years in Oneida, and later in 
Utica, Buffalo, Erie, Pa., and Auburn, N. Y. In 1848 he began a small business in 
Oneida as a dealer in books, stationery and periodicals. This he continued until the 
outbreak of the civil war, vyhen on August 10, 1861, he enlisted in the Oneida Cav- 
alry Company (only independent cavalry company in the service). This company 
was always connected with headquarters and was escort successively to Generals 
McClellan, Hooker, Meade, and Grant. Mr. Chapin was Quartermaster Sergeant 
during his entire term of service. He was honorably discharged September 13, 1864, 
and again took up his business in Oneida which had been continued during his ab- 
sence by his father and brother. He has ever since conducted this business which 
has become one of the landmarks of the town. Some years ago he added wall paper 
and picture frames to his stock. The " Dwight Chapin Book Store" is the oldest es- 
tablishment of its kind in central New York and one of the oldest in the State. Mr. 
Chapin married, in 1866 Hannah Dyer, daughter of Benjamin W. Dyer. Three ch;l • 
dren have been born of this union : Mrs. Charles B Wilbur, of Boston ; Mrs. Nelson 
D. Bonney; and Sara D. Chapin. 



Coe, D. R., son of Albert E. and Charlotte (Read) Coe, was born in the town of 
Smithfield, this county, in 1846. His father was a farmer and subsequently a mei - 
chant and broker in Oneida, becoming well known throughout this section. He died 
in 1887. Mr. Coe was educated in the old Oneida Seminary and at Madison Univer- 
sity, now Colgate University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1872. 
Soon afterward he was appointed deputy clerk of the United States Circuit Court at 
Utica, a position which he held for eight years and then, after a short western trip, 
returned to Oneida to care for his father's extensive interests during the latter's ill- 
ness. After his father's death Mr. Coe took charge of the estate as administrator. 
In 1890 he engaged in the hardware business, buying an interest in the firm of H. 
M. Reynolds & Co., which on his admission became Millspaugh & Coe, and so con- 
tinued until the spring of 1896 when Mr. Millspaugh retired. In the fall of the same 
year the present firm of Coe & Timerman was formed by the admission of G. A. 
Timerman. Mr. Coe married, in 1885, Sarah Allan, daughter of Moses Allan of 
Utica. Three sons have been born of this union: Allan Read; Stanley Campbell; 
and David Donald. 



Chapin, Frank W., was born in Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., October 20, 184.3, a 
son of Samuel and Fannie (Sage) Chapin. He received an education limited to the 
district schools and early learned the trade of painting and paper hanging, which he 
has followed all his life. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Co. H., 3oth N. Y. Vols, and 
served two years. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted in the 157th N. Y. Vols. ; was 
transferred in 1865 to the 54th N. Y. Vols., and honorably discharged. April 14, 1866, 
after a service of four years. He then returned to Oneida, where he has since, with 
the exception of a few years, followed his trade. In April, 1892, he formed a part- 
nership with his brother, Fremont Chapin, and under the name of Chapin Brothers 
established his present wall paper and paint business at No. 36 Madison street. Mr. 
Chapin is a member of John R. Stewart Post No. 170. G. A. R. He married, in 1876, 
Ada F. Hitchcock, daughter of J N. Hitchcock of Flat Rock, Michigan. 



28 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Conniff, Thomas, who has been in the shoe business at one location in Oneida for 
thirty-two years, was born in Ireland, December 14, 1837, a son of John and Martha 
(Brennan) Conniff. His father was extensively engaged in shoe manufacturing in 
the old country and employed several men. He came to this country with his family 
in 1846 and settled in New York city. In 1852 he removed to Canaseraga, and in the 
spring of the following year to Oneida. Thomas Conniff was educated in the com- 
mon schools and learned the trade of boot and shoemaking under his father. In 1865 
he engaged in this business in Oneida, and in 1867 built the block on the north side 
of Madison street, where he has since conducted his business. He formed a partner- 
ship in 1893 with William F. Toher, which still continues under the firm name of 
Conniff S: Toher. In politics Mr. Conniff has been a consistent Democrat; he has 
served as overseer of the poor two years, and as village trustee one term. In June, 
1867, he married Ellen M. Kelly, and of their union five children were born, four of 
whom survive; Mrs. Henry M. White, Jennie H., Paul R., and Thomas J. Two 
children, Jennie H. and Paul R., have taken the orders of the church; the former is 
a member of the Order of the Sacred Heart, and the latter of the Jesuit Order; both 
were graduates of the Oneida High School with the class of 1888. 



Carl, Peter P., p. o. Chittenango, a highly esteemed and widely known citizen of 
Chittenango, was born in that village in 1834. His father was Andrew Carl, by trade 
a blacksmith, who came here from Danbury, Conn., in 1830. Peter Carl learned the 
wagon making trade at Canastota in 18.10 and 1852; during the latter year he estab- 
lished himself in business in Chittenango. In July, 1862, he enlisted as second ser- 
geant in the 157th Regiment, N. Y. Volunteers; served as wagon master in Siegel's 
11th Corps until Septeml^er 1, 1862, and was promoted to A. Q. M. S., September 1, 
1863, and served until the close of the war. Mr. Carl then resumed his business in 
Chittenango, where by enterprise and integrity he has built up a large trade in 
wagons, etc. One son is engaged in the business with him, Randall Carl, now 
thirty-eight years of age Mr. Carl's first wife was Louisa S. Plank of Chittenango, 
who died in 1870, leaving three children. He was married again in 1878 to Lizzie 
Barnes Mr. Carl has for forty si.x years been chief engineer of the local fire depart- 
ment and from 1870 to 1877 was trustee of the village. In 1870 Carl's Opera House 
was erected, a handsome and commodious structure, still owned and managed by 
himself. It is the only public hall of consequence in the locality, and capable of 
accommodating nearly 500 people. 



Curtis, Mrs. Elizabeth G., p. o. Madison.— 'Whiting J. Lewis was one of the 
pioneers of Madison, and came to the town from Stratford, Conn., about 1796. He 
was a farmer and a man greatly respected in the locality. His children were Sally, 
Henry, Judson ,S.. Stiles and Angenette. Henry Lewis was born near Solsville in 
1806, and spent the greater portion of his business life in the town. He engaged in 
farming and speculating and became the most wealthy man in Madison. Moreover, 
he was generous and public spirited, and much respected wherever known. He died 
in 1894. His first wife was Susan Root, daughter of pioneer Solomon Root; they 
had two children: Heber, who lived to about twenty-five years of age; and Irving, 
who died in childhood. Mr. Lewis's second wife was Mrs. Harriet (Slocum) Drake 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 2,9 

of Wilkesbarre, Pa. The children by adoption of Henry Lewis were Ella Bailey, 
who married Henry Schanzlin of Buffalo and Ernest G. (Johnson) Lewis, a native of 
Madison. The latter married Elizabeth Gifford. He died in November, 1892, and 
his widow afterward married Louis A. Curtis of Madison. 



Coe, Mrs. Mary, — Lewis Elliott Coe, who for more than twenty years was engaged 
in successful mercantile business in Bouckville, and who was looked upon as one of 
the self-made men of the village, was born in Hamilton, November 9. 1847, and was 
the oldest of two children of William Church Coe. His father died when Lewis was 
eleven years old, upon which the boy went to live with the family of an uncle in 
Augusta. At the age of twenty-one he came to Bouckville. where he was clerk for 
Milton Danforth, remaining with him until he failed in business and then succeeding 
him in the store. Mr. Coe became proprietor January 1, 1875, and was in trade to 
the time of his death, February 28, 1897. The firm of Coe & Brockett was formed in 
1883 and the name is still known to the trade. Mr. Coe v.'as a strong Republican 
and a generous, public spirited man in all things. From 1874 to 1886 he was post- 
master at Bouckville. On October 23, 1872, he married Mary, daughter of Marcius 
Washburn, by whom he had three children; Dr. Charles M. Coe of Rochester; Edna 
L. , and Lillian A. Mr. Coe was brought up under Universalist influence, but was a 
liberal supporter of the local M. E. church. 



Clark, Ira, was born two and one-half miles west of Morrisville, February 24, 1822. 
a son of Ira (a native of Connecticut) and Lydia (Dunham) Clark; their children were 
Orsmus, Edward, Lonson, Jcseph P., Ira, Millie, Laurie, Cornelia, Fidelia, and 
Lydia, all born in Madison county. The first two sons were drowned in Leiand 
Pond about 1825. By occupation Ira Clark, sr. , followed hotel keeping and farming. 
Ira Clark, jr., was educated in the common schools of Madison county. His early 
life was spent with his parents, and when sixteen years of age he started in life for 
himself as a farm laborer. In 1843 he married Marsha Elvira, daughter of Caleb 
Abbott, and they have one son, William I., who married Lucy Blowers; they have 
four children: Claud, Efiie, Irving and Walter. In the fall after Mr. Clark was mar- 
ried he moved to Michigan, where he purchased a farm and remained eleven years 
there; he then returned and purchased a farm near Fenner Corners, where he re- 
mained six years and then removed to a farm near Nelson. Here he remained until 
1878, when he purchased land in the village of Nelson and built the house in which 
he now lives and follows general farming. Mr. Clark is a public spirited man and 
takes an interest in town affairs. He was assessor one term and is interested in 
educational work. 



Childs, Walter, was born in Woodstock, Conn., November 15, 1776, a son of 
Thomas Childs. He came to Cazenovia in 1788 and worked for Captain Abbott by 
the month, clearing thirty acres of ground where the Ledyard residence now stands. 
Returning to Connecticut, he married February 8, 1801, Rhoda Burleigh, who was 
born in Union, Conn., August 12, 1780, and in the same year brought his young wife 
to Cazenovia, locating four miles west of the village on what is now the Cherry Val- 
ley Turnpike. Six children were born to them, five of whom reached maturity: 



30 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Esther, born January 16, 1803 (deceased); Aldis, bom November 3, 1804, and still 
living in Cazenovia at the age ninety-five years; Walter B., born July 36, 1807; 
Samantha, born November 37. 1819; Williard T., born October 27, 1813, and died in 
infancy; and Thomas, born April 8, 1816 Walter Childs was a man of many esti" 
mable qualities and a large and successful farmer. He died in Cazenovia, December 
14, 1857. His wife died April 1, 1839. 



Clements, Prof. Isaac N., was born January 3, 1843, at Somersetshire, England. 
In 1843 his parents left England and found a new home in Marcellus, N. Y. In 1860 
he entered Cazenovia Seminary and in 1863 was graduated in the College Prepara- 
tory Course. Then came President Lincoln's call for volunteers, and he willingly 
gave his services to his beloved country as a private in the 133d Regiment, N. Y. S. 
Volunteers- He participated in the hard-fought battles of Antietam, Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In the battle of the Wilderness he was 
wounded and taken prisoner, and after five months of suffering was exchanged. In 
1866 he entered Wesleyan University and completed his course there in four years, 
his rank in scholarship giving him an election to the Phi Beta Kappa Fraternity. 
His first professorship was at Chamberlain Institute, Randolph, N.Y., where he 
taught successfully for three years. At the end of this time he was elected to the 
chair of Latin and Greek in Cazenovia Seminary. In 1884 he was elected principal 
to succeed Prof. J. D. Phelps. Under his management the Seminary had marked 
prosperity and added several thousand dollars to the permanent endowment. In no 
year of his administration did the trustees have a deficit to provide for, and at the 
same time they were able to make additions and improvements to the buildings and 
grounds. Prof. Clements was married July 10, 1873, to Miss Abbie Smith of East 
Bridge water, Mass., who was called from him by death in 1876. In 1881 he married 
Miss Harriet C. Alvord of Cazenovia. In 1877 he was licensed to preach and in Sep- 
tember, 1878, he was admitted on trial in the Central New York Annual Conference. 
His novitiate was duly passed and he was ordained deacon by Bishop Foss. After 
two years he received elder's orders at the hands of Bi.shop Peck. In his relation to 
the Seminary Prof. Clements was distinguished by eminent financial ability. He 
held the office of principal longer than any of his predecessors. This circumstance 
testifies to the high appreciation in which he was held by the board of trustees. 
Professor Clements has served two years as a village trustee, and for three years as 
president of the village board of education. 



Cunningham, Edwin R., was born in Cazenovia on the old homestead farm, near 
the village of New Woodstock, January 26, 1843, a son of William L. and Sarah 
(Wales) Cunningham. His father was a native of Massachusetts, born in Shutes- 
bury, a son of Dr. Hugh Cunningham, who practiced medicine there many years. 
He moved in early life to this town and first lived on Perkins' Hill, later buying the 
homestead farm. He died in December, 1893, having reached the advanced age of 
eighty-four years. Edwin R. Cunningham was the youngest of five children, and 
during his earlier years worked on the farm and attended the schools of the vicinity. 
He has been engaged in farming all his life, with the exception of a period of eight 
years, when he was employed in the village of New Woodstock. Mr. Cunningham 



PERSONAL. REFERENCES. 81 

is a member of the Pleasant Valley Lodge of Odd Fellows (Delphi) and of the A.O. 
U.W. In politics he has been a staunch Democrat. He married, in 1861, Maria J. 
Churchward, a daughter of R. R. Churchward of Cazenovia, and three children have 
been born to them: William E., who died in infancy; Etta J., wife of Gardner Free- 
born; and Frank L. of New Woodstock, who was postmaster in that village from 
1894 to 1898 and is now deputy in that ofifice. He has a wife, Lena A., and two sons, 
Walhs C. and Edwin L. 



Case, Lester M., son of Joseph and Ursulla (Humphrey) Case, was born in Nelson, 
August 13, 1817. His father was a farmer and one of the earliest settlers of Nelson ' 
township; he was a native of Connecticut. Of his union with Ursulla Humphrey 
four children were born: Milton, Lucia, Luna and Lester. Joseph Case reached the 
venerable age of eighty-nine years and died in 1855. Lester M. Case was educated 
at Homer Academy and all his life followed the occupation of farming. He repre- 
sented his district in the Legislature one term and was a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention in 18G8.. Mr. Case was a staunch Whig and Republican. He was 
a man of excellent habits, strict integrity and most kindly disposition. He was a 
member a few years of the Presbyterian Church. November 35, 1S45, he married 
Huldah Backus, daughter of Judge Talcott Backus of Cazenovia, who survives him. 
Two children were born of this union, Edward Lester, died at the age of five years; 
Amelia died in her fourteenth year. Mr. Case died Octobers, 1874. 



Comstock, Julius C, who died in Cazenovia, April 16, 1884, in the sixty- third year 
of his age, was one of the most respected citizens of the community. He was born 
in July, 1830, in the house east of Cazenovia village which was always his home. 
His father, Zephaniah Comstock, came from Connecticut into this region among the 
earlier settlers, taking up the home farm, while Samuel Bordwell, who came with 
him, took up the farm adjoining. Zephaniah Comstock was a fine type of the sturdy, 
honest and God-fearing pioneer and died in 1877, honored and respected by the entire 
community. Julius C. Comstock was reared on the farm, receiving the educational 
advantages afforded by the country schools of those days. All his life he followed 
the occupation of farming. He served the town as assessor several terms and also as 
highway commissioner ; in politics he was a consistent Republican. In all his relations 
with his fellowmen during his long residence in this community, his character was 
above reproach. Mr. Comstock married Martha Root, a daughter of Edward Root 
of Fenner, who survives him. 



Clarke, M. J., one of the leading business men of Hamilton, was born in Earlville, 
N. Y. , June 14, 1863, and educated in the Earlville schools. He remained at home 
on the farm until twenty-one years of age, when he moved to Hamilton and pur- 
chased the mail and passenger stage route to Poolville and the D. L. & W. Railroad ; 
he next purchased the baggage express and bus business in Hamilton and conducted 
that for a year. He then purchased the new rink building and converted it into a 
livery and sale stable, which was destroyed by tire on February 19, 1895, and replaced 
by a model brick structure with a basement the following year. He still retains the 
passenger express and baggage business with pleasure to himself, and a great accom- 



32 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

modation to the resident and passenger public. Mr. Clarke is always one of the first 
to suggest and assist in all the village improvements, being assistant foreman in the 
Fountain Hose Co., and near by has the steamer at the fire in a moment's notice and 
the hydrants ready to turn on the flames in a few seconds after the tap of the fire 
bell. Socially, he is in with the boys in every good work for the upbuilding of 
humanity, being a member of Tu.scarora Lodge, No. 669, L O. O. F. and Wakesha 
Encampment No. 101 ; he is also a memher of Hamilton Hive No. 540, K. O. T. M. ; 
Hamilton Lodge No. 208, A. O. U. W. ; and Hamilton Grange No. 648, F. H. In 
December, 1883, Mr. Clarke married Hattie L. Wilcox of Earlville; they have one 
daughter. Lulu L. , born in January, 1888. Mr. Clarke's parents. Whitman and 
Frances E. (Hitchcock) Clarke, and grandmother, Eliza C. Clarke, are still living. 
His grandfather, Whipple Clarke, a native of Rhode Island, came to this county in 
1812 and was one of the pioneers of the county; he died at his home in Lebanon, 
March 28, 1888. 



Conley, Frank P., was born in Sullivan, Madison county, January 9, 1850, a son of 
Anthony Conley, a native of Ireland, who came to Madison county in about 1848, 
where he resided twenty-five years, then returned to Ireland to spend his last days ; 
his wife was Mary Fitzpatrick. Frank P . Conley is a farmer by occupation, a Re- 
publican m politics and a member of Morrisville Lodge Wewana No. 678, I. O. O. F. 
On March 4, 1885, he married Lora A. Berry, daughter of John R. Berry, and grand- 
daughter of Devan Berry, a native of Connecticut, who first settled in this county, in 
the town of Madison, coming from there to Smithfield in 1819, in which town he spent 
the remainder of his life, dying in 1864, at the home of his son, John R. Berry, with 
whom he resided on the farm Mr. Conley now occupies. Mr. Berrj' married Hannah 
Golding; they had eight children, two of whom are now living: Mrs. A. J. Beach of 
Milton Junction, Wis., and George Berry of Fenner. Devan Berry had a brother, 
Samuel, and a sister, Mrs. Erastus Cleveland, who resided m Madison. John R. 
Berry was born in the town of Madison in 1812, and was seven years of age when he 
came with his parents to Smithfield, where he spent most of his life. On March 11, 
1846, he married Almena L. Dickey; they had two children: James E. , born Decem- 
ber 4, 1847, died September 9, 1887, and Lora A, Mr. Berry was one of the leading 
farmers of Smithfield; he had 200 acres of land which was gained by hard labor and 
economy. In politics he was a Republican and served as assessor of his town ; 
he died July 11, 1894. Mrs Berry died August 29, 1897. She was a daughter of 
Joseph Dickey, one of the early settlers of Smithfield, and granddaughter of Daniel 
Dickey, whom many of the older residents remember, as he was one of the leading 
men in this vicinity ; he served as justice for several years and was familiarly known 
as "Squire Dickey". He was also at one time member of Assembly ; he died in 1858. 



Cody, Kendall, p. o. Cazenovia, was born in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, 
N. Y., April 27, 1850, a son of Francis A. and Phoebe (Faulkner) Cody. They had 
six children: Jennie, Samuel, James F., Kendall, Frances and Eva P., all natives 
of Vernon. Francis A. by occupation followed farming, and also speculated in live 
stock, horses, cattle, sheep, etc. About 1883 he moved from the town of Vernon and 
settled near Oneida Castle, Madison county. Kendall Cody was educated in the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 33 

schools of the town of Vernon, in Cazenovia Seminary and Whitestown Seminary. 
When he was about eighteen years of age he started in life for himself as a laborer 
and speculator in horses, cattle, etc. When he was twenty-three years of age he 
purchased the farm where he resides, which contains 500 acres of land and follows 
general farming and hop growing. February 26, 1872, he married Martha J., daugh- 
ter of Jerome J. Deland, and they have two children living and one deceased: 
Maude P., Mildred (deceased) and Stanley, all born on the farm where he now lives. 
Mr. Cody has always taken an active part in town and county affairs; liberally sup- 
ports educational institutions, and is a useful and respected citizen. 



Cumniings, Lincoln L. , p. o. Munnsville, was born in Oneida county, November 
2.5, 1824, a son of Nichols and Amelia (Gould) Cummings, both natives of Massachu- 
setts. They had thirteen children and came to Oneida about 1.822; he died in Stock- 
bridge in 1863 and his wife in 188.5. Lmcoln L. Cummings was educated in the 
common schools and Munnsville Academy. Mr. Cummings taught schools eight win- 
ters and followed the trade of stone mason for a short tmie. At present he has sixty- 
nine acres of land which he bought in 18.50. In 18.58 he patented the first portable 
hop press ever used. On March 17, 18.50, he married Martha J. Bridge of Stockbridge, 
and has three children: Elbert L. (deceased), James B., born July 14, 1856, educated 
in the common schools; and Andrew L. (deceased). Mr. Cummings was originally a 
Whig, and now a Republican; he has been town auditor seven years, commissioner 
two years and assessor nine years. Mrs. Cunmings died September 3, 1896. 



Chesebro, J. H. and A. D , p. o. BrookHeld, N. Y., represent one of the oldest and 
most respected families of the town. Christopher Chesebro was a farmer in colonial 
days. He had a son Harris, born February 9, 1769, a sailor and also a tailor, who 
came to Brookfield about 1800, was married to Patty Champlain, and had a son Jared; 
Harris died in 1838. Jared Chesebro was born in 180S in Brookfield. married Sarah 
(born in 1809 in Brookfield). daughter of Zebulon Brown, who bore him two children, 
J. H and Rhoda L. , who died at two years of age; they also had one adopted daugh- 
ter, Elizabeth Johnson, wife of Maxon Crumb of Bridgewater, N. Y. ; Jared was 
highway commissioner six years. Zebulon Brown, maternal grandfather of J. H. 
Chesebro. came to Brookfield about 1807 and cut off the timber on the site of 
the village of Brookfield; he was a great student of the Scriptures and something 
of a prophet, saying that in time the people of Brookfield would hold conversation 
with those in New York city; his wife was Sarah Lewis, born March 12, 1791; 
Mr. Brown died February 8, 1875, and his wife June 28, 1872. J. H. Chesebro 
was born in Brookfield, April 3, 1833, and he was educated in the common 
schools. He was married to Harriet S. Williams of Brookfield, and of their 
union there are three children: Alvin Duane, Orra D., wife of Arthur D. Page 
(who have two children, Alvin W. and Floyd W.). and Ida L. , wife of Fred 
White, all of Brookfield. Mr. Chesebro is a Republican and has been assessor nine 
years; he has a farm of 300 acres and a dairy of twenty-five cows, which, in partner- 
ship with his son Alvin D., he conducts in a highly successful manner. Alvin Duane 
Chesebro was born March 3, 1.855, and was educated in the public schools ; at the age 
of eighteen he took charge of the farm and was married to Hattie, daughter of 



34 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE, 

Daniel Hinkley; they have one adopted son, William Le Roy. His health failing, 
he removed to the village of Brookfield, and for a short time was engaged with D. 
F. Maine in his hardware store, but he soon returned to the farm, which he since, 
with his father, has managed. He is a Republican, and has been collector and high- 
way commissioner two years. J. H. and Alvin D. have been members of the board 
of the Agricultural Society of Brookfield, in which they take great interest. 



Crandall, Irving A., p o. Leonardsville, N. Y., was born in Brookfield, N. Y., Au- 
gust 5, 1848. His grandfather was William Crandall, a son of Henry and Mary 
(Greenman) Crandall, who were pioneers near Cazenovia, where they both died. He 
was born in Rhode Island during the Revolution and when a young man came to 
De Ruyter, where he resided through life; he was married to Lydia Greenman, and 
of their six children one son and one daughter survive; he died in 1856 and his wife 
in 1829. His son, Darwin S. Crandall, father of Irving A., was born in De Ruyter, 
January 32, 1810, and was a builder and contractor. He removed to Brookfield in 
1838, and in 1848 to Leonardsville, where he resides. In 1838 he was married to 
Alzina, daughter of Phineas Babcock (a pioneer of Brookfield) and their children 
were four: Sarah A. (deceased), Irving A., Arthur W. and Alice W., wife of D. V. 
St. John of Plainfield, N. J. Irving A. Crandall was reared and educated in Leon- 
ardsville and at the age of sixteen began as a clerk for N. V. & W. H. Brand, with 
whom he remained two years, was wit'a North & Babcock one year, a short time as 
assistant clerk in the county clerk's office, and in 1867 engaged in mercantile trade as 
a partner in the firm of Kinney & Crandall ; after a year he bought his partner's m- 
terest and has since been the leading merchant in this section, having a trade of 
from $30,000 to $40,000 yearly. Mr. Crandall is a Republican, is serving his fourth 
term as postmaster, has been a member of the school board since the organization of 
the union school, and a deacon and trustee of the Leonardsville Seventh Day Bap- 
tist Church. In 1870 he was married to Algerose, daughter of John F. Higley of 
Syracuse, N. Y. ; they have four children: Elva E., educated at Vassar College and 
wife of E. F. Champlain, druggist of Leonardsville; Ralph E., a student at Yale 
University; Mabel M., a graduate of Leonardsville union school, and Blanche, at 
home. 



Carpenter, Austin B., p. o. Morrisville, sheriff of Madison county, was born in old 
historic Pompey, Onondaga county, July 3, 1861, and was the son of Major and Abi- 
gail Carpenter of that town. At the age of twenty-one Austin left home and went 
to De Ruyter, remaining one year, and them came to Morrisville, where he was 
jailor under Sheriff Underwood about eighteen months; later on he was village dep- 
uty sheriff and constable four years and then removed to Cazenovia, where he was 
deputy sheriff', town constable, and policeman for a term of eight years. In the fall 
of 1896 he was elected sheriff and according to the unanimous e.^pression of the bar 
of the county is one of the most competent officers who ever filled that office. He 
thoroughly understands all the duties of the position, having been deputy sheriff thir- 
teen years. Of course Mr. Carpenter is a strong Republican. In 1885 he married 
Anna, daughter of Bartlett Fitzgerald of Morrisville. They have two children: 
Jennie L. and Blanche J. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 35 

Calkins, Caleb, a native of Holland, Erie county, N. Y., was born February 28, 
1814, and in 1839 settled in Peterboro, Madison county. His father was David Cal- 
kins, who was a pioneer in Erie county, but removed to Iowa where he died. When 
Caleb Calkins located at Peterboro he entered the employ of Gerrit Smith, son of 
the founder of the town of Smithfield and the village of Peterboro. His excellent 
busmess ability, his industry and sterling integrity soon won the confidence of Mr. 
Smith, whose large landed and other interests required just such services as Mr. 
Calkins was able to render. He remamed in Mr. Smith's employ until his death, 
January 24, 1892. Mr. Calkins was a Republican and was earnest and active in sup- 
port of the principles of the party. He served his town as Supervisor and in 1866 
was a member of the State Legislature, in both of which positions he gained the 
commendation of his constituents. He married Mary W. Tracy and they had two 
children: Mary L. (deceased) and Tracy Calkins. Tracy Calkins was educated in 
Peterboro and in Allen's (West Newton) classical school. He assisted his father a 
number of years in connection with the affairs of Mr. Smith, and also was engaged 
for a time in the oil business. He is a respected citizen of Peterboro. He married 
June 6, 1888, Maggie E. Chalmers of Detroit, Mich. 



Cleveland, C. A., p. o. Morrisville. — Dr. William Pitt Cleveland, who is recalled as 
one of the early and prominent physicians of Morrisville. was educated at Philadel- 
phia and came to Madison county about 1807. He lived at the county seat until his 
death, just previous to IS.'iO. He married in 1808 Polly Lumbard, a daughter of 
Thomas Lumbard, the latter one of the pioneers who came to Eaton in 1803. Dr. 
Cleveland's children were Mary, who married William H. Chambers; Thomas L., 
and Sarah, the latter the wife of Harry Bicknell. Thomas L. Cleveland was a mer- 
chant at Eaton for a few years and then located at the county seat, where he was in 
busmess about thirty-five years. His wife was Susan Palmer, by whom he had four 
children: Mary L. . William Pitt, Charles A., and Susie. Charles A. Cleveland has 
been one of the successful farmers of the town several years, but is best known as 
jailer in Morrisville, in which capacity he has served six years. He was constable of 
the town three years and in whatever position a trusted competent official. In 1880 
he married Mary Wagner of Georgetown; they have three children. 



Carpenter, George W., p. o. Chittenango Station, postmaster and merchant at Chit- 
tenango Station, was born at Orwell, Oswego county, N.Y., November 37, 1844, a 
son of Hannah and Reuben S. Carpenter. His paternal ancestors were from Con- 
necticut, and his parents were among the earliest settlers in Hamilton county. They 
came to this county in 1846, where Reuben died June 26, 1898, his wife still living at 
the old homestead. Mr. Carpenter's education was acquired chiefly at the common 
schools in this vicinity and in 1877 he opened a general store at Port Byron, N.Y., 
remaining there until 1887, when he engaged in business at this place. He has been 
successful in business and enjoys the esteem of all who know him. Various minor 
official positions had come to him prior to his appointment as postmaster at Chitte- 
nango Station in May, 1888. August 27, 1865, he married Mary E. Shaver of Sodus, 
N.Y. Their children are as follows: Kittie, born October 18, 1867; Frank B., born 
April 8, 1878; Elmer R., born April 16, 1878, and Charles S., born October 7, 1871, 



36 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and who died March 11, 1872. Mr. Carpenter's father, Reuben S. Carpenter, was 
born in the town of Hope, Montgomery county, N.V., August 6, 1821. At the age 
of nineteen he purchased his time from his father and started in business for himself. 
He was a stonecutter by trade and went to work for the State on the Black River 
Canal, where he worked about a year. He then removed to Orwell, Oswego county, 
where he remained about two years. While at Orwell he was married to Hannah C. 
Pennock (a sister of the late Ebenezer Pennock). From Orwell he removed to Three 
River Point, where he resided about a year, removing from that place to Oak Hill. 
Here Mr. Carpenter was employed by Captain Cady, one of the pioneers of this 
town. When the Erie Canal was enlarged Mr. Carpenter removed to Bolivar, where 
he had charge of the work of obtaining stone for the bridge and culvert at that 
place. From Bolivar he removed to his late residence north of Chittenango Station, 
where he resided up to the time of his death. The "Squire," as Mr. Carpenter was 
known hereabouts, was in early life a Democrat, but became a Republican at the 
formation of that party and has since been an active member. Some years ago he 
was elected justice of the peace, which was the only office he ever held. The im- 
mediate vicinity of the "Station" at the time he came here was practically an un- 
broken forest, and Mr. Carpenter's reminiscences of the early days of his residence 
here were very interesting. In 186'3 Mr. Carpenter went to the State of Ohio, re- 
maining thei-e until 1864, when he was employed by the United States Government 
as foreman (with the rank of captain) in the government shipyards at Chattanooga, 
Tenn., where he remained until the close of the war, after which time he fol- 
lowed the business of carpenter and builder. Mr. Carpenter was the father of eight 
children, five of whom, George W.. Mrs. Mathew Chapley, Mrs. George Bender, 
Mrs. George Olmstead, and William E. Carpenter, together with his wife and a 
brother, George H. Carpenter of Sheboygan, Wis., survive him. 



Cooper, Frank, p. o. Perryville, was born at Sharon, Wisconsin, February 9, 1849. 
When a boy his parents settled in Clockville, this county, where his boyhood was 
chiefly passed. He was educated at Yates Institute, Chittenango, then one of the 
foremost educational institutions of the county. Mr. Cooper's principal business is 
farming and he has speculated a good deal in live stock, etc. He was largely in- 
strumental in the erection of the handsome union school building and other enter- 
prises at Perryville. Mr. Cooper is active in local politics, yet by no means a parti- 
san. Various official positions have come to him, which he fills with dignity and 
credit. He was town assessor for six years, is now clerk of the Board of Education, 
a director of the Madison-Onondaga Mutual Fire Insurance Company, steward and 
trustee of the M. E. Church of Perryville, and for several years notary public. He 
married, October 5, 1876, Hattie P. Hamblen of Fenner, and their daughter. May, 
is now a teacher in Perryville Union School. 

Couch, Mrs. Elsena M., p. o. Madison. — Anthony Howd came from Connecticut 
and setted in Stephentown, from which place he removed toCazenovia. He was an 
early and successful farmer and also made potash, but had the misfortune to lose a 
leg through accident. He is also remembered as an early postman, carrying the mail 
over one of the stage routes. He married Martha Harrington of Rhode Island, and 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 37 

came to Cazenovia on horseback ; his children were Hannah, Laura, Harriet, Elsena, 
Samuel, Amy, Harry, John, EH, and one other who died in infancy. Deacon Har- 
rington Marshall, who was born in Rhode Island in 1793, married Laura Hovvd and 
for a time lived in Cazenovia, removing thence to Chenango county, where he lived 
forty years and then returned to Cazenovia and there died in 1886. Their children 
were Sidney; Albert H., who entered the Universalist ministry and was for thirty- 
three years pastor of the church in Madison village and died February 16, 1892; 
Harriet E., Luther L., Elsena, who married Seymour Couch, the latter the eldest of 
seven children of Bradley Couch; Franklin A. of Co. I, 185th N. Y. Inf., who was 
killed in about the last battle of the war; William Harrison Anthony of Co B, 3d N. 
Y. Cavalry, and killed in the battle of the Wilderness. Mrs. Couch is the last of 
the family living, excepting her father's youngest brother, George Marshall of Chit- 
tenango. 



Chafee, Hiram E., p. o. Siloam, was born in Eaton, July 19, 1851, a son of Thomas 
G. and Cassandria W. (Stone) Chafee, natives of Madison county, N.Y. Thomas G. 
was born at Westmoreland in 1833, and was a son of Joseph M. and Elizabeth (Grant) 
Chaphe, early settlers of Madison county. He was a farmer and died January 33, 
1897. His wife survives him and lives at Morrisville. Hiram E. was educated in 
the common schools and is engaged in farming, making a specialty of fruit growing 
and berry raising. In January, 1873, he married Annie E. , daughter of Edwin and 
Chloe (Hitchcock) Hinman, he a son of Grove and Cyrene (Palmer) Hiuman, early 
settlers of Stockbridge, coming from Goshen, Conn. Edwin died June 15, 1859, and 
his wife March 35, 1858. Mr. and Mrs. Chafee had nine children: Grace B. , Cassan- 
dria A., Elsie M . Sylvia E., Arthur E., Thomas B.. Gertrude B., Florence R. and 
Robert M. Grace B. is a graduate of Oneonta Normal School and is a teacher at 
Port Chester, Westchester county, N.Y. Cassandria was graduated from Eastman's 
Business College and is now a teacher in Eastman's Business Institute at New York 
city. Elsie M. was educated in Morrisville Union School and Oneonta Normal, and 
is now a teacher. Sylvia E. was educated at Morrisville and is now teaching. 



Coe, Duane W., p. o. Peterboro, was born in Smithfield, January 3, 1847, a son of 
Eliashub E., and grandson of David Coe, who was born in Connecticut September 
10, 1784, and came to Smithfield in 1802, where he died July 6, 1855; his wife was 
Ora Ellen wood, born in Clinton, N. Y., August 15, 1789, and died in Smithfield Feb- 
ruary 4, 1869. Eliashub E. was born on the old homestead in Smithfield. June 16, 
1816. His wife was Susan D. Mathewson, born in Smithfield, October 28, 1817, a 
daughter of Winchester Mathewson, one of the first settlers of Smithfield. To Eli- 
ashub E. Coe and wife were born six children: Dumois H., born May 10, 1840, died 
November 5, 1841 ; Renaldo O., born September 6, 1843, and now lives in California; 
E. Emmons, born April 34, 1845; Duane W. (the subject); S. Cordelia, born June 15, 
1849, married F. D. Miller of New York city; and J. Henrietta, born May 4, 1851, 
died December 30, 1855. Mr. Coe's maternal grandparents had fourteen children, 
twelve of whom grew to maturity. Eliashub E. Coe died December 31, 1887; his 
wife July 28, 1871. Duane W. Coe was educated in Peterboro Academy and con- 
ducts a farm of 153 acres, following dairying and sheep raising. March 33, 1869, he 



38 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

married Florence J., daughter of Hugh and Mary McWilliatns ; they have three chil- 
dren: Augusta M. , wife of Dr. H. C. Eschbach of Albia, Iowa (who have three 
children: Florence, Barbara and Martha); Florence C. , and Hugh E. at home. Mr. 
Coe was a Democrat in early life, but a Republican since Garfield's administration. 
He has been justice of the peace sixteen years and attends and supports the M. E. 
church. 



Cronk, Jeremiah, Leno.x, was born in Columbia, August 16, 1832, a son of John 
(who died in Columbia county, N. Y.), and grandson of John Cronk, who spent his 
last days in Yates county. John Cronk, jr., was born in Columbia county, and died 
1827. His wife was Maria Shaver; they had five children. Mrs. Cronk's second hus- 
band was Henry Coon ; they had three children. Jeremiah Cronk was reared on a 
farm and educated in the common schools. In 1855 he came to Lenox and bought 
the farm he now owns of 115 acres, and in 1877 built a fine residence. In 1844 Mr. 
Cronk married Almira Wentworth. born in Schoharie county. May 2, 1822, a daughter 
of Henry Wentworth, and to them were born four children: John H., Edgar A.. 
Theodore and Charles W. (deceased). In politics Mr. Cronk is a Democrat. John 
H. Cronk married Elsie Prosser and they have two children: Clifford W., and Wal- 
ter H. Edgar A. married Libbie Petrie and they have three children: Almira, 
Edgar and Asa R. Theodore married Mary Lewis and they have four children: 
Roy, Audry, Bessie and Clarie M. 



De Lano, Milton, of Madison county, N. Y., son of Henry and Elizabeth De 
Lano, was born near Wampsville, Madison county. N. Y., August 11, 1844. His 
mother was born but a short distance from his birthplace in 1813. His father died 
at Canastota on Milton's fourteenth birthday, since which time the latter has wholly 
maintained himself. He received an ordinary education and was brought up a mer- 
chant's clerk and conducted a store for eight years. He was three times elected clerk 
of his native township, serving in 1807, 1868 and 1869, and was twice elected sheriff 
of his native county, serving in 1873, 1874, 1875, 1879, 1880, and 1881 ; he was a dele- 
gate from his native district to the National Republican Convention in 1884, his col- 
league being United States Senator Thomas C. Piatt. He organized the Canastota 
Banking House m August, 1876, which he individually conducted until August, 
1887, when he reorganized under the laws of New York State, naming the same 
"State Bank of Canastota," taking the cashiership thereof, which be has held since. 
He was elected from the Twenty-sixth New York District to the Fiftieth Congress 
and re elected to the Fifty-first Congress as a Republican from his native district, 
embracing the counties of Broome, Chenango, Madison and Tioga. During the 
Fifty-first Congress he was chairman of the Committee on Pensions, and declined to 
be a candidate for renomination. He aided in enlarging the Canastota High School 
district m 1883, when he was elected a member of the Board of Education thereof 
and has been elected every three years to the same position, serving for eighteen 
consecutive years; since 1893 he has been president of said Board of Education. 



Dyer, Benjamin W., who died in Oneida, February 17, 1888, m the ninety-first 
year of his age, was for many years a well known and esteemed resident and citizen 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 39 

in this vicinity. He was born in Petersburg, N. Y. , in the year 1797, and when he 
was yet an infant his parents removed to the State of Vermont. He obtained the 
educational advantages afforded by the country schools of those days, and assisted 
in the conduct of his father's farm. In 1818, when twenty-one years old, he rode a 
horse, which was about his only possession, into Central New York, and secured em- 
ployment on the construction of the Erie Canal, under Cobb & Sage, well known 
contractors at Chittenango. It is related, that having constructed a section large 
enough to make it practicable to use a work boat or scow, they could find no one who 
possessed sufficient experience to operate the boat. It was suggested, however, that 
young Dyer could succeed if anybody, and he undertook the task, thus earning the 
title of " Captain " Dyer, by which fie was known throughout the rest of his life. He 
was one of the first men to operate a boat on the canal, and of his experience with 
the work scow of Cobb & Sage, it said that he started with a team from Chittenango, 
but for three days did not get far enough away to prevent his returning to Chitten- 
ango to spend the night. For six years he was captain of a boat on the canal owned 
by Cobb & Sage. At that time the canal was used by many travellers, and he gained 
a wide acquaintance. He spent his winters at Albany, and in his wanderings through- 
out the capital grew to know by sight and even personally many of the great men 
of the time, including Aaron Burr, of whom he often related anecdotes. Subse- 
quently he was employed for a period by his brother-in-law, Harvey J. Cobb, as 
overseer on the Seneca Turnpike, and finally settled permanently in Wampsville, 
where he resided twenty-five years. During the first four years of this period he 
conducted a hotel, but this he closed, giving most of his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits. Mr. Dyer was a man of excellent judgment, and obtained a comfortable com- 
petency. He was a man of -more than ordinary mind and ability; a great reader in 
his early life ; his education was largely obtained from observation and practical ex- 
perience; he was deeply interested in affording to his children the best educational 
advantages. He removed to Oneida in 1870, and lived quietly there until his death, 
makmg many friends, for he was a man of very genial nature. He was a lifelong 
Democrat but never sought or held public office. Mr. Dyer married in 1833, Mahala, 
a daughter of Pardon Barnard, an honored resident of the town of Lenox who lived 
and died at Quality Hill; was one of the earlier sheriffs of the county, and served 
two terms in the State Legislature. Six children were born of this union: Benjamin 
Nichols, for several years a druggist in Oneida, where he died; Hannah, who mar- 
ried Dwight Chapin of Oneida; Annette, who married Albert Purdy, a native of the 
town of Eaton, and now an artist of considerable reputation at Ithaca; Mary, who 
married Darius D. Jackson, a native of Oneida county who became a business man 
in New York city, where he died; Julia Dyer, first wife Darius D. Jackson, and Frank 
Dyer, both of whom died in 1870. Benjamin W. Dyer was a lineal descendant of 
William Dyer who emigrated from England in 1660 and settled in Providence, R. I. 
He married Mary Dyer, adopted daughter of his parents, who is strongly put forth 
by students of genealogy and historians as a daughter of Lady Arabella Stuart. If 
this supposition be correct the descendants of William and Mary Dyer are also de- 
scended from the noble family of Stuart. The Dyers were Quakers, and the Mary 
Dyer above mentioned was put to death on Boston Common for her firm and unyield- 
ing adherence to her religious beliefs. 



4n OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Dunlap, Edward H.. who died on his farm three miles southwest of the village o£ 
Vernon, February 28, 1889, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, was well known in this 
vicinity. He was born July 8, 1833, in Whitestown, Oneida county, N. Y., a son of 
Job and Sara (Baker) Dunlap. His father was a farmer and also conducted a gen- 
eral store at Bennett's Corners for several years. Mr. Dunlap resided on his father's 
farm until he was a young man, and attended the district schools. He finally went 
to Madison, 'Wis., where for several years he conducted a general store with his 
brother, Sylvester Dunlap. After his father's death he returned east and purchased 
the home farm, to which he added from time to time until he possessed 376 acres. 
He also held considerable land in the 'West. Mr. Dunlap was a man of good busi- 
ness ability and posses.sed the power of making money. He was engaged in a paint 
and wall paper business in the village of Oneida for about five years, after which he 
returned to his farm where he resided until his death. He was a Free and Accepted 
Mason, and a man of genial nature, well liked by all with whom he came in contact. 
He married Tryphena, daughter of Josiah Rawson of Bennett's Corners and one 
daughter was born to them: Ella Josephine, widow of Henry Thompson of Oneida. 



Rawson, Josiah, who was a justice of the peace at Bennett's Corners for many 
years, and a well known and highly respected citizen of Madison county, died May 
8, 1861. He was a lineal descendant in the sixth generation from Edward Rawson, 
who came from England in 1636 and settled in Newbury in Massachusetts Bay 
Colony; was a man of importance in the colony, serving in many positions of public 
trust; town clerk, selectman, deputy to the General Court, etc., and held large grants 
of land. The line is as follows: Josiah (6): Josiah (5); Josiah (4); David (3); 'William 
(3); and Edward (1). Mr. Rawson was a native of New England; he married at Rich- 
mond, N. H., and later went to Richmond, Vermont, where he was several times a 
member of the State Legislature. He removed to Madison county in 1828 and en- 
gaged in farming near Bennett's Corners, where he resided until his death. Nine 
children were born to him, only one of whom survives, Tryphena, who resides in 
Oneida, the widow of Edward Dunlap. 

Drake. Frank C, M. D., who has practiced medicine in Oneida for the past thir- 
teen years, was born in Topeka, Kansas, October 31, 1861, a son of D. D. and Rachel 
(Campbell) Drake. His father, also a physician, was a native of Oswego county, N. 
Y. , and is now in practice at Johnstown, N. Y. Dr. Drake was educated at Colgate 
Academy and Syracuse University Medical Department, from which he was grad- 
uated M. D. with the class of 1886. After taking his degree he at once began prac- 
tice in Oneida. During 1893 he served as president of the village, and is now serv- 
ing as a member of the board of police and fire commissioners. He is a trustee of 
the First Presbyterian Church of Oneida; a member of the New York State Medical 
Association, and member and for the past three years secretary of the Madison 
County Medical Society. He married in 1881 Ella De Forest Bates, daughter of 
James N. Bates of Oneida. One son has been born to them, James D. Drake. 



Dewey, Manford J., son of Joel and Eliza (Greene) Dewey, was born in the town 
of Adams, Jefferson county, N. Y., February 22, 1839. His father was a general 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 41 

merchant and prominent citizen of Adams, served as justice of the peace for a period 
of fourteen years, and held other positions of public trust. Of his union with EHza 
Greene five children were born, four of whom are now living; Marion M., widow of 
Julius Tanner; Marissa E. , widow of D. M. Greene; Melvil Dewey, the well known 
secretary of the State Board of Regents, and originator of the modern public library 
system ; and the subject of this notice. M. J. Dewey received an education confined 
to the common schools of his native town, and at an early age entered his father's 
business, becoming a salesman and book keeper. As a youth he evinced much 
natural musical ability, and his father sent him to Boston where he received a thor- 
ough musical training, and before he reached his majority became well known in the 
vicinity of Adams as a talented musician and a teacher of ability. He came to Oneida 
in May, 186G, and for a period of two years was employed as a salesman and teacher 
by William E. Pratt & Co. ; giving lessons on the piano, organ, cornet, guitar, and 
violin, besides training different bands in the vicinity. In 1868, he severed his con- 
nection with this firm, began a similar business on his own account, and by industry 
and perseverance gained a flattering success in a surprisingly short time. He con- 
ducted his business in a systematic, thorough, and above all honest manner, from 
time to time added different lines to his stock, and is now one of the largest dealers 
in musical merchandise in Central New York. In connection with his Oneida store, 
he has also conducted branches in Utica. Lowville, Clayton, Hamilton, Cazenovia, 
and Camden. In 1872 he bought a plot of ground on the west side of Main street 
and erected the brick building known as the Dewey block, where he has .since con- 
ducted his business. In 1884, while still engaged in building up his Oneida business, 
he purchased a factory at Blooraingdale, N. J., buying old rubber, which was ground 
to powder, vulcanized, and sold to manufacturers of rubber goods throughout the 
country to be mixed with new gum. In this enterprise he met with a large financial 
success. By virtue of his experience as a teacher and from the nature of his business, 
Mr. Dewey is well known throughout the wide area of the territory surrounding 
Oneida. He has been a recognized leader in musical circles, and for over a quarter 
of a century has played the organ professionally in different churches. He al.so lead 
the Oneida band for a period of ten years. As a citizen, he has been identified with 
and a generous supporter of the best interests of the village, especially the Young 
Men's Christian Association, of which he has been a prominent promoter. He was 
appointed president of the Sewer Commission in 1892, and served in that capacity 
five years. Since boyhood he has been a member of the Baptist church and is now 
serving as trustee and deacon of the Oneida church. Mr. Dewey first married in 
February, 1860, Almira R. Hall, daughter Thomas Hall of Wilna, N. Y., and of this 
union one daughter was born, now wife of Prof. Asa O. Gallup, president of the New 
York Preparatory School. In October, 1873, he married Charlotte Augusta Allen of 
Eaton, better known as Lottie Allen. Mrs. Dewey is a woman of great natural gifts 
and estimable character. She is widely known as a church and temperance worker, 
and served as president of the Oneida Woman's Christian Temperance Union for 
thirteen years. They have four children: Harry M., Agnes, George A. and Alta. 



Dodge, Amos P., M. D. , has practiced medicine in this vicinity for twenty-two 
years. He is a native of Herkimer county, born in Winfield, December 16, 1854, a 



43 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

son of Sanders and Elizabeth (Prescott) Dodge. Dr. Dodge received his preparatory 
education at Clinton Liberal Institute, and in 1874 was graduated M. D. from the 
University of Maryland. He served as resident physician at the Albany City Hos- 
pital for one year; for one year in the hospitals of New York city; and began active 
practice in Oneida Castle, where he remained seventeen years, removing to Oneida 
village in 1895. He has served as division surgeon of the West Shore Railroad since 
it began operation ; was pension examiner in this district for a period of eight years, 
and is at present health officer of the village of Oneida. He holds membership in 
the American Medical Association, New York State Medical Association, New York 
State Society of Railroad Surgeons, and the Madison County Medical Society. For 
seventeen years he was a member of the Oneida County Medical Society which he 
served as vice-president. He is also a member of Oneida Lodge, No. 370, F. & A. M. ; 
Doric Chapter, No. 180, R. A. M. ; and the Knights of Pythias. Dr. Dodge married 
in 1881, Hattie A. Wells, daughter of C. H. Wells of Oneida Castle. One daughter 
was born of this union, Marion Prescott Dodge. 



Davis, Ward Adams. — Joseph Davis, one of the early settlers of the town of Caz- 
enovia, was born in Shutesbury, Mass., November 20, 1800. In 1826 he came to 
Cazenovia and purchased a farm one and one-half miles south of Cazenovia village, 
since known as the Davis farm, and in 1837 brought his family to the farm where 
they lived and died. Mr. Davis married Mary Adams and eleven children were born 
to them, ten grew to maturity and eight are living at this date 1899. Two sons, 
William and Seymour, enlisted in the Civil war and Seymour died in November, 
1863, of disease contracted in the army; William served through the war and was 
honorably discharged at the close. He is now living in Lekonsha, Mich., a farmer 
and respected citizen of his tovVn. Three other sons live in Michigan, two sons and 
one daughter in Onondaga county, N. Y., and one daughter in Hadley, Mass., aged 
sixty years. Mrs. Davis died October 22, 1846, and Mr. Davis married second, 
Abbey Shapley. who now survives him; Mr. Davis died September 28, 1856. He was 
a kind neighbor and highly respected in his town. Ward Adams Davis, son of 
Joseph, was born September 14, 1835, and after his father's death assumed the man- 
agement of the home farm, which after a few years became his own. In September, 
1858, Mr. Davis married Lucy S. Johnson, daughter of Henry A. Johnson of Cazeno- 
via; four children were born to them; Henry Ward, Harriet Ingersoll, William 
Adams and Seymour Harlam. Henry Ward is living in Syracuse, a teacher of music 
and is one of the finest organists in central New York ; Harriet was educated in Caze- 
novia Seminary, taught school several years, was graduated from the Boston Cook- 
ing School and taught cooking in the Boston high schools until her death on March 
14, 1893. She was greatly loved by all who knew her. William was educated in 
Cazenovia Seminary, studied medicine in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor 
for two years and Bellevue Medical College (N. Y.) one year. After receiving his 
diploma he practiced in Lebanon for less than one year and then removed to New 
Woodstock in the spring of 1890, and died there the following October. Seymour is 
assisting on the home farm. Mrs. Davis died June 18, 1872; she was a kind and 
faithful wife and mother and was greatly esteemed by all who knew her. On Janu- 
ary 31, 1877, Mr. Davis married Maria S. Jones; they have one daughter. Flora Spen- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 43 

cer, born December 20, 1879. Mr. Davis is an active, industrious farmer and takes 
pride in having his place look tidy and neat. In politics he is a Republican, having 
voted for all the Republican candidates for president since the formation of the 
party, from John C. Fremont to William McKinley. Mr. Davis has served his town 
twelve years as highway commissioner and has been identified with the Presbyterian 
church for nearly half a century. 



Damon, Edwin S. , Cazenovia, only son of O. Putnam and Cecilia (Perkins) Damon, 
was born in the house which has always been his home, March 32, 1850. His grand- 
father, Daniel Damon, who purchased the farm where Luther Thompson now lives, 
was one of the earliest settlers of this town, coming in from Massachusetts. He 
became a large farmer and a man of importance in the community. Edwin S. Damon 
was educated in the common schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. He has always 
been engaged in farming, living on a farm of 195 acres and doing a large dairy busi- 
ness. In politics Mr. Damon is a Republican and has held various town offices. He 
is a member of the New Woodstock Baptist church, and one of the representative 
citizens of the town of Cazenovia. He married, in 1873, Mary L. Freeborn, daughter 
of Leonard Freeborn of Cazenovia. Of this union are two sons- Frank L. and E. 
Glen, both of whom reside at home. O. Putnam Damon was born in Cazenovia, 
where he always lived, October 21, 1815, and died honored and respected by all who 
had known him. May 30, 1884, aged sixty-eight years. 



Davis, I. Willis, p. o. Cazenovia, was born February 35, 1839, on the farm where 
he resided until his death, March 3, 1899, a son of Joel and Phoebe (Lounsberry) 
Davis. They had three children: I. Willis, Annie D., wife of Samuel Cody, and 
Alta, all born on the farm where I. Willis resided. Joel was a son of Isaac and Eunice 
Davis, who came from Connecticut and settled on the farm where Mr. Davis lived 
about 1779. They had four children: Joel, Calvin, Mary and Candica. Isaac and 
Moses Davis, two brothers, came from Connecticut and took up about 200 acres of 
land, which is the farm on where Mr. Davis resided. Isaac was m the war of 1812 
and contracted a disease from which he died in 1831. I. Willis Davis was educated 
in the schools of Fenner and Cazenovia .Seminary. His early life was spent on the 
farm with his father, who died in 1881 and Willis took charge of the estate. Decem- 
ber 21, 1864, he married Helen L., daughter of Ross and Betsey (Gates) Wilber and 
had six children; Herbert C, J. Ross, Mary E., Henry W., Byron B., and Robert 
W., who were all born on the homestead. Mr. Davis was a public spirited man and 
always took an active part in town and county affairs; he was also active in school 
and educational work; was a member of the Baptist church of Fanner and its oldest 
deacon, which position he held for twenty years; he was also its trustee many years 
and a teacher in the Sunday school. 



Danehy, John, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Ireland, November 16, 1860, a son of 
Cornelius and Nora (Walsh) Dauehy, who came to Madison county with their family 
about 1865. They had nine children: John, Thomas, Nora, William, Peter, Timothy, 
Mary Ellen, Julia, and Cora, all of whom were natives of the county with the excep- 
tion of John and Thomas. They located, when they came from Ireland, near Peter- 



44 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

boro, and followed farming. John was educated in the common schools of Smithfield 
and Peterboro Academy. His early life was spent on the farm with his father, and 
when he was twenty-five years of age he started in life for himself as a farmer. In 
1890 he married Julia, daughter of Timothy and Julia Danehy, and they have four 
children: Anges, Cornelius, Esther, and Lester, aud one deceased, named Leo, all 
of whom were born on the farm where he now resides. Mr Danehy is interested in 
town and county affairs and has held several of the appointive offices. He has been 
active in school work, having held most of the school offices. He is a member of the 
Catholic church of Cazenovia, in which his family takes a deep interest. 



Darrow, J. J., p. o West Eaton. — David Darrow was the pioneer head of one of 
the most respected of the early families in this county, and was a native of Columbia 
county, born in March, 1782. He was the son of George Darrow, a native of Con- 
necticut and a patriot of the Revolution, but a resident of New York after about 1750. 
David Darrow contracted for land in Eaton in 1804, then returned east to marry and 
bring back to the new country a young wife; but sickness detained him until 1806, 
and when he finally came to this vicinity he was accompanied by his wife and their 
infant child, Sophronia. Mr. Darrow lived on the old farm until 1834, then removed 
to West Eaton, where he died in 1870. He was a successful farmer and acquired a 
competency, and in town affairs he was one of the prominent figures of the locality. 
His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Enos; she died in 1839. Their children 
were Sophronia, who married Anthony Hopkins, and who died in 1896, aged ninety- 
one; Joseph E., whose early life was spent on the farm, but who was a prosperous 
merchant at West Eaton nearly fifty years, and who died in 1892; Henrietta, who 
married and still lives in the town; George W., who went to Buffalo in 1864 and met 
a tragic death in 1871 ; Caroline, who married Ira B. Tayntor and died in 1857; Fred- 
erick M., a farmer, who died in 1896; David M., a farmer, who died in 1888; William, 
who died in infancy; Mary E., who was twice married and now lives in Hamilton; 
William H., who lived in Eaton, then removed to Cazenovia and died there in 1878, 
and John J., a successful farmer of Eaton. In 1840 David Darrow married Thankful 
Bigelow, who bore him no children. She died in 1882. John J. Darrow, who now 
owns the old homestead formerly occupied by his father, was born in Eaton, October 
28, 1830, and was educated at Morrisville, Eaton and De Ruyter academies and Caze- 
novia Seminary. He taught school several years and has since been a farmer, being 
recognized as one of the most industrious and successful agriculturists in the county. 
In 1859, he married Laura, daughter of Daniel Fuller of Eaton. His wife died in 
1860, after which he married Marcia V. Blair of Cazenovia, by whom he had five 
children, four of whom are now living. His second wife died in 1880, and in 1889 
Mr. Darrow married Lucinda Morse Bailey of Eaton. Mr. Darrow was one of the 
original members of the Republican party in his town, and has held the offices of 
town superintendent of schools, justice of the peace, assessor and railroad commis- 
sioner for thirty years. For more than fifty years he has been a member of the M. E. 
church, having been trustee and treasurer and also having been superintendent of 
the Sunday school forty-two years. 



Dexter, Edwin N. , p. o. Morrisville, who since 1887 has been in general mercantile 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 45 

business at Morrisville, and who during that time has established one of the most 
substantial interests of the county seat, was the youngest of the children in the fam- 
ily of William Dexter of Stockbndge. William Dexter came to the county when' a 
young man, and is remembered as a cabinet maker and undertaker in his town. His 
wife was Fanny Harrington, and to them these children was born: Florence of Mor- 
risville; Clarence W.. of Munnsville; Charles H., a well known school teacher; 
Fanny, wife of Rev. J. H. Zartman ; Eunice, who died when a child, and Edwin N., 
now of Morrisville. The well known firm of C. W. Dexter & Bro. was established at 
Munnsville in 1883, and was continued with good results until 1887, when Edwin N. 
Dexter sold out and came to Morrisville. He first bought a small store "on the hill," 
where he did business until 1890, when he removed to the old Townsend site " on the 
flats," in the village and where his greatest business success has been achieved; it is 
not an idle compliment to say that Mr. Dexter is regarded as one of the most pros- 
perous merchants in this county. On July 23, 1885, he married Dora H. Lyman of 
Stockbridge, by whom he has four children. Mr. Dexter is a firm Republican, but 
not active in politics. He is a member and trustee of the Congregational Church. 



Darrow, C. F. , p. o. Middletown, N. Y. — William Harrison Darrow. the youngest 
of the children of David and Elizabeth (Enos) Darrow, was born at West Eaton, N. 
Y. , in 1836 and died in 1878, at Cazenovia. His early life was spent in Eaton as a 
farmer on the old homestead until about 1866, when he became a member of the firm 
of Barnes, Mitchell & Darrow, who for some time operated the lower woolen mill at 
West Eaton. He then sold out his interest and removed to a farm near Cazenovia, 
where he engaged extensively in agricultural pursuits. He was a progressive and 
very successful farmer and an upright and respected citizen. His wife was Margaret 
A., daughter of James Tackabury and Anna Belton, one of the old and respected 
families of the county, of Scotch Irish descent. They had children: Charles F. , born 
18.57, of Middletown, N. Y., who is secretary of The Breed Publishing Co. ; Robert 
Irving, born 1860, who has a position on the editorial staff of the Denver Republican, 
Denver, Col. ; William J., born 186S, a successful teacher at Westwater, Utah; and 
George Harrison, and Frank D. , twin sons born 1870. The latter are treasurer and 
secretary of the Westwater Irrigation and Land Co., a corporation which is exten- 
sively engaged in developing a large fruit tract in the Grand Valley and in cattle 
raising; this corporation is controlled by the sons of William Harrison Darrow, who 
also conduct a general mercantile busine.ss under the firm name of Darrow Bros 
Their mother, a woman of strong intellect and beautiful character, resides (1899) at 
Denver, Colo. 



De Witt, George W., p. o. Chittenango, the popular and efficient town clerk of Sul- 
livan, was born in this vicinity May 5, 1837. His father, William De Witt, a mer- 
chant, died on January 6, 1860. Mr De Witt has been a resident of the village of 
Chittenango about seven years. Formerly he conducted a grocery at Bolivar, on the 
line of the Erie Canal, and did a large business in the palmier days of that great 
waterway. Mr. De Witt has always resided in the town of Sullivan and has filled 
various public offices with credit, the first being that of town collector in 1866, He 
was elected town clerk in 1896 and has continued to hold that position. February 



46 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

36, 1862, he married Mary E. Myers of Frankfort, Herkimer county. Her father was 

D. H. Myers and her maternal grandfather was the late Judge Sterling of that county. 
It is related of Mrs. De Witt's grandmother that when about four j-ears of age she 
was captured by the predatory Mohawks, but was rescued after some weeks of aborig- 
inal life. Their children are George M. De Witt, of this place, and Ella M. De Witt, 
who has become a successful teacher, now in charge of a normal training class at 
Johnstown, N. Y. 

Dunster, John L., was born near Wood Church, England. March 3, 1846, and was 
the fifth of a family of eight children of Charles and Ann Dunster. The family came 
to America in 1849 and settled in Camden, and thence removed to Augusta in two or 
three years. Still later they came to Madison and from the latter town removed to 
Cayuga county. From 1859 to 1864 John L. Dunster lived chiefly in Clinton, but in 
September, 1864, he enlisted in Co. C, 1st N. Y. Light Artillery, and served until 
the general muster out in 1865. He then came to Madison, worked on a farm a few 
years and then opened a market in the village. In January. 1897, he started a gro- 
cery business and has built up an extensive trade. The Dunster building was erected 
in 1894. In politics Mr. Dunster is a firm Republican, but is almost wholly without 
political aspirations. For more than thirty years he has been a member of the M. 

E. Church, holding the offices of trustee and steward. On October 15, 1867, Mr. Duns- 
ter married Anna, adopted daughter of James House. Four children have been 
born to them: Sarah (wife of Herbert Stowell), James H., Harry and Gertrude. 



Denison, Milton L., p. o. Peterboro, was born in Oneida county, N. Y. , October 
18, 1844, a son of George T., son of Latham M , son of Daniel Denison, who came 
from Scotland and settled in Roxbury, Mass. The family trace their ancestry to 
William Denison. who came from England about 1631. Latham M. and brother, 
Samuel Deni.son, came to Oneida in 1800, being among the first settlers and there 
lived and died. Latham M. was a farmer; his wife was Eleanor Tifft; he died in 
1847 and his wife in 1846. George T. Denison was born in Oneida county, January 
23, 1813, aid educated in the common schools. He was a contractor and builder, 
also an extensive farmer in Oneida county. In politics he was a Republican, and 
was supervisor of Lee, Oneida county. His wife, Arabell Davis, was born in Hol- 
land Patent, N. Y., a daughter of Barney Davis, one of the first settlers of Oneida 
county. M. L. Denison was educated in the common schools and Delta High School 
and Cazenovia Seminary. In 1863 he enlisted in Capt. Mann's Independent Com- 
pany of Cavalry and served one year and nine months. At the close of the war he 
came to Smithfield and married Helen Berry, daughter of Hiram Berry; they have 
three children: George M , a farmer on the farm of his father; William H. and Ma- 
bel L. George M. married Julia Bennett; William H. married Anna Moon, and 
Mabel L. married Robert C Avery of Perryville. She died in April, 1894, leaving 
two children: Clark M. and Ruble M. In 1879 Mr. Denison engaged in the selling 
of musical instruments and sewing machines, in which he has been very successful. 
In politics he is a Republican, but not an aspirant to office. He is a member of the 
Smithfield Lodge No. 120, I. O. O. F. 

Enos, W. E., p. o. West Eaton. — Joseph, Benjamin and David C. Enos, brothers 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 47 

and pioneers in this county, were sons of Col. Joseph Enos, a Revolutionary officer 
and patriot. They came from New Lebanon, Joseph to Eaton village (then called 
Log City), Benjamin to De Ruyter and David C. to West Eaton. Joseph's family is 
not now represented in the county. Benjamin reared two children; Samuel D. and 
Sena Ann. David C. settled on the hill in West Eaton and brought to the town a 
wife and two children. He was a soldier in the war of 1813 and served at Sacketts 
Harbor. In 1813 he married Mary Judson, by whom he had six children: Emilius 
J,, Mary Jane, David C, De Witt C. (better known as Dr. D. C. Enos, professor of 
anatomy in Long Island College Hospital, and whose widow generously donated his 
splendid library to that institution), Annette Elizabeth (married S. W. Lawrence), 
and William Edwin. The latter, now one of the few surviving members of the 
family in the county, was born in De Ruyter, July 2, 1826, and since 1828 has lived 
in Eaton. He has engaged in various business enterprises and occupations, but 
since 1856 has been a farmer. On February 10, 1864, he enlisted in Co. D, 10th N. 
Y. Cavalry; was wounded April 7, 1864, at Kelley's Ford while trying to release his 
nephew from an unfortunate position under a fallen hor.se; was sent to Campbell 
Hospital for two months; transferred to Grant's U. S. Hospital at Willett's Point; 
was mustered out on account of disabilities September 13, 1864. He then returned 
to the farm he now owns and occupies. On May 14, 1848, Mr. Enos married Lu- 
cinda M. Barrett, who died August 13, 1898. and by whom he has two children ; 
Wdliam Diverson and Edwin Newell, the latter of whom manages the farm in 
Eaton. 



Evans, Lewis Vincent, p. o. Chittenango Station, agent for the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. 
at Chittenango, is a native of Oneida county. He was born at Remsen, N. Y. , Sep- 
tember 13, 1859. His father, of the same name, and now deceased, was born in 
Wales and came to America when about twenty years of age. Finding a home with 
relatives near Rome, he took advantage of the superior educatio::al facilities there 
afforded, as we note his name in the roster of students at the old Rome Academy for 
the year 1848. He died at Rome in 1894, aged seventy-four years. The present 
Lewis Evans also received his education at Rome, and shortly before attaining his 
majority he became manager of the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph office. In 1881 he 
went west, spending nearly a year in Missouri, then in 1882 became telegraph oper- 
ator and freight clerk at Rome, N. Y , during which engagement he made another 
western tour, this time to Illinois, returning in 1883. During the succeeding four 
years he was freight clerk and operator at Rome, and ticket and freight agent at 
Pierrepont Manor, N. Y. In June, 1888, he assumed the duties of agent and operator 
here and upon the decease of the acting freight agent in 1891, took charge of that 
office also. He proves a most efficient and popular official. Soon after locating here 
he became a Mason and was for two years, 189G and 1897, master of the local lodge, 
SulUvan No. 148. 



Edgarton, John, came from Shirley, in the vicinity of Boston, Mass., was a pioneer 
on the site of Bouckville in 1798, and spent his life in the town. His son, Jackson, 
moved to Wisconsin in 1858 ; his other children were Caroline, Abbie, Betsey, Lucetta, 
Mary, Ann, Jackson and Joseph, but none of them or their descendants is now in the 



48 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

town except Libbie, wife of J. W. Townsend, and daughter of Abbie. William Ed- 
garton came in 1801. and occupied a log cabin on the farm now owned by William W. 
Edgarton ; here he died in 1863, his wife having died 1858. Of their eleven children, 
only one now survives. They were Sally. Benjamin, James. Allaseba, Dorinda, 
Arabella. Dorinda 2d, William 1st, Miranda, Sylvia and William W. 2d., the first 
child of this christian having died young. The pioneer William was both farmer and 
brickmaker, and his only living son, William W. , is a farmer and one of the most 
substantial men of the town. He was born July 22, 1825, and has spent almost his 
whole life on the same farm. The farm he purchased from his father, and it has not 
in any sense lost Its productiveness under his management; indeed, in one season, 
(1886) he alone raised the only crop of hops in the county. Mr. Edgarton is a sub- 
stantial Democrat and one whose name is frequently found on his party's ticket for 
some important town office. In 1850 he married Maria W. Howard, by whom he had 
two children: A. Lawrence, who died at twenty-one years, and Clara, wife of George 
Groves, station agent at BouckviUe. His wife died in 1868, and in 1872 Mr. Edgar- 
ton married Elsie Keyes, by whom he had two children; William W. jr., and Sylvia 
E., both of BouckviUe. 



Eisaman, Willard, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., April 9, 
1849, a son of Jeremiah, son of Peter Eisaman, whose father was born in Germany 
and was an early settler in the State of New Yord. Peter Eisaman lived and died 
in Little Falls, N. Y. Jeremiah Eisaman was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., in 
1820, and came to Smithfield in 18.54 and purchased the farm Willard now owns. He 
spent his last twenty-five years in Canastota, retired, where he died in 1897. In 
politics he was a Republican, and held the office of street commissioner a number of 
years. His wife was Lucinda Ritter, born in Herkimer county, N. Y., a daughter of 
Joseph Ritter, who lived and died in Canastota. Mr. and Mrs. Eisaman had three 
children, two now living. Willard Eisaman was educated in the common schools 
and Evans Academy. He is a farmer and owns 225 acres of land. April 6, 1870, he 
married Victoria Benn of Madison county, a daughter of Peter P. Benn, and grand- 
daughter of Peter P. Benn, an early settler of Lenox. Mr. and Mrs. Eisaman had 
two daughters: Lena, born March 8, 1871, married Frank Wellerof Lincoln, a farmer; 
and Mabel, born July 17, 1872, married Albert Henderson and has two sons: Willard 
D. and Eugene C. Mr. Eisaman is a Republican in politics, but not an aspirant to 
office. He is a member of Smithfield Lodge, No. 120, I. O. O. F. 



English, George E. , was born in the central part of the town of Nelson, December 
4, 1834. a son of Samuel Ellis and Lavina Smith English, who had six children: Cor- 
nelia, Wilson, George E. , Lucius D., Henry C, and Flora, all born in that town. 
Samuel E. followed farming and was the son of Joseph English, whose children 
were William. Joseph, Thomas, Mary, Abigail. Nancy and Elizabeth. George E. 
was educated in the common schools of the town of Nelson, and his life was spent 
with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, when he married and started 
in life as a farmer and carpenter. He married Ellen M. . daughter of Seth and Lydia 
Bates Dawson; they have four children living: Charles D., Nellie, Ellis S., and Lill- 
ian. Mr. English first rented the farm where Horace K. Smith now lives, but later 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 49 

moved on to the Asa Coville farm. In 1860 he moved on to the farm where he now 
resides and follows general and dairy farming. He is interested in town and county 

affairs. 



English, Henry Charles, was born on the farm where he now resides, February 9, 
1843, a son of Samuel Ellis and Lavina (Smith) English. He was educated in the 
common schools of the town of Nelson and his early life was spent on the homestead 
with his parents, where he now resides. April 18, 1866, he married Harriet A., 
daughter of David A. and Lucy (Chaffee) Hamilton, who died November 29, 1896; 
they had four children: James D., who married Hattie Judd; Fred E., who married 
Mamie Roberts; Blanch E.. who married Dexter P. Maynard; and Fayette H. 
Henry C. is a public spirited man and takes a great interest in school and educa- 
tional work. 



Fox, Eugene C, was born in the town of Lenox, February 34, 1867, a son of 
Solomon and Elizabeth (Bellenger) Fox. His father, who is still living and active, 
although of advanced age, was born in Montgomery county where the family were 
among the earliest settlers, and came to this vicinity in 1865, and has made many 
friends here, being known as a man of strict integrity and honorable dealing. He 
first bought what is called the Morrison farm, of fifty-three acres, and later added 
the present farm, making a total of 1.1.5 acres, all of which is under fine cultivation. 
He has been a lifelong Democrat but has never sought or held public office. Eugene 
C. Fox, who now conducts the home farm, was educated in the Oneida common 
.schools, and has always been engaged in farming. He is a member of Eumenia 
Lodge of Odd Fellows. Of the union of Solomon and Elizabeth (Bellenger) Fox are 
three children: Eugene C, Alfred D., and Addie E. 



Ferguson, Alniira, who died in Oneida, June 3, 1899, in the seventy-sixth vear of 
her age, was for many years a resident of this village where she made many friends. 
She was b )rn in the town of Springfield, Otsego county, N. Y. , one of a family of 
eight children, three of whom resided m Oneida. Her family was somewhat re- 
markable in genealogy and history. Silas Ferguson, her father, was a minute man 
in the Revolutionary period, and a native of Pelham,- Mass. He moved to Otsego 
county, this State, among the earliest settlers, and became a man of considerable 
local importance; he was a Free and Accepted Mason. Her mother was Elizabeth 
Wilson, daughter of Abner Wilson of Otsego county, and on the maternal side, a 
a lineal descendant of the house of Campbell of Scotland. In fact her branch of the 
family was considered of sufficient importance to be recognized by Victoria's invita- 
tion when there was a wedding in the royal family. Miss Ferguson was of Scotch- 
Irish and Pilgrim stock ; her grandfather fled to this country at an early date in its 
history to escape religious persecution. She came to Oneida to reside in 1875, with 
her sister, Eleanor Young Ferguson, who died April 1, 1898, in her seventy-sixth 
year, and her brother, Augustus B. Ferguson. All three were unmarried. 



Frost, Clark A., son of Josiah A. and Adelle (Wood) Frost, was born in Oneida, 
N. Y., September 13, 1852. His grandfather, Jacob G. Frost, came from Stockbridge, 



50 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Mass., to this region among the earliest settlers, driving an ox team and bringing 
his family. He settled on East Hill in the present town of Stockbridge, and bought 
land of the Indians for which he was afterwards compelled to pay the State. His 
son, Josiah A., was in early life a farmer, and subsequently a builder and contractor 
in Oneida, erecting the Oneida Seminary. He died June 18. 1890. Clark A. Frost 
attended the old Oneida Seminary, and began business as a clerk in the Oneida jew- 
elry store of Henry Williams. Later he worked in like capacity for Dwight Chapin, 
in whose store he bought an interest, forming the firm of Chapin & Frost which con- 
tinued fifteen years. For two years following this period Mr. Frost was employed as 
a traveling salesman for the Smith Granite Co., of Westerly, R. I., said to be the 
largest concern of its class in the country. He formed his present co partnership 
with W. E. Hazeltine in July, 1897. Mr. Frost has served six years as a member of 
the village board of education. He married, in 1881, Alice Bender, daughter of 
Silas Bender of Oneida. One .son has been born of this union, Clayton Frost. 



Fitch, Jared W., M. D., who died in Oneida, December 8, 1881, in the seventy- 
fourth year of his age, was for years a prominent and highly respected citizen of 
this village. He was a native of Clinton, Oneida County, N. Y. , where he was born 
in 1807, a sou of Dr. John Fitch, a practicing physician of that village. He was 
graduated M. D. at the Berkshire Medical College, Mass.. in 1829, and soon there- 
after commenced practice about thirty miles east of St. Louis in Illinois. Thence, 
after a few years, he removed to New York State, and engaged in a manufacturing 
enterprise in the city of Rochester. In 1851 he removed to Oneida, being interested 
for a time in the manufacture of the Northrup printing press. Later he resumed the 
practice of medicine which he continued almost up to the time of his death, being at 
the same time associated with two of his sons in the manufacture of drain tile. The 
foregoing covers the general record of his active life — -a life that won for him a large 
measure of the respect and esteem of his fellows. Few men have secured a more 
honored name in this community; possessed of a warm social nature, he naturally 
drew the affection of others ; honorable and upright he was trusted by all ; a Chris- 
tian man, conscientiously but firmly discharging his duties, his influence for good was 
widely felt, and as an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church he was always 
active in all that pertained to its prosperity. 

Fox, Charles A., a son of Hubbard and Maria (Finch) Fox, was born in De Ruy- 
ter, April 4, 1844. His father was a native of Sherburne, Chenango county, and for 
some years was engaged in business as a harness maker and dealer. In 1857 he was 
licensed to preach the Gospel and joined the Oneida Conference, and from that time 
until his death in 1893 was a preacher of the Methodist faith, holding pastorates in 
Borodino, Fayetteville and Amber in Onondaga county; Preble and Marathon in 
Cortland county ; Westford, Otsego county ; Whitney's Point, Broome county ; Smyrna 
and Sherburne in Chenango county ; and at Eaton and New Woodstock in Madison 
county. The family originally came from Connecticut and settled first in Sherburne, 
Chenango county, then removed to Pitcher in the same county, where they lived on 
the "old Fox farm." Charles A. Fox was educated in the common schools and at 
Cazenovia Seminary. For about fifteen years he was engaged in farming at Preble, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 51 

and in 1877 removed to New Woodstock and established the general store which he 
still continues. He is a Republican in politics, and has held several town offices. He 
is a member of the A. O. U. W , and for many years has been an official member of 
the New Woodstock Methodist church. He married, in 1863, Helen Banks, daugh- 
ter of Alanson Banks of Preble, Cortland county. 



Fuller, John H., who died in New Woodstock, June 7, 1890, on his eighty-first birth- 
day, was for a number of years one of the leading business men and representative 
farmers of the vicinity. He was born in the town of Nelson, near the Cazenovia 
line, June 7, 1810, a son of Ebenezer and Hannah (Howe) Fuller. His father was a 
native of Connecticut and an early settler of Nelson, where he purchased a farm 
which became known as the Fuller farm and remained in possession of the family 
until its recent purchase by Seymour Holmes. John H. spent his boyhood upon this 
farm and obtained his education in the schools of the vicinity. He was possessed of 
much natural business ability and early began the business of buying live stock and 
wool, which he followed all his life. For over thirty years he was associated in this 
business with Wells Richmond, and they annually bought thousands of dollars worth 
of live stock and large quantities of wool. Mr. Fuller was a Republican in politics, 
but never held a public office, although his friends often endeavored to persuade him 
to do so. He was a man of the strictest integrity and had a plea.sing manner and 
di.sposition, which won for him many warm friends. He was twice married, first to 
Wilhemina, daughter of Thomas Tucker of Cazenovia, and they had one daughter 
who died in infancy. His second wife was Susan Gardner, daughter of Dwight 
Gardner of De Ruyter. They had three children, all deceased. In 1854 Mr. Fuller 
adopted Ella S. Ham, a niece of his first wife, who was only one year old. She 
always lived in his family until she married Irving A. Savage of New Woodstock in 
1874. Mr. and Mrs. Savage and their two children, Carrol H. and Laura I., are now 
living m Syracuse. 



Freeborn, Leonard W., a substantial farmer and almost lifelong resident of the 
town of Cazenovia, was born here May 27, 1819, a son of Stephen and Lucy (White) 
Freeborn. His mother's father, Joseph White, fought vpith the Continental army 
during the war of the Revolution, and later moved from Connecticut to this vicinity, 
bringing his household goods and family with an o.k team. He died in Cazenovia in 
1830. Stephen Freeborn had five brothers, David, Gideon, Noel, who was killed in 
the war of 1813, Christopher and Jonathan. They came originally from Rhode Island, 
where their progenitors had settled on coming from England. They were among the 
earliest settlers in Cazenovia, Gideon Freeborn having driven the ox team for John 
Lincklaen when he first penetrated the wilderness. Stephen Freeborn built a log 
house about two miles north of the present village of New Woodstock, and cleared 
large tracts of land in the vicinity, not only for himself, but by contract for others. 
He lived on his farm of fifty acres in Cazenovia until 1830, and then removed to a 
farm of some lOO acres near Erieville in Nelson, where he lived until his death in 
1852. Leonard W. Freeborn was the third son and eighth child of Stephen Free- 
born's family, in which were eleven children. During his youth he, like the others, 
was obliged to contribute to the support of the family by hard work at farming, and 



53 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

clearing limber lands. His father was not a man, however, to neglect the education 
of his family, and he found time to attend the district schools and also the Eaton vil- 
lage school one term. He has been engagecj in farming all his life, but having a 
Yankee shrewdness and business ability has also engaged extensively in business 
enterprises of various kinds. For a number of years he was quite extensively en- 
gaged in baying and shipping to outside markets butter and cheese, often handling 
over $100,000 worth of these products in a single year. He also bought pork, dried 
apples and other farm products, acquiring by industry, frugality and the exercise of 
his native ability, a goodly competence. His first farm was in the town of De Ruy- 
ter, where he lived about fifteen years. In 1866 he bought 180 acres of the farm on 
which he now resides, and has since added to his possessions by purchase until he 
now owns some 700 acres, divided into three farms. Mr. Freeborn has always been 
a Whig or a Republican, and has held several minor town offices. He cast his first 
vote for "Tippecanoe and Tyler too." He married, in 1847, Ruby Louisa >Iorse, 
daughter of Gershora Morse of Nelson, and nine children were born to them: Mary 
Louisa, wife of Edward S. Damon; Frank L.. John C, Etta, wife of Deacon L. H. 
Slocum; Gardner Morse. Emmett Dayton, Dora Lucy, wife of J. A. Loyster, and 
Ella Josephine, allot Cazenovia. George Roselle, their seventh child, died in infancy. 

Faurot, Captain Henry, p. o. Stockbridge, was born in Canandaigua, Ontario 
county, N. Y. , September 9, 1828, was educated in his native town and was gradu- 
ated from the Albany Law School and practiced his profession in partnership with 
his brother, J. P. Faurot of Canandaigua. When the war broke out he raised the 
first company organized in his county, was chosen captain, and on May 13 1861, his 
company was attached to the 18th Regiment, N. Y. Vols., Col. W. A. Jackson com- 
manding. He was in the Peninsula campaign and took part in the battles of Bull 
Run, Mann's Junction, Bailey's Cro.ss Roads, Gaines Mills, the siege of Richmond, 
and on account of incapacity through illness was honorably discharged in August, 
1862. For three years after his discharge from the army he served as clerk of the 
Court of Appeals. Then, his health having failed as a result of army service, he 
went to Gaines, Mich., where he engaged in real estate and mercantile business un- 
til his death on July 8, 1869. He married Theresa D. Hadcock of Stockbridge, N. Y. , 
on June 3, 1861, and they had one son Henry, who is engaged in the manufacture 
of felt in Chicago. Henry married Catherine Silverthorne of Chicago and they have 
four children: Henry, Frances de Ferrier, Julia Belle and William Silverthorne. 
Mrs. Faurot was a daughter of John and Nancy Hadcock who were among the first 
settlers of Stockbridge. He was a farmer and settled on a farm which has since 
been in the family; he was agent for the Indians for a number of years; was a Dem- 
ocrat in politics and captain of State militia. He and his wife had ten children of 
whom six are now living. Mrs. Faurot and her sister, L. Jeannette Hadcock, have 
the old homestead of two hundred acres and follow dairying and hop raising. 



Fisk, David L., p. o. North Brookfield, N. Y., was born in Brookfield, January 1, 
1829. John Fisk, great-grandfather of David L., was born in Worcester, Mass., on 
August 16, 1749, and on August 30, 1777, he was married to Irena Buck. His build- 
ings were burned during the Revolutionary war while he was in the service. David, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 53 

son of John, was born in Worcester, November 12, 1782, and came to Brookfield in 
1797, and his son Dennison, father of David L.. was born in Brookfield in 1807, and 
was married to Polly P., daughter of John Bush (who lived and died in Sangerfield, 
N. Y.); they were members of the M. E. Church; he died March 7, 1883, and his 
widow January 6, 1892. David L. Fisk was eduated at Brookfield Academy, Ham- 
ilton Academy and De Ruyter Institute. Mr. Fisk is a farmer, operating 300 acres 
of land, chiefly devoted to hop culture. He has been a lifelong Republican, has 
been justice of the peace many years, justice of sessions one term, county coro- 
ner for some years, and in 1871 served as member of assembly. He is a member of 
Hamilton Lodge No. 120, F. & A. M., and of Cyrus Chapter No. 50, R. A. M. He was 
married to Frances E. Green of Brookfield, February 24, 1880. 

Francis. Adelbert W. , p. o. De Ruyter, one of the most active and successful busi- 
ness men of Madison county, now a resident of De Ruyter, is a son of James and 
Amanda (Schofield) Francis. His father was a successful miller in Georgetown for 
many years prior to his death in 1872. His grandfather. Job Francis, was an officer 
in the Revolutionary war. Adelbert W. was born in Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y. , 
September 12, 1840. His boyhood was spent in school and in August, 1863, filled 
with the patriotic desire of serving his country, he resolved to consecrate his young 
life to the cause of liberty and to the preservation of the Union, and enlisted in Co. 
A, 117th N.Y.Vols., serving his country faithfully until June 8, 1865. when he was 
discharged. He then returned to Georgetown, where his father then lived, and en- 
tered the milling business with him, where he remained until 1871, then, in company 
with Elisha Green, bought the stone mills at Lebanon, which firm was known as 
Francis & Green until 1875. Mr. Francis then disposed of his interest there and re- 
moved to Tru.xton, where he carried on the milling business for three years. In 
1881 he removed to Preble and after two years there located in De Ruyter, where he 
has since resided. On January 1, 1867, Mr. Francis married Sarah M . daughter of 
William and Charlotte (Way) Peirce of Otselic. A well informed man, one who 
reads the papers, is interested in public affairs and keeps abreast of the times, affa- 
ble in manners and a general favorite in social circles, Mr. Francis is possessed of a 
happy faculty for making and retaining friends and is one of the most popular of 
De Ruyter's citizens. He has been a member of the Republican County Central 
Committee for the past five years; is president of the board of water works and has 
served as assessor of the town of Lebanon. In social and fraternal matters he is 
a member of De Ruyter Lodge No. 393, F. & A. M., A. O. U. W. No. 223, and W. E. 
Hunt Post No. 853, G. A. R. As a public man, of high standing in the county, Mr. 
Francis has been faithful to every trust confided to his care and the citizens recog- 
nize in him one to whom they may safely confide the highest public interests. 



Goodwin, Sands H , president and manager of the Westcott Chuck Co., was born 
in Oneida March 18, 1845, a son of Stephen H. and Abbie J. (Higinbotham) Good- 
win. His father came here from Vernon in 1843, and was an honored resident of 
Oneida until his death in 1881. He wa.s associated with many of the pioneer busi- 
ness men of the village in various enterprises which helped to build up the town. 
Sands H. Goodwin was educated in the public schools of Oneida, and in the Hudson 



54 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

River Institute at Claverack, N. Y. He early entered his father's dry goods store, 
and in 1866 was taken into partnership, the firm name becoming S. H. Goodwin & 
Sons. After his father's death he continued the business alone for about seven years 
and then sold out. In 1887 Mr. Goodwin became manager of the-Westcott Chuck 
Company, and five years later was made president and manager. He married in 
1868, Anna S. Backus, daughter of M. M. Backus of New York city. Of this union 
is one daughter, Mrs. C. R. Baker of Oneida. 



Griswold, John D., who has resided in Cazenovia since 1885, was born In Benning- 
ton, N. H., 1843, a son of Lucius P. and Jane E. (Schoonmaker) Griswold. His father 
was engaged in the manufacture of powder from 1825 to 1876. and for many years 
was superintendent of the Laflin-Rand Company. He died at Rosendale, N. Y. in 
1877. Under him at the early age of fourteen years Mr. Griswold began to learn the 
powder business, in which he has been engaged all his active life. He has been con- 
nected with most of the important manufacturers of the country, including the Haz- 
ards; Duponts; and the Laflm-Rand Company. He built his Cazenovia plant in 
1887, three and one-half miles .south of the village and began the manufacture of 
powder on an extensive scale. This plant has blown up three times, last in October, 
1898; since which time it has not been rebuilt. 



Gardiner, Hull S. , M. D. , p. o. Hamilton, was born in Smyrna, Chenango county, 
N. Y. , October 38, 1840, but has lived in Madison county since his infancy. He was 
educated in the Hamilton Union School from which he graduated in the first class 
from that school. He succeeded Prof. Sherrill as the second principal of the school 
and also taught successfully in Smyrna and Madison. He entered Bellevue Hospital 
Medical College and graduated in 1868. He then practiced in Jersey City for four 
years and Earlville three years, after which he established himself in Hamilton in 
1875. He was at first a partner with Dr. Beebe, but this partnership was dissolved 
in 1880. Dr. Gardiner has twice been coroner and twice trustee of the village of 
Hamilton. He is examiner for many insurance companies and is a prominent Mason. 
In 1876 Dr. Gardiner married Miss Calista R. Head of Lebanon, N. Y., daughter of 
Sandford Head. Mrs. Gardiner died March 23, 1869, leaving two daughters, Calista 
R., and Rebecca S. Dr. Gardiner's parents were Charles B. and Melvina T. (Slocum) 
Gardiner. Charles B. Gardiner was a native of Smyrna, N. Y. , and his wife was a 
native of Massachusetts. Charles B. Gardiner's ancestors were owners of Gardiner's 
Island. Mrs. Gardiner's grandmother was a Ballard and both the Ballards and 
Heads were patriots in the Revolutionary war. 



Gulbran, Charles G., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Sweden, October 16, 1848, and 
came to America in 1869. After remaining in New York a few months he took up 
railroading for a time, working at Bouckville. Otselic, and Oriskany Falls. In 1871 
he settled in Hamilton and worked for Adon Smith for two years, and for his son one 
year. He then clerked for Foot & Gaskill ten years and after that for Adon N. Smith 
for ten years. In 1895, just after the great fire, he opened up business for himself in 
an old dwelling house. This was on March 16, of that year, and on May 30, 1895, he 
moved into his present fine store, where he carries a large line of builders' hardware 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 55 

and stoves and makes a specialty of plumbing and heating. Mr. Gulbran married 
Augusta Leonardson in 1869. They have two children: Alice C, and Charles E. 
Mr. Gulbran has built up his business prosperity by his own efforts and is a promi- 
nent member of the Congregational Church. He has been a deacon and trustee of 
that church many years. 



Garrett, J. F., p. o. Brookfield, was born in Brookfield, April 5, 1820, a sou of 
Elisha, son of Francis, who came from Connecticut about 1800, as one of the early 
settlers. Elisha Garrett was born in Connecticut and came to Brookfield when a 
young man and here spent the remainder of his days. His wife was Polly Treat, 
born in Brookfield, and daughter of John Treat, an early settler from Connecticut; 
they had only one son, J. F. Garrett, the subject, who was educated in the common 
schools and began working by the month on a farm when sixteen years of age and 
supported his parents, his father being an invalid. At the age of twenty he began 
selling school books and followed that occupation for four years, when he bought the 
farm of sixty acres where he resides, and has added to it until he owns 160 acres of 
land. He has been for many years one of the large hop growers of Brookfield and 
has also a large dairy. He has always been an ardent Republican, but not an aspir- 
ant to public office; he has been notary public for several years and is a member of 
Sanger Lodge, No. 129, F. & A. M. In 1847 Mr. Garrett married Statira, daughter 
of Martin Mason, an early settler of Stockbridge. Mr. Garrett has one adopted 
daughter, Hattie, wife of James Sloan, a farmer, and who resides with Mr. Garrett. 
Mr. and Mrs. Garrett are members of the First Baptist church. 



Gill, Edgar D., p. o. Pratt's Hollow, was born on the farm he owns, April 9, 1861, 
a son of Sumner and Lavena (Brigham) Gill, both born on the farm where Edgar D. 
lives. His father has always been a farmer with the exception of two years in Can- 
astota when he was engaged in grocery business. He and his wife had five children, 
four now Uving. His wife died in 1893. Edgar D. was educated in the common 
schools and Cazenovia Seminary and Mead's Business College, Syracuse. He owns 
155 acres of land and follows general farming, hop growing and dairying. In poli- 
tics he is a Democrat. He is a member of Morrisville Lodge, No. 658, F. & A. M., 
and Wewana Lodge No. 678, I. O. O. F. November 9, 1891, he married Harriet E. 
Smith, daughter of Leonard and Cora Smith of Rochester. Mrs. Gill is a member 
of the Episcopal church. They have one son, Sumner S. 



Hall, Jesse Wilson, is one of the leading merchants of Cazenovia village, where he 
has been engaged in the jewelry business for a quarter of a century. Mr. Hall was 
born in New Berlin, Chenango county, N. Y., November 5, 1850. His father, also 
named Jesse W., was born in the town of Brookfield, Madison county. He settled 
in Cazenovia in 1858, where he died in 1874. He was for eight years steward of 
Cazenovia Seminary. He was the .son of Stephen R. Hall, a native of Dracut, Mid- 
dlesex county, Mass., an early settler of Brookfield, who removed to that town in 
1803, in a wagon, bringing his wife and family and was one of the earlier settlers of 
that town. Jesse W. was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and at the age of nine- 
teen began to learn the jeweler's trade with John Greenland, with whom he remained 



56 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

one year, and was then for six years in the employ of W. H. Cruttenden, watchmaker 
and jeweler. He resided in Sherburne one year and in 1878 bought the jewelry busi- 
ness of the estate of John Greenland. In his store, which he purchased in 1882, he 
has done a successful business. He is an Odd Fellow of h gh standing and in politics 
has always been a staunch Republican. Mr. Hall served as town clerk fifteen con- 
secutive years. In 1896 he was elected justice of the peace. He has served as trus- 
tee of the village, trustee of Cazenovia Seminary, and member of the Board of Edu- 
cation. He married, in 1880, Lucy Nichols Bailey, daughter of Lewis and Marietta 
(Nichols) Bailey. 

Hubbard, Robert J., son of Thomas H. and Phoebe (Hubbard) Hubbard, was 
born in Utica, May 31, 1830. His father, Thomas Hill Hubbard, was born in New 
Haven, Conn., December 6, 1781, a son of Rev. Bela Hubbard, D. D. , for many 
years and until his death, rector of Trinity church of that city. Thomas H. Hub- 
bard graduated at Yale in the class of 1799. After taking his degree he began the 
study of law with John Woodworth of Troy, then attorney-general of the State, and 
afterwards a judge of the Supreme Court, who was a family connection. After his 
admission to the bar Mr. Hubbard proceeded to Hamilton to begm life without for- 
tune or any other advantages except strong natural talents, a careful education, cor- 
rect habits, sterling principles, and high hopes. He rapidly acquired success, tak- 
ing a position in the front rank of his profession, and gaining a large and profitable 
practice. As an adviser in questions of difficulty and as a correct and intelligent 
man of business, he had no superior: and as an advocate he was highly persuasive 
and successful. At an early period he was appointed the prosecuting attorney of a 
district embracing, not as at present a single county, but several adjoining ones, and 
in this character it became his duty to conduct several trials for capital offenses. He 
held the office of surrogate ten years, from 1806 to 1816. In 1817 he was chosen a 
representative in Congress and after one term had intervened was again chosen, 
thus serving four years. In 1812 he was chosen a presidential elector and voted for 
Madison at his election for a second term. In 1824 he removed from Hamilton to 
Utica and there formed a professional connection with Greene C. Bronson, but 
shortly afterwards abandoned the practice of law. He was the first clerk in equity 
under the constitution of 1822, and succeeded Arthur Breese as clerk of the Supreme 
Court, which position he held until 1837. At this time he designed finally to relin- 
quish public life, but was, however, afterwards twice chosen presidential elector. 
He was the first president of the New York State Lunatic Asylum, at Utica. While 
a resident of Madison county and as early as 1818 he was chosen a director of the 
Bank of Utica, and on the organization of the Utica Savings Bank was made a trus- 
tee of that institution, holding both positions until his death. For several j'ears he 
was a trustee of Hamilton College. In all the positions Mr. Hubbard filled, his 
duties were performed with marked fidelity and honor. A predominant trait in his 
character was the habitual kiodness and courtesy of his manners and his circle of 
friends was a wide one. His death occurred at Utica, May 22, 1857. He married 
Phoebe Hubbard and of their union were eleven children, of whom only one survives, 
Robert J. Hubbard. The latter was for many years engaged in business in New 
York city and for the past twenty-five years has been a resident of Cazenovia. He 
has served as president of the village one year (1879), and in various ways has shown 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 57 

an interest in public affairs. For many years he has been a member and vestryman 
of St. Peter's Episcopal church. He married in 1863, Anna F. Burr, daughter of 
William M. Burr of Cazenovia. Of this union is one son, Robert F. Hubbard of Caz- 
enovia. 



Hubbard, John F., a very extensive farmer and hop grower, and one of the truly 
representative citizens of Madison county, is a son of John and Harriett (Russell) 
Hubbard. His father was bjrn in England and in 1838 came with his parents to 
this country and settled in Waterville, where he resided until his marriage. He 
afterward removed to Morrisville, where John F. was born, April 4, 1846. He re- 
mained at home until December 31. 1868, having m the meantime received a good 
education in the district schools and the Hamilton Union School. He then married 
Helena, daughter of Ephraim and Lucy (Perkins) Keeck, the former of whom was a 
successful farmer of Stockbridge. They have had four children; Charles (deceased), 
Fred (deceased), Hattie (Mrs. Charles Smith of De Ruyter), and Lewis. Politically 
Mr. Hubbard affiliates with the Democratic party, and while leading a quiet and 
uneventful life enjoys that most independent and in many respects enviable station 
of a farmer owning his own lands. By his own energy and industry Mr. Hubbard 
has established himself comfortably and with pleasant surroundings 



Hyatt, Hon. Frances A., p. o. Perry ville, was born in Ridgefield, Fairfield county. 
Conn., August 5, 1828, a son of Aaron S. and Electa (Keeler) Hyatt. His father 
settled in Madison county in 1832. The first of the Hyatt family to come to this country 
from England, was Thomas Hyatt, who settled in Stamford, Conn., in 1641, and was 
founder of this branch of the family in America. Francis A. Hyatt began business 
on the farm in 1850, and has since resided in the town of Fenner. He was elected 
town clerk in 1856 and several terms; justice of the peace in 1859 and held that oflSce 
eight years; was elected road commissioner, but declined to serve; was member of 
Assembly in 1861 and again represented the district in the Legislature in 1873; was 
a delegate to the Republican State conventions of 1861, 1872, 1881, 1883, and 1895, 
and for many years was a notary public and often employed in the settlement of 
estates. He is a member of Sullivan Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 148. Mr. Hyatt is 
one of the best known men in Madison county, a representative citizen and although 
in a measure retired from active public dut)', is still interested in everything pertain- 
ing to the general welfare of the county. While courteous and liberal in his attitude 
towards the opinion of others, he holds firmly his own views, and acts upon them in 
a conscientious manner. 



Huyck, Philip J., p. o. Perry ville, was born in Kinderhook, N. Y., October 21, 1825, 
a son of Jacob P. and Maria (Harder) Huyck, the only son of ten children as follows: 
Ann, Catherine, Maria, Philip J., Christiana, Sarah, Elizabeth, Cynthia, Harriet, and 
Calista, all of whom were residents of this county. Jacob P. came to the town of 
Lenox with his family, where he lived until his death and followed farming. In his 
early life he was a cloth dresser and wool carder. He took an active part in public 
affairs and was poormaster of his town several terms. Philip J. was educated in the 
common schools of the town of Lenox and his early life was spent on the farm with 



58 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

his father. When he was twenty-eight years of age he purchased a farm in the town 
of Fanner, near where he now Hves, and moved there. When twenty-seven years of 
age he married Luzetta A., daughter of Lyman and Lucy (Smith) Robinson, she a 
native of the town of Feuner; they have two children: Libbie, wife of Dempster 
Tooke, and Willis P.. whose first wife was Kittie J. Lansing (deceased); they had one 
child, Harry W. Later he married Cora B. Watkins of Chittenango. Willis P. is serv- 
ing his .second term on the board of education of the Perryville Union School ; also a 
trustee of the Methodist Episcopal church and Perryville cemetery association, of 
which his father is president; he has also been a collector of his town. Philip J. 
Huyck has always taken an active interest in the affairs of his town and for several 
years was assessor. Mrs. Huyck's four brothers, James S., Smith L. . Serg't Theo- 
dore V. and Dr. Reuben H., were volunteers in the war of the rebellion, and Theo- 
dore was wounded at the battle of Winchester, from the effects of which he died at 
Baltimore, December 13, 1804. 



Hamblin, Lucian D. , p. o. Chittenango Falls, was born at Chittenango Falls, N. Y. , 
December 7, 1833, a son of David and Harriet (Humeston) Hamblin, who had five 
children: Julia, Harriet, Lucian D., Jane E. and William M., all natives of the town 
of Fenner. David was a native of Genesee county and came to Madison county with 
his father when a young man, settling on the farm now owned by Charles Cooper, 
and was one of the early settlers. Harriet was a daughter of A.sof and Harriet 
Humeston. They were natives of England, settled in Northfield, Conn., and in 1806, 
when she was seven years of age moved to Madison county. Lucian D. Hamblin 
was educated in the common schools of the town of Fenner and also spent two years 
at the polytechnic .school in .Chittenango. He lived with his father until he was 
twenty-four years of age, when he started in life for himself as a farmer, which busi- 
ness he has carried on to the present time. He married Helen A., daughter of Ben- 
jamin and Sophia Putnam, and has two children; Cora, wife of Noah Davis, and 
Charles A., who married Calla, daughter of Henry and Dina Slee. Charles has two 
children: Anna H. and Milton L., who are natives of the town of Fenner. Mr. 
Hamblin has taken an active part in town and county affairs ; has been assessor of 
his town two terms, and justice of the peace. He is public spirited and is interested 
in schools, education, churches, etc. 



Hunt, Frank L., son of Luther and Jane (Scott) Hunt, was born in Cazenovia 
August 7, 1854. His father was a native of Nelson, but for many years lived in the 
town of Cazenovia, where he died in December, 1897, in the seventy-eighth year of 
his age. The family are of New England pioneer stock and came into this region at 
an early date from Massachusetts. Of the union of Luther and Jane (Scott) Hunt, 
three children were born: Cora, wife of James Webber; Nellie, wife of Edwin Web- 
ber, both of Cazenovia; and Frank L. Hunt. The latter was educated in the dis- 
trict schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. He has been a farmer all his life, now 
owning 240 acres less than a mile south of New Woodstock village. Mr. Hunt is one 
of the progressive farmers of this town, believes in modern methods, and by his 
superior business ability, is thoroughly successful. He has given much attention to 
the breeding of thoroughbred and high grade cattle, and does a large dairy business. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 59 

In politics he is a staunch Republican. He married, in 1875, Anna M. Morse, daugh- 
ter of Devolson Morse, of Cazenovia. Their children are Ivan H., Inez J., Earl M., 
and Clayton Hunt. 



Hyatt, Smith K., p. o. Fenner, was born in Connecticut, August 21, 1824, a son of 
Charles S. and Rachael (Smith) Hyatt. They had six children as follows: Jane 
Ann, Mary, Helen, Smith K., John, and Charles, jr. By occupation Charles, sr., 
followed farming and settled in this county about 1827. Smith K. was educated in 
the common schools of Madison county. His early life was spent on the farm with 
his parents. In 1849 he married Clarinda, daughter of George and Delia Wood- 
worth, and they had six children: J. Wilson, Newel W., Ida, wife of John Harter, 
Lee, Eddie, and Rachael, wife of F"red Tooke, all of whom were born on the farm 
where Mr. Hyatt now lives. When Mr. Hyatt was married he purchased the farm 
where he now lives and has since followed general farming. He has been active in 
town affairs, having been elected assessor, loan commissioner, pathmaster, etc. ; he 
also has taken an active part in school and educational work and is a contributing 
and supporting member of the Fenner church. 



Harrington, Giles, was born in the old town of Lenox in that portion which is now 
the town of Lincoln, April T, 1843, a son of Giles and Mary (Merrill) Harrington. 
His father, a farmer and a captain in the militia, was a native of Connecticut, but 
came to Madison county with his parents when an infant. His maternal grandfather 
Solomon Merrill, built one of the fii-st frame houses at Merrillsville. Mr. Harrington 
was engaged in farming until he reached the age of thirty. In 1877 he came to 
Oneida and in 1880 established a livery business in the Eagle Hotel barns, removing 
to his present location in 1894. He is conducting the largest business of this class in 
Madison county. Mr. Harrington has held many positions of public trust; he has 
served as highway commissioner of the old town of Lenox, as overseer of the poor, 
assessor four years, chief of police one year; deputy sheriff of Madison county six 
years, and as trustee of the village several years. He is a member of Oneida Lodge, 
No. 270, F. & A. M., and EumeniaLodge of Odd Fellows. He married in July, 1863, 
Lucinda J. Pierce, daughter of Darius Pierce of Augusta, Oneida county, N. Y., and 
of this union two sons survive: Fenton N., and Fred G., both associated with their 
father in the conduct of his business. 



House, Charles, was born in Newark, N. J., July 22, 1851, a son of George and Mary 
(Raymond) House. He was educated in the common schools and at the age of fifteen 
began an apprenticeship to the glass blowing trade at Ellenville, Ulster county, N. 
Y. He followed this trade about twelve years, and 1S78 removed to Buffalo, N. Y. , 
where he engaged in the bottling business in which he continued successfully until 
1881, when he removed to Oneida where he has since resided. On his arrival here 
he began his present bottling business and has been at his present location for the 
past twelve years. By virtue of his successful business Mr. House is well known 
throughout Madison county. He has served as overseer of the poor three terms; as 
trustee of the village two years; as president of the village one year; and as a mem- 
ber of the sewer board two years, a position he resigned when elected president of 



GO OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the village; he is now a member of the board of education. Mr. House is a member 
of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows and the Encampment. He married in 1875, Miss 
Margaret Keating, daughter of John Keating, of Lockport, N. Y. Four children 
have been born to them; Minnie E., Charles Will, Emma E., and Nellie A. 



Hill, Charles A , who died at his home south of Oneida Castle, January 2, 1895, in 
the sixty-fifth year of his age, was a resident for many years of this vicinity, and 
known as a man of sterling integrity and a Christian gentleman. He was born in 
Western, Oneida county, N.Y., January 12, 1830, a son of David and Laura (Turner) 
Hill. Both his father and his grandfather (the latter one of the earliest settlers) 
were natives of Western and farmers. Mr. Hill was educated in the district schools, 
and at an early age learned the carpenters' trade, which he followed some years. 
For seventeen years he was engaged in the manufacture of cheese at the Hill Cheese 
Factory near Oneida Castle. In 1884 he bought the farm of forty acres just south of 
Oneida Castle, where he resided until his death. Mr. Hill was a man well fitted to 
gain the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact, and frequently 
held positions of public trust. He was for some years a member and a trustee of the 
Cochran Memorial Presbyterian Church at (Jneida Castle. He married July 2, 1850, 
Miss Achsah Paddock, daughter of Peter Paddock of the town of Western, Oneida 
county, N.Y. One daughter was born to them, Mrs. John W. Lewis. 

Huntley, James F. , M.D. , sou of James F. and Esther E. (Freeman) Huntley, was 
born in Durhamville, Oneida county, N.Y. , June 19, 1855. His father, who was also 
a physician, practiced in Durhamville over thirty years, and in Oneida from 1873 
until his lamented death (1887). James Huntley (great-grandfather), was one of the 
earliest settlers of Otsego county, locating in the extreme northern part. Dr. Hunt- 
ley received his preliminary education in the Falley Seminary and Whitestown Sem- 
inary. He was gradua,ted with the degree M.D. from the Medical Department of 
the University of the City of New York in the class of 1876. In the same year he 
began practice in West Winfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., where he was associated 
for several years with Dr. James LT. Rose. He removed to Oneida in 1889. and has 
since been in active practice in this village. Dr. Huntley is a member of the Madi- 
son County Medical Society; of the New York State Medical Association ; and of 
Doric Chapter of Oneida, R. A. M. He married, in 1879. Nellie, daughter of Col. 
Alonzo Wood of West Winfield, Herkimer county, N.Y. Four children have been 
born of this union: Esther F. , Harold W. , Kate E. , and James Warren. 



Hazeltine, William E., son of James A. and Nancy (Overacre) Hazeltine, was born 
in Munnsville, this county, July 3, 1852. His father conducted the tannery at Munns- 
ville for several years and was well known througliout this region. He died in 
1854. Mr. Hazeltine was educated in the common .schools and Oneida Seminary. 
During most of his business life he has been in the dry goods business. He was first 
employed as a clerk in the dry goods store of S. H. Goodwin's Sons, with whom he 
remained six years. For two years subsequent he was employed in like capacity by 
Charles E. Remick, and in 1883 with J. E. Preston and J. T. Deering, formed the 
firm of Preston, Hazeltine & Deering for the conduct of a general dry goods business. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 61 

After two years Mr. Hazeltine withdrew to associate with William M. Baker in a 
similar business, forming the firm of Hazeltine & Baker, which became Hazeltine, 
Baker & Reidy in 1896 by the admission of Thomas F. Reidy. Mr. Hazeltine is not 
now an active partner. The present firm of Hazeltine & Frost, dealers in coal, wood, 
etc., was formed in July, 1897. Mr. Hazeltine has been identified with many impor- 
tant public movements, has served as a director of the Y. M.C.A. three years, and is 
member of the Royal Arcanum. He married, in 1887, Minnie E. Warren, daughter 
of Lealdis N. Warren of Stockbridge. Of this union are five children: Warren J., 
Roy S., Doratha N., Sarah L., and Gertrude. 



Higginbotham, Niles, who died in Oneida, March 17, 1890, in the seventy-seventh 
year of his age, was for years one of the foremost citizens of that village and a man 
who bore the respect and unqualified esteem of the entire community. He was a son 
of Sands Higmbotham and was born in Vernon, Oneida county, March 9, 1813. In 
1827 he was sent by his father to the well known school of Mr. Morse in Hamilton, 
and at the age of nineteen entered the store of Alexander Seymour at Utica, where 
he remained about one year. In March, 1834, at the age of twenty-one he entered 
the store of his uncle, Isaac Carpenter of Ithaca, with whom he later formed a part- 
nership. When twenty four years old he severed this connection, and taking his 
little fortune went West with his close friend, Samuel Breese. They spent about two 
years buying large tracts of land which in after years became quite valuable. In 
the spring of 1840 Mr. Higinbotham and J. P. Manrow took a contract on the old 
Erie railroad from Owego to Corning; the railroad company failed in le.ss than two 
years, owing the young contractors about §100,000. of which they only received 
about $30,000. In the spring of 1849 they received their balance and paid their men 
in full with interest ; Mr. Higinbotham often said that he never knew a prouder 
day than when these waiting men were paid, Mr. Sands Higinbotham, having 
bought from the State a large tract of unimproved land where Oneida now stands, 
had removed thither from Vernon as early as 1834, giving to the village its first im- 
petus by presenting to the railroad (now the New York Central) lands and right of 
way, on condition that it should stop all passenger trains at Oneida, a contract ob- 
served until late in the Fifties Some years later Niles Higinbotham bought large 
portions of land here from his father, and in 1844 built and commenced business in 
the old Goodwin store on Madison street. There he remamed as silent partner with 
his brother-in-law. Mr. Goodwin, for some years. In December, 1851, he organized 
the Oneida Valley Bank with Sands Higinbotham and Samuel Breeze. This was 
the first bank opened in Oneida, and was incorporated as a State bank in 1852, and 
as a National bank in 1865. Mr. Higinbotham was elected first president and re-' 
tained that position until the day of his death. There were some traits of character 
very strongly marked in Mr. Higinbotham even as a young man. To the most trans- 
parent honesty and uprightness in small, as well as great transactions, he added an 
independence which made him courageous in striking out for himself in any line of 
action where his judgment was once convinced as to the duty or reasonableness of 
the undertaking, and he was persevering and hopeful to a degree which never ad- 
mitted in his often self-imposed tasks, either weariness or discouragement. These 
qualities eminently fitted him to join in and carry to even higher fulfillment the 



63 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

plans of his wise and public- spirited father, for whom he had the most beautiful feel- 
ings of trust and affection. Together they labored for the development of the little 
hamlet, and even in its early days Oneida began to be known as a busy and public- 
spirited village attracting to itself men of integrity and good character. Mr. Hig- 
inbotham's efforts were put forth in behalf of religion, of education, of increased 
business and railroad facilities, of wide streets, and town extension on every side. 
In particular, he labored long and patiently to arouse public interest in the cause of 
higher education. It was one of the deepest wishes of his heart that Oneida should 
have an academic boarding and day school of the highest order, and he spared 
neither time, pains or money in the effort to establish the Oneida Seminary on an 
honorable and scholarly basis. Again and again he came to the rescue when the 
seminary was in need; started subscriptions, at times guaranteed and even paid from 
his own purse, the salaries of the teachers, and spent time and thought in securing 
fine school grounds, a good building, library, and apparatus, and became the per- 
sonal friend and adviser of the teachers in everything that looked to the better 
equipment of the school, and the interest of the young people of Oneida and vicin- 
ity. In these labors were associated with him as trustees of the seminary (which 
was opened in 1858), such men as Messrs. Breese, Hand, EUinwood, Goodwin, Stone 
and others. In everything that he did, Mr. Higinbotham had always in his mind to 
do that which should be best for the poor as well as the rich, and in many unosten- 
tatious ways he gave help to those whom he saw struggling under adverse circum- 
stance.s. The park on lower Broad street near the Central railroad, and the lands 
upon which stood all the church buildings except one, were given by Mr. Higinbot 
ham. On March 1, 1874, he was baptized in and united with the Presbvterian 
church, of which many of his relatives were members, and he was, all his life, a rev- 
erent and constant reader of the Bible. During all his long life he preserved habits 
of temperance, purity and regularity, and he enjoyed almost uniformly good health 
until within a few years of his death. Mr. Higinbotham married, in 1849, Eliza, 
daughter of Nicholas P. Randall, an eminent member of the Onondaga county bar. 
Of their union three daughters were born: Julia Randall, died February, 1895; 
Louise Adelaide, and Eliza Rhobie- 



Hinman, William J., who has been in the jewelry business in Oneida since 1886, 
was born in the town of Augusta, Oneida county, July 4, 1858, a son of William and 
Abbie (Vaughn) Hinman. The family is of old New England stock and his great- 
grandfather, Grove Hinman, came from Connecticut to Oneida county among the 
earliest settlers. Mr. Hinman was educated in the Knoxboro Union School, and 
until he reached his majority assisted in the conduct of his father's farm. During 
the year 1880 he conducted a saw mill and lumber j'ard owned by his father in the 
town of Lee, Oneida county, and in 1881 went to Fonda to begin an apprenticeship 
to the jewelers' trade. The following year he came to Oneida and for about four 
years was employed in the jewelry store of C. J. Wells. He began his present busi- 
ness in 1886. Mr. Hinman has served as village trustee two terms; is a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Royal Arcanum. He married, in 
1885, Cora Harp, daughter of Christian Harp, of Macedon, Wayne county, N. Y. 
Two children have been born to the.-n: Ethel M., and Alta M. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 63 

Hay, Arthur, son of Alexander and Ann (Stanbury) Hay, was born in Jersey City, 
N. J., March 6, 1859. His father was a native of Scotland and followed the business 
of expert accounting. For a short time he was engaged in Oneida with the Banking 
House of Barnes, Stark & Munroe, and subsequently removed to Chicago where he 
died in 1874, leaving a widow and three children Arthur Hay was educated in the 
public schools of New York City and Oneida. In his fourteenth year he began an 
apprenticeship to the machinist's trade in the Westcott Chuck Works where he was 
employed ten years. Following this period he was associated with his brother, John 
S. Hay, in a florist and seed business in Oneida for a short time. In the fall of 1886 
he established a small variety store, out of which has grown his present business. 
Ever since he reached his majority Mr. Hay has been actively interested in the cause 
of temperance. For a number of years he has been a member of the Board of Direc- 
tors of the Oneida Y. M. C. A., and an active member of the First Presbyterian 
church ; is superintendent of the North Side Chapel Sunday School, and an active 
official member of the Y. P. S. C. E. He married in June, 1886, Helen D. E. Dodge, 
daughter of the late George W. Dodge of the town of Augusta, N. Y. Although he 
began in a small way, Mr. Hay's business has developed rapidly, especially in the 
department of books and stationery. In the latter trade he now conducts an exten- 
sive wholesale business. 



Hill, John, p. o. Perryville, was born on the farm where he now resides, March 1, 
1863, a son of Norman B. (deceased) and Mary (Keyes) Hill, who had three children ; 
John, Fred C. and Carrie. Norman was a son of John Hill, who settled in the town of 
Fenner about 1824, and Isyphena (Annas) Hill, a native of the town ot Nelson. John 
Hill, the subject, was educated in the schools of the town of Fenner aod also in the 
Academy at Little Falls. He was associated with his lather until his father's death, 
when he took full charge of the estate. When twenty-five years of age he married 
Inez, daughter of Austin K. and Marie (Worden) Hall, and they have two children: 
Grace Irma and Gladys May. Mr. Hill has been active in town and county affairs, 
and at the present time is justice of the peace and has been collector and held several 
other appointive offices. He has been active in educational work and was a member 
of the first board of education of Perryville Union School, which position he now 
holds. His wife is a graduate of Chittenango High School. Fred C. Hill was edu- 
cated in the schools of the town of Fenner, also graduated at Chittenango High 
School. He studied law in the office of Judge Parker of Tioga Co., N. Y. , and was 
admitted to the bar in 1888. He married Grace Hibberd, August 22, 1890, and is 
located at Owego, N. Y. Carrie Hill in 1885 maaried Elmer E. Shaut, a merchant 
of Little Falls, where she resided until his death in 1889, since which time she has 
made her home at Perryville. They had one child, Norma. 



Hollenbeck, J. W., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Smithfield, January 26, 1858, a 
son of Francis F. and grand.son of an early settler of Oswego county. Francis F. 
was born in Oswego, N. Y., in 1882; he married Harriet Buyea, born in Lenox in 
1835, and they have five children, four now living. Mr. Hollenbeck settled in Smith- 
field when a young man, where he spent his days and died in Stockbridge. J. W. 
Hollenbeck was educated in the common schools and has lived on the farm he owns 



64 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

thirty-three years. He has ninety-four acres of land and follows hop growing and 
dairying. December 30. 1880, he married Rosalie Rowe, who lived in Cleveland, 
Oswego county, born in Greene county, and who came to Oswego county with her 
parents, Isaac and Hannah J. Rowe, then to Stockbridge, where her father died 
August 31, 1898. and her mother March 1.5, 1898. Mr. Hollenbeck and wife attend 
the M. E. Church at Stockbridge. 

Hicko.x, Remington B. p. o. Munnsville, was born in Munnsville, April 20, 1854, a 
son of Seva P. Hickox, who was born in Vergenne.s, Vt., and came to Pratt's Hollow 
when a boy, then to Munnsville, where he spent his married life. He died in 1893, 
aged seventy-eight years; his wife was Wealthy O. Frost of Munnsville, daughter of 
Jacob G. Frost, an early settler of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Frost both died on the 
farm Mr. Hickox now owns. Remington B. Hicko.x was educated in the schools in 
Munnsville and is a farmer. He has 219 acres of land where he lives and a dairy of 
thirty cows; he is also a hop grower. October 5, 1881, he married Mildred A. Alden, 
born in Munnsville, August 12 1854, a daughter of Chester and Matilda (Ingraham) 
Alden, and they had five children: Charles A., Edwin R., Leon B., Mildred A. (de- 
ceased), and Leander M. Mr. Hickox is an ardent Republican and a member of 
Prosperity Lodge No. 484, I. O. O. F. Mr. Hickox's father was a wagon maker by 
trade, was proprietor of the American House at Munnsville and also an extensive 
dealer in poultry and eggs. 

Hamlin, George N., p. o. Solsville. — William Hamlm came from Farmington, 
Conn., in 1810, but on account of his father's death he soon returned east and re- 
mained a few years, when he came again to Madison, bringmg his goods in a wagon 
drawn by an ox team. He settled on land now owned by his grandson, George 
Hamlin. He brought a wife and two children, Caroline and William S. His other 
children, Julia, Chauucey and Oliver, were born in Madison. William S. Hamlin 
married Nancy Taylor, by whom he had four children: George N., a farmer on the 
land purchased by his father in 1834; Mary E., who married Daniel Richards; Car- 
oline, who died young; and Harriet, who married Alfred McNiel. He also had one 
daughter by adoption, Alice, wife of William P. Sheldon. George Hamlin was born 
in 1835 and is one of the successful farmers of Madison. He married Louise Bar- 
ker, who died in 1886. He has one son, Edwin B. Hamlin, who lives in Cleveland, 
Ohio. Nathan Taylor, born 1784, came from Danbury, Conn., and settled in Madi- 
.son village, where he lived many years and was a hatter by trade. Later on he re- 
moved to Ohio, and lived with his son, John Taylor. His wife was Sylvia Gibbs, 
daughter of an old Revolutionary soldier. Their children were Harriet T., Nancy 
(who married William S Hamlin), John, Julia, Eliza and Calvin. 



House, Eliphalet, with his son Eliphalet, jr. , came from East Windsor, Conn., to 
Eaton in 1795, hence was one of the pioneers of the region. His log cabin had a 
blanket over the door opening, and on one occasion when his son's wife was left alone 
one night, she was much frightened by the breathing of a strange animal at the in- 
secure opening; but her fears were wholly removed when she discovered the intruder 
to be nothing more than a large dog instead of a supposed panther or unfriendly 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 65 

Indian. The welcomed canine remained with heron guard during the lonely hours 
of the long night. The family soon left Eaton and made a settlement at the " Indian 
Opening " in Madison, where the pioneer died, March 12, 1804, and where he was 
buried in private grounds. In the family there were three children: Mary, Eliphalet 
(who died in infancy); Eliphalet (the second child so named); Eleazer, James, and 
Henry. James became a graduate of West Point. He served in the army until he 
attained the rank of colonel. His commission, on parchment, constituting him 
" Captain in the Regiment of Artillerists," dated March 14, 1806, and signed by 
Thomas Jefferson, is now in the possession of Edward E. House. He died at George- 
town, near Washington, D.C. . in 1834. Eliphalet, jr., was born March 2, 1759, and 
spent his later life as a blacksmith at the " Opening " in Madison. He died August 
8, 1816, and was buried in the private grounds at the "Opening." His wife was 
Rebecca Rockwell. She came from East Windsor, Conn., and died at the " Open- 
ing" in 1843. They had nine children: Eleazer, Polly, Nancy, Clarissa, Henry, 
Polly (second), Henry (second), James, and Orin. Eleazer House, who was born in 
1782 and died in 1827, was a blacksmith and made edge tools for the settlers. He 
also carried on a small farm, and by thrift became comfortably well off. His wife 
was Mary Porter, who came to this county with her parents from East Windsor, 
Conn., drawn by an ox team. She died in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1855. Her remains 
were brought to Madison and interred in the village cemetery. Their children, who 
reached maturity, were Eliphalet, Samuel, Henry and Edward E. Edward E., the 
only survivor, was born in Madison village. May 28 1827, and spent his early life in 
the town. In 1844 he went to Hamilton and served at the printer's trade with John 
and David Atwood, but in 1845 removed to Utica and worked in the office of H. H. 
Curtiss, book and job printer. One of his young associates here was Thomas L. 
James, ex-postmaster-general, and now president of the Lincoln Bank of New York. 
This acquaintance has ever been maintained, and is one of the pleasant memories 
of Mr. House's career. Mr. House left Utica in 1847. Part of the time between 1847 
and the late spring of 1853, he was employed on the Ohio State Journal of Colum- 
bus, O. , and another part of the time on the Savannah Republican, Savannah, Ga. 
He left Savannah in 1853 and went to New York, where he followed his occupation 
until 1860. From that time he became an e.Ktensive traveler on business for himself, 
until at last he settled down in his native place, where he now lives in comfortable 
retirement, enjoying the fruits of early industry and frugality. Mr. House (in Nov- 
ember, 1854), married Mary Dudley, daughter of Rev. Ira J. Dudley. They have no 
children. Mr. Dudley came to Madison about 1845. He was a Methodist local 
preacher of some note. His wife was Laura Hurd, who died June 4, 1899, in the 
ninety-fifth year of her age. He died in Madison in 1881. Mr. House's brothers, 
whom he survives, were all financially well to do at the time of their death. Samuel 
and Henry were in business in New York. Both left wives (who are still living) but 
no children. Henry's remains were brought to Madison for interment. Samuel was 
buried at Flushing, L.I. Eliphalet died at West WiHiamsfield, Ohio. His remains 
were also brought to Madison. He died single. James House, son of Eliphalet and 
Rebecca House, was a life long prominent and useful citizen of Madison village, 
where he manufactured and repaired edge tools for the inhabitants of the village and 
surrounding country. He was born in 1800 and died in 1881. His wife was Sally 
Berry. She was born in Madison in 1803, and died there in 1897. They had two 



66 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

children : Rebecca and Martha, who reside in Madison village with their husbands, 
respectively, Mr. Harvey Taylor and Mr. Dwight Leland. His brother Orin in 
early life removed to Sandy Creek, Oswego county, and followed the mercantile 
business there until his death. 



Holdridge, Reuben, p. o. Oneida, was born in Herkimer county, N.Y., in 1845, a 
son of Asa, who came to Stockbridge in 18.')4 and died in Verona, Oneida county, 
N.Y. ; his wife was Priscilla Crossman, and they had seven children. Mr. Holdridge's 
grandfather spent his last days in Herkimer county. Reuben Holdridge was reared 
on a farm, and educated in the common schools. He is a grower of peas and corn 
for canning factories ; also keeps a dairy and is a hop grower. His wife was Sarah, 
daughter of Philander, and granddaughter of John Spaulding, one of the pioneers of 
Stockbridge. Mr. and Mrs. Holdridge had seven children: Merton, Mott, Nellie, 
Orville (deceased), Grace, Hazel, and Ruby (deceased). In politics Mr. Holdridge is 
a Democrat. 



Hammond. Willis A., M. D., p. o. Madison, was born in Eaton, April 17, 1853, and 
was the eldest of three children born to Amos and Luna M. (Chase) Hammond. His 
father was a farmer in modest circumstances and his mother was the author of what 
is commonly called "Mrs. Hammond's History of Madison County," a work which 
was a faithful record of the county's annals to the date of publication, but the true 
genius of which has never been fully appreciated by the reading public until of late. 
The young life of Willis was spent in Pierceville in the factory during the summer 
months and attending the district school in winter, until about eighteen years of age, 
when he attended two terms in the Morrisville Union School. He then taught school 
three winters, but determining to enter the medical profession he read medicine with 
his uncle. Dr. D. D. Chase, one year, doing chores during the period to pay for his 
board. He then went to Auburn and worked for James Roy & Co., and at the same 
time continued his medical studies with Dr. Crevelin. He then took a two years' 
course in Columbus (Ohio) Medical College and was graduated in March, 1881. Thus 
equipped for professional life Dr. Hammond began practice at Summer Hill, Cayuga 
county, remaining two and one-half years, then removed to Paris Hill, Oneida county, 
where he lived nearly ten years and from whence he came to Madison county in the 
fall of 1893. Of course Dr. Hammond's practice is general and his ride somewhat 
extended. On November 12, 1881, Dr. Hammond married Zilpah A. Keyes; three 
children have been born of this marriage. 



Hecox, Charles L., p. o. Peterboro, was born on the farm he owns in 1854, a son of 
John, and grandson of Obed Hecox and Emily Kenyon ; he was one of the early 
settlers of Oneida county, where he lived and died. John A. Hecox came from 
Oneida county March 1, 1848, to the town of Smithfield and settled on the farm 
Charles L. now owns, about 1849, and here lived until his death, November 10, 1898, 
at the age of seventy-three years. He married Sybil Neal, daughter of Martin Neal 
and Roxy Porter, early settlers in Oneida county and who now resides with her son 
on the homestead. Charles L. Hecox was educated in the common schools and is a 
farmer. He is a natural born machinist and has been engaged in threshing for 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 67 

twenty-seven years. He also owns on his farm a mill for grinding feed and conducts 
quite an extensive business in that line. In politics he is a Democrat, though not an 
aspirant to office, preferring to live the life of an independent farmer. In 1876 he 
married Florence E. Wever of Nelson, daughter of Delos Wever and Hannah Bates of 
Nelson, and granddaughter of Rufus Wever, sr., and Amy Smith on her father's 
side, and of Archibald Bates, sr. , and Anna Clough on her mother's side; they had 
two children: Albert E., born July 13, 1878, (deceased) and Caroline B., born June 
14, 1884. 

Haines, E. A., was born in Prussia, April 12, 1842 and came to the United States 
in 1854 with his parents, Anton and Genevieve Haines, who settled in the town of 
Herkimer, where Anton died in 1856. E. A. Haines was educated in Germany and 
in 1861 engaged in the grocery business, in which he still continues. In 1882 he 
built the block in Canastota which bears his name. In 1866 Mr. Haines married Mary 
Agan, who died in 1867, leaving one child who died about six months later ; and later he 
married Mary Allen of Herkimer, who died in 1894, leaving three daughters, one yet 
living — Genevieve. Mr. Haines is one of the self-made men of Madison county, serv- 
ing as town clerk three years and poorraaster two years, and is always interested in 
any good public enterprise. He holds at present the office of treasurer in a number 
of different organizations and societies. 



Hubbard, F. F. , was born in the town of Sullivan, September 30, 1848. His father, 
Gilbert S. Hubbard, was a native of Pompey, and his father, Eli, was one of the first 
settlers in Onondaga county. Gilbert S. married Jane G., daughter of Rev. Charles 
F. Butler, and has been engaged through life in farming. He was very active in re- 
ligious matters and was one of the founders of the Presbyterian church in the 11th 
ward in Syracuse. F. F. Hubbard was educated in Cazenovia Seminary and in 1882 
established his present business in Canastota, as packer of choice canned vegetables, 
having in 1882 an output of 5,000 cases and in 1898 of 40,000 cases. He was also one 
of the charter members of the New York State Canned Goods Packers' Association, 
its vice-president a number of years, and president for eight years; also vice-presi- 
dent of the Atlantic States Canned Goods Packers' Association. He was always in 
attendance at all of the meetings of the different associations, and has taken a great 
interest in all matters pertaining to the canning business. In 1879 Mr. Hubbard 
married Florence E., daughter of Thomas N. Jarvis; they have three daughters: 
Edith, Arline and Doris. Mr. Hubbard is one of the progressive business men of 
his town, trustee of his village and president of the water board. 



Holmes, George W., was born in the town of Georgetown, March 15, 1860, the .son 
of Abel S. and Alzina B. (Chase) Holmes. George W. Holmes was educated in the 
Georgetown schools. His early life was spent upon the farm. When about twenty- 
one years of age he started out in life for himself. In 1889 he entered the employ 
of D. H. Burrell & Co., which position he now holds. He has taken active part in 
politics and was appointed postmaster of Nelson by President McKinley on March 
17, 1898. 



68 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Howard, Adelbert H., was born on the farm where he now resides, August 18, 
1858, a son of Alvin H. and Betsey (Lindsley) Howard, who had two children: Al- 
bertus F. , and Adelbert H. Alvin was a son of Arad and Sarah (Smith) Howard; 
their children were Alvin, Edwin, Arad. Nathan, Samantha, and Lucy. Sarah 
(Smith) Howard was a sister of Allen Smith, a prominent citizen of the town, and 
hence a relative of Horace K Smith, the present supervisor of Nelson. After Arad 
Howard's death, Sarah married Judah Lindsley, by whom she had two sons, Cyrenus 
and Franklin. Alvin, during his early life, worked at carpenter's work with his 
father-in-law, Simeon Lindsley, until his marriage, when he purchased the farm 
where Adelbert H. now lives, and followed farming the remainder of his life. He 
was a public spirited man and took a great interest in church and temperance work. 
Adelbert H. was educated in the common schools of the town of Nelson. He was 
associated with his father until his father's death on December 37, 1879, when he 
took charge of the estate. October 18, 1881, he married Ida L., daughter of Hiram 
P. and Annie (Rice) Hutchinson, and they have three children Floyd, Glenn, and 
Ray. Mr. Howard has been active in town and county affairs and has held the office 
of assessor; he has been connected with educational work for many years as trustee 
and collector of the school. He is a member of Nelson Grange No. 615. David and 
Simeon Lindsley, two brothers, came from near Merrillsville and settled in the 
northeastern part of the town of Nelson. They married two sisters, Fannie and 
Jerusha Merrill. Simeon's children were Adelia, Cuiderilla, Jerusha, Amelia and 
Betsey, all now deceased, David's children were Simeon, Allen, Abijah, Loren and 
Wallace. Abijah and Wallace are still living. 



Hughes, John Charles was born in the village of Chittenango, January 1, 1860, a 
son of Evan D. and Elizabeth (Evans) Hughes, who had two sons; John C. , and 
Walter E. Evan D. came from Wales and settled in the town of Chittenango, where 
he was employed in a brewery for about ten years. About 1863 he moved to the 
town of Nelson and purchased a farm near where John C. now lives, and carried on 
general farming in that vicinity until his death on February 1, 1884. He took an act- 
ive part in church work and was a very temperate man. John C. Hughes was edu- 
cated in the town of Nelson and Cazenovia Seminary. His early life was spent with 
his father, with whom he was associated until his father's death. His mother died 
November 9, 1886, at which time John C. purchased the estate. March 13, 1887, he 
married Maggie, daughter of David E. and Annie Jones; they have three children: 
Flossie Elizabeth, Charles John, and Anita. Mr. Hughes is a public spirited man and 
takes an active interest in town and county affairs, especially in school and educa- 
tional work. He has been connected with the schools in an official way for the past 
ten years; he is also a contributing and supporting member of the Welsh Congrega- 
tional Church. 



Hutchinson, Leroy H., was born in the town of Cazenovia, August 28, 1843, a son 
of Hiram P. and Annie (Rice) Hutchinson, who had four children : Leroy H, Frances, 
Ellen, and Ida, all natives of Madison county. Hiram P. was a .son of Philo Hutch- 
inson, whose children were Hiram P., Joseph, George, Charlotte, and Elizabeth. 
In early life Hiram P. followed farming and in the latter part of his life was engaged 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 69 

in lumbering and milling. Leroy H. Hutchinson was educated in the schools of Nel- 
son and when fifteen years of age started in life for himself as a farm laborer. He 
learned the milling and lumbering business from his father, which he now follows. 
He is a public spirited man and has held some of the town offices, such as constable. 
His father was constable for twenty-four years and deputy sheriff eighteen years ; he 
was also active in educational work and the M. E. church 



Ingalls, Albert, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Lenox, July 1, 1849, a son of Conrad, 
son of James, who came from Schoharie county, N. Y. , to Leno.x, about 1800, and here 
lived and died. Conrad Ingalls was born in Lenox in December, 1818, and in 1852 
settled in Smithfield, where he owns 200 acres of land and follows general farming. 
In politics he is a Republican, and served as assessor and highway commissioner; he 
married Lydia Tucker, who died in November, 1865: they had three children. Al- 
bert Ingalls was reared on a farm, was educated in Peterboro Academy and has fol- 
lowed farming. He is a Republican and has served as highway commissioner. He 
married Ella McDermott of Peterboro, and they have one daughter, Gladys M. Mr. 
Ingalls is a member of the Morrisville Lodge, No. 658, F. & A. M. 



Isaacs, I. Henry, was born February 20, 1841, a son of David and Winnefred (Jones) 
Isaacs, who came from Wales and settled in the town of Floyd, Oneida county, in 
1833. They moved to the town of Nelson about 1851, and had ten children: Ellen, 
wife of Edward Jones of Rome, N. Y. ; Annie, wife of Hon. T. D. Roberts of Floyd, 
N. Y. ; Jane, wife of Joseph Jones of Utica ; Margaret, wife of Thomas Winston of 
New York city; I. Henry; Elizabeth, wife of William George; Catherine, wife of D. 
K. Davis of Unadilla Forks; Mary, wife of Thomas Morris of Utica; John of New 
York city and David of Middle Granville. David Isaacs was a farmer all of his life 
with the exception of two years, when he worked in Utica in a mill stone factory. 
1. Henry Isaacs was educated in the Morrisville high school. He remained with his 
parents until sixteen years of age, when he started in life as a farm laborer. On 
August 8, 1861, he enlisted in Co. B, 44th Regiment (the Ellsworth Volunteers) and 
represented the town of Nelson. May 27, 1862, he was wounded at Hanover Court 
House, and again at Fredericksburgh, December 13, 1862, where he lost the second 
finger on his left hand; he was mustered out March 9, 1864. He was the first com- 
mander of Morrisville Post No. 548, and has held many of its offices ; also a delegate 
to the State encampment two years and has attended seventeen State encampments. 
After the close of the war he returned to the town of Nelson and on January 20, 1865, 
married Jennett, daughter of Liberty and Lydia Cutler Hall. In 1868 he moved to 
Iowa and two years later to New York city, where he formed a copartnership with 
his brother John in the carting business. Four years later he entered the employ of 
the United Sates as a letter carrier in New York city. In 1884 he moved to Smith- 
field and purchased the hotel where he remained two years, then returned to the 
farm and six years later purchased the hotel at Morrisville, which he sold in 1897 and 
purchased the farm where he now lives. He held the position of deputy sheriff 
under Barker and Burroughs. 



Johnson, William J., p. o. Solsville. — James Johnson was born in May field, Mont- 



70 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

gomery county, but spent a part of his young life in Herkimer county, where he was 
a good and successful farmer. He married, June 29, 1846, Sally Ann Lamphere, and 
came to Eaton, where he was also a farmer and where he died in 1894. He had 
two children: William J., and Romelia, the latter of whom married Henry Maynard 
of Eaton, and ditd in 1893. William J. Johnson was born September 6, 1849, and 
was brought up on a farm in Eaton. In 1875 he was appointed station agent at 
Pecksport and served in that place seven years. In June, 1833, he came to the more 
important station at Solsville and has since lived in that hamlet, attending strictly 
to his duties and enjoying the confidence both of the railroad company and of the 
patrons of the road. On April 8, 1883, Mr. Johnson married Ella L. Hyde, by whom 
he had five children: Mabel G., born March 15, 1883; W. Lisle, born January 24, 
1885; Elma M., born November 7, 1889; Elva S., born November 7, 1889; and Bessie 
May, born May 2, 1893. Daniel Hyde, a native of Connecticut, was an early settler 
in Brookfield, but died in Hamilton. He was a soldier in the war of 1812 and served 
at Sackett's Harbor. His wife was Miss Holcomb, by whom he had five children: 
Eveline, Nelson, Philander. Jared and Newell. Philander Hyde has always lived 
in this county and has been a farmer. He married Maria Alby and had four children ; 
Nettie, Ella L. (wife of William J. Johnson), and two others who died in infancy. 
Mr. Hyde's second wife was Mary, widow of Dwight Smith, by whom he had one 
son, Frank Hyde. 



Jessup, Rev. Samuel, pastor of the Presbyterian church of Oneida since 1872, was 
born in Florida, Orange county, N. Y., May 23, 1833, a sou of Daniel and Martha 
(Seeley) Jessup. He was graduated at Princeton College with the class of 1854, and 
for one year taught in the Academy at Mayville, Chautauqua county, N. Y. In 1858 
he was graduated from the Union Theological Seminary, and the following year was 
ordained to the ministry. He served the Congregational Church at Berkshire, Tioga 
county, N. Y., one year, and for a few months the Presbyterian Church at Amity, 
N Y. In 1860 he became pastor of the Presbyterian church at Dansville, N. Y., and 
in 1871 came to his present charge. In 1889 Mr. Jessup served as Moderator of the 
Synod of New York and in 1887 Hamilton College conferred upon him the honorary 
degree of D. D. He married in 1863, Caroline E. Pierson, daughter of Rev. George 
Pierson of Florida. N. Y. Of their union are two children: George P., a practicing 
physician of New Dorp, Staten Island ; and Mary R. 



Jurden, Thomas H. , was born m the town of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., De- 
cember 25, 1843, a son of Thomas and Sarah A. (Jurden) Jurden. Until he was 
eighteen years old he a'ssisted in the conduct of his father's farm, and his education 
was limited to the district schools. In 1861 he came to Verona Landing and took a 
position as clerk in the grocery store of E. C. Stark which he held three years. For 
one year following he filled a position as clerk in a hotel at Hudson City, N. J., and 
then returned to Verona Lar.ding and the employ of Mr. Stark, with whom he soon 
formed a partnership under the firm name of E. C. Stark & Co., for the conduct of 
a general grocery business; they were also extensively interested in building and 
operating canal boats. In the spring of 1873 Mr. Stark withdrew and Mr. Jurden 
conducted the business alone until the spring of 1876. After a business trip of a 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 71 

few months' duration to the city of Buflfalo, principally to close up his canal interests, 
he went into the Oneida banking house of E. C. Stark & Co. as teller, a position he 
held until the failure of the bank in July, 1891. For some months he remained with 
the assignee, whom he succeeded, and was later employed at the Central Bank. 
When the Farmers' and Merchants' Bank was organized in June, 1893, Mr. Jurden 
took his present position as teller. He is well known to the entire business commu- 
nity, served six years as village trustee, on the Board of Education three years, and 
for twenty consecutive years as collector's clerk of the town of Verona. He married, 
December 35, 1872, Josephine L. Wettling, daughter of Martin Wettling of Verona. 
Three children have been born to them: Theodore H., Emily M. and Grace I. 



Joy, Milton R., M. D. , was born in Remsen, Oneida county, N. Y., December 7, 
1861, a son of Henry L. and Mary (Paine) Joy. When he was an infant the family 
removed to Ilion, Herkimer county, where he attended the high school ; later he at- 
tended Cazenovia Seminary and Syracuse University. He began his medical studies 
under Dr. H. B. Maben of Ilion, and was graduated from the Long Island College 
Hospital with the degree of M. D. in 1884. Following his graduation he settled in 
Perryville, where he practiced for seven years removing to Cazenovia in 1891. Dr. 
Joy has been health officer of the village for the past seven years. He is a company 
surgeon of the West Shore Railroad, a trustee of the high school and of Cazenovia 
Seminary, member of the Cazenovia Lodge of Masons and the Chapter, of Syracuse 
Commandery of Knights Templar, of Madison County Medical Society, Syracuse 
Academy of Medicine, International Association of Railroad Surgeons, and the 
American Medical Association. In 1886 Dr. Joy married Meta James, daughter of 
Theodore James of Utica. Of this union two children were born: Genevieve F. and 
Henry H. 



Jones, Richard T., p.o. Morrisville, whose well tilled farm is admirably located be- 
tween the county seat and Morrisville station, was born in Wales in August, 1822, 
and came to the United States when twenty-seven years old. He located in Oneida 
county, working at whatever he could find to do, after which he bought a farm in 
the northwest part of Eaton. 'Here he began life earnestly, and although the farm 
was said to be of poor quality, he labored earnestly in developing the land and not 
only succeeded in paying the purchase price, but also accumulated some money be- 
sides. He lived in this locality twenty years and then, in 1870, bought the Col. Le- 
land farm east of Morrisville containing 223 acres and for which he agreed to pay 
$22,300. This consideration was paid more than fifteen years ago, and in addition 
to the land Mr. Jones also possesses a comfortable competency. A portion of the 
farm, however, is now owned by John W. Jones. In Wales Mr. Jones married 
Sarah Williams, by whom he had nine children, three of whom died in infancy. 
The surviving children were Catherine, John W., Thomas, Jennie, Sarah and Nettie. 
His wife died in 1877 and in December, 1878, Mr. Jones married Maria Gostling, 
daughter of William Gostling of Morrisville. 



Johnston, A. S., p. o. Peterboro, was born in Smithfield, May 27, 1827, a son of 
Samuel, son of Samuel Johnston, born in Ireland and who came to the United States 



72 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in 1806, settling in Smithfield soon thereafter. His wife was Sarah Anderson, born 
in Ireland, and died in Smithfield about 1830. He died in 1827. They had four sons 
and four daughters; the youngest was born in America. Samuel Johnston was born 
in Ireland in 1797 and died in Smithfield in 1844. His wife was Sophronia Chaffee, 
born in Madison county, daughter of Walter and Anna (Hyde) Chaffee, who were 
among the early settlers of Smithfield. A. S. Johnston was reared on a farm and 
educated in the common schools. He has been engaged in farming and real estate 
business, but for the last twenty-one years has lived retired in the village of Peter- 
boro. January 10, 1867, he married Isabella Johnston, born March 15, 1842, a daugh- 
ter of Alexander Johnston. Mr. Johnston and wife had two children: Adison and 
Edward, both died in infancy. Mr. Johnston was a Republican until recently and is 
now a Prohibitionist. He has served as highway commissioner for several years, 
also as assessor. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston are both interested in temperance work. 



Jones, David W., was born in Wales, April 1, 1849, a son of Thomas J. and 
Hannah Jones, who had eight children: Annie E. , David W., Esther, (wife of 
Evan Williams of Iowa City), James T., of Columbus, Ohio, Margaret, (wife of Sam- 
uel G. Jones), John L. of Waterville. N. Y. , Mary, (wife of Rev. Harry Roberts of 
Iowa City), and William B., of Brooklyn, who is a teacher in an industrial school. 
Thomas J. and Hannah Jones came to Oneida county in 1850 with their family which 
consisted of Annie and David W. , one year later they removed to the town of Nel- 
son, where the remainder of the children were born. Thomas was a farm laborer 
until 1853, when he purchased the farm known as the Jones homestead. He was a 
public spirited man and took an active part in public affairs. He was one of the 
founders of the Welsh church and was sexton of the church and cemetery for many 
years. During the late rebellion he championed the northern cause in which he took 
an active interest. David W. Jones was educated in the common schools of the town 
of Nelson and Cazenovia Seminary. When about thirteen years of age he started 
in life for himself as a laborer and school teacher. October 12, 1876, he married 
Jennie, daughter of Levi and Persis (Payne) Keith; they have one child, Keith Wal- 
ton Jones. In 1878 he took charge of the Keith homestead, where he has lived to 
the present time and follows general farming. He has been active in town and 
county affairs and has held the offices of inspector of elections and supervisor, and 
at the present time is railroad commissioner and county committeeman. He has 
been active in school and educational work and at the present time is superintendent 
of the Sunday school. He is a charter member of Nelson Grange No. 615, of which 
he was its first master and has also been its secretary, and also lecturer of the Madi- 
son County Pomona Grange and served as a State delegate two years. His first wife 
died November 23, 1886. On September 24, 1895, he was married to Ida, only daugh- 
ter of Spencer and Minerva (Hamblin) Smith, who died March 27, 1897. 



Keith, Frank, was born on the farm where he now resides, April 14, 1851, a son of 
John and Sarah (Weber) Keith. His father was born on the same farm in June, 
1818, and died November 24, 1880; he was twice married; his second wife was born 
in 1825, and died December 6, 1861. Two daughters were born to the first wife: 
Caroline, born January 1, 1843, and Mary, born April 16, 1847, died in 1876. By the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 73 

second wife were born, Frank (as above), and Luella, wife of Frank Whitney; she 
died December 31, 1890. Frank Keith was educated in the common schools of the 
town of Nelson and Cazenovia Seminary. His early life was spent on the homestead 
with his parents. He married Antoinette, daughter of John and Sarah Coulter, and 
they have three children; Gertrude May, Annie Luella and Alma E. About the 
time of Mr. Keith's marriage he purchased a part of the homestead and follows gen- 
eral farming and dairying. He is interested and active in school and church work. 



Knox, William, and his wife Hannah (Hamilton) Knox, were among the early set- 
tlers of the town of Nelson. They came from Bradford, Mass., in 1805, and had 
children named Polly, Mila, Hannah, Rachel, Alvin William, Artemissia Louisa. 
Charles Hamilton, Nancy Louisa, and Lucius Delos, all natives of Nelson. Charles 
Hamilton took a very active part in public affairs. He was railroad commissioner 
and was interested in all public spirited enterprises. Lucius Delos was a self-edu- 
cated man and was one of the most influential in the town. He held most of the 
town offices and was justice of the peace for thirty years, and also justice of sessions. 
He was associated with his father until his father's death on April 17, 1850. On 
March 24, 1873, he married Helen M. Smith, daughter of Elisha and Lucy Whipple 
of Fenner. Mrs. Knox was formerly married to William C. Smith, by whom she 
had one child, Lellaene, who is now wife of Dallas Wells; they have one child, Ethel 
L. William C. Smith enlisted in Co. D, 114th Reg. in 186'J. He returned home on 
a furlough and died November 33. 1863, at Fenner, from disease contracted in the 
army. He was the son of Robert and Mary Etta Card Smith. 



Kling & Payne, p. o. Brookfield, N. Y., flour, feed, salt, grass seed and custom mill- 
ing. — This firm is composed of A. Kling and W. A. Payne. Mr. Payne was born at 
West Eaton, N. Y., May 5, 1855. His grandfather, Abial Payne, was a pioneer of 
West Eaton, where he was a farmer; his wife was Eunice Grant, who bore him eight 
children. One of these children was Truman Payne, father of the subject of this 
article, who was married to Olive Damon, who bore him three sons and three daugh- 
ters. For many years he conducted a saw mill and manufactured cheese boxes at 
West Eaton, where he died in August, 1875, aged fifty-five. W. A. Payne was edu- 
cated at the West Eaton Union school, and for thirteen years was employed by 
Wood, Taber & Morse at Eaton. In 1891 he came to North Brookfield and purchased 
a half interest in the flour and feed mill of Kling & Miller. The firm conducts an 
extensive business, besides custom work at milling, having a feed store and ware- 
house at the railroad station. Mr. Payne is a Republican and has been inspector of 
elections; he is a member of Sanger Lodge No. 129, F. & A. M.. at Waterville. On 
April 22, 1886, he was married to Lizzie, daughter of James and Mary (Tew) Bay- 
liss, who were natives of England, coming to Eaton in 1845, where Mrs. Bayliss died 
in 1894. Mrs. Payne died September 14, 1899, aged thirty-seven years. She was 
highly respected in the community. Mr. Payne has one daughter, Ethel M., born 
January 17, 1897, and one adopted daughter, Edna Mae. They attend the Baptist 
church of North Brookfield. 



Kinney, Calvin T., p. o Sheds, is a fine sample of the self-made man. He has 



74 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

pushed his way to the front among the enterprising, prosperous farmers of this 
county, while still in the prime of life, and has a valuable, well-conducted farm in 
the town of De Ruyter. He is a son of George T. and Mary (Davis) Kinney, and 
was born about a half mile south of his present home, June 28, 1855. His boyhood 
was spent in the district schools and having grown to manhood he early turned his 
attention to farming, which vocation he has since followed. On December 30, 1875, 
he married Ida L., daughter of Samuel and Polly M. (Holmes) Scott. They have 
two children; Clarence, born June 7, 1880, and Mertie, born January 28, 1886. In 
politics Mr. Kinney is a Republican and has held the office of highway commissioner 
three years. He is a member of the De Ruyter Lodge, No, 693, F. & A. M. His 
standing in his party and his fraternity is high, and both he and his wife are among 
the respected people of their town and community. 



Kennedy, Mrs. Harriet, p. o. Chittenango, widow of the late Robert Kennedy, is a 
daughter of Daniel Walrath, concerning whose life material will be found elsewhere 
in this work. She was born in Chittenango, one of nine children, of whom seven yet 
reside in the place. Robert Kennedy, whose wife she became in 1871, was born at 
Canaseraga, December 6, 1835. He was during his mature years identified with the 
grocery trade, having spent many years in the employ of the Grouses, the grocer 
princes of Syracuse. When his brother, the late Judge Charles L. Kennedy, re- 
moved from Syracuse to Morrisville, Robert returned to Chittenango and opened a 
store on a site just above the old Yates Hotel, which he occupied not less than twenty 
years. He became a very influential and prorament citizen here. In politics a strong 
Republican, he was not desirous of office, but was an active and powerful factor in 
town and village affairs. For many years he was justice of the peace. In his later 
years he led a retired life, which was suddenly terminated by apoplexy May 6, 1893. 
His father. Doctor Samuel Kennedy, and his brother, the well known Judge, died 
from the same cause and at about the same age. He was a man greatly esteemed 
by all classes of people but perhaps among his many virtues, that which most calls 
for admiration was his unswerving fealty to his friends. His earnest convictions 
were the outcome of a calm judgment and while steadfast in his beliefs and conclu- 
sions, he yet held the even tenor of his way, with charity for all and malice toward 
none. 



Keith, Ambrose, p. o. North Brookfield, N. Y., was born in Brookfield, May 8, 1827, 
a son of John and Sally (Mason) Keith, and grandson of John, a native of either New 
Hampshire or Maine, and who came to Brookfield about 1813. John (father of Am- 
brose) Keith was born in Maine, was a farmer, and married Sally Mason of Swansea, 
Mass. ; their children were Betsey, Myron, Ambrose, Guilford, Abigail, Aberdeen 
and Harriet, of whom only Myron, Ambrose, and Harriet survive. Mr. Keith died 
April 9, 1865, and his wife April 11, 1851. Ambrose Keith was reared on a farm, ob- 
tained his education in the district schools and at Hamilton Academy, and for twenty 
winters taught school in connection with farming. In 1851 he was married to Eleanor, 
daughter of Nathaniel (born in Connecticut and died in Brookfield in 1871) and Clar- 
issa (Clark) Maine, (born in Rhode Island and died in Brookfield in 1875). Their 
children were John, Clarissa and Frank, both deceased; John was educated in the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 75 

union school of Waterville, taught school and is now a farmer; was married to Rode- 
lia Baldwin, who has borne him two daughters and one son ; Irving and Libbie, de- 
ceased, and Nellie. Mr. Keith and his son John have 210 acres of land, have been 
hop growers, but are now raising sheep and dairying. He is a Republican, and has 
been highway commissioner two terms, assessor three years, and coroner six years. 



Kelly, Dennis, p. o. Mile Strip, was born in Ireland, December 22, 1840, a son of 
Michael and Mary (Kinney) Kelly. They had six children as follows: Bridget, John, 
Dennis, Margaret, Maria, and Michael. Later in life Michael married for his second 
wife Jane Hayes, and they had eight children: Annie, Mary, Frank, James, Thomas, 
Jane, Julia, and Kate. Michael came to Madison county about 1847, and was fol- 
lowed about two years later by his family of children, his wife being dead. By oc- 
cupation he followed farming and worked as a laborer. After his marriage with 
Jane Hayes he moved to Iowa, where he took up land and has since lived. Dennis 
was eleven years of age when he came to Madison county and started m life for him- 
self as a laborer. When he was about twenty-two years of age he married Abbie. 
daughter of Jeremiah and Catherine (Dady) O'Connor. They have had these chil- 
dren: Jeremiah M., of Virginia; John F., a grocer of Oneida; Theresa of Oneida; 
Helen R., Frances M., Joseph D. , Charles L., Dennis, Edward, Mary A., and three 
deceased, named Mary, Michael and Catherine. Soon after Dennis married he pur- 
chased a farm in the town of Cazenovia, where he remained about four years, when 
he moved on to a farm near Fenner Corners. Here he lived about twenty-one years, 
when he moved to the farm where he last resided. Mr. Kelly never aspired to politi- 
cal honors, but always took an active part in town and county affairs and in school 
and educational work. Himself and family have been active workers in the Catholic 
church. 

Kennedy, John M., son of James Harvey and Susan H. (Dow) Kennedy, was born 
at Voluntown, Windham county. Conn., May 25, 1829. His father was also a native 
of Voluntown, and a woolen manufacturer of considerable prominence. Mr. Ken- 
nedy was educated at Lisbon, Conn. He has been principally engaged in farming 
but has also conducted a produce business, and for some time was associated with 
Mr. Angel in a market business in Oneida. He has been a resident of the village of 
Oneida since March, 1855, and is well known in this vicinity. He married June 17, 
1851, Phoebe C. Gallup, daughter of Francis S. Gallup of Sterling, Windham county. 
Conn. Of this union they have five children: Horace M., John H., Susan D., wife 
of John C. Brauner of Palo Alto, Cal. ; Hattie L. , wife of James M. Markham of 
Dayton, Ohio; and Frank G. Kennedy. 



Keeler, James R., son of Alanson and Anna (Woodworth) Keeler, was born in 
Cortland. November 30, 1839. His father, also a native of Cortland, was always a 
farmer. On the paternal side Mr, Keeler descends from New England pioneer stock 
and on the maternal side he is of Mohawk Dutch ancestry. He has been a farmer 
all his active life. The family removed to Fenner when he was seventeen years old. 
For six years Mr. Keeler lived on what is known as the Tuttle place and then moved 
to his present farm of 200 acres two miles north of the village of Cazenovia. He is 



76 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

considered one of the representative citizens of the town and by virtue of his long 
residence is well known to all. He married, in 1861, Almira, daughter of John Ste- 
vens of Sullivan. Of this union there are two daughters: Clara M., wife of Frank- 
lin Parsons, and Grace A., wife of Irving Mclntyre, both of Cazenovia. 



Keith, Watson D., son of Lincoln and Submit (Doolittle) Keith, was born in the 
town of Nelson, this county, June 36, 1824. His father, a native of Massachusetts, 
was one of the early settlers of Nelson and cleared the farm on which he resided 
until his death. He held various minor town offices and was a man well esteemed 
in the community. In addition to extensive general farming he was also engaged 
iu public work, principally ia contracts on the Erie Canal. Of his union with Sub- 
mit Doolittle eight children were born: Levi, Selura, Lorenda, John, Jane, Lydia, 
Watson D. and Perry. Only two of these survive: Jane, who married Abel Bennett 
of Ontario county, and Watson D. Keith of Cazenovia. The latter was educated in • 
the common schools and has always followed the occupation of farming. He came 
to Cazenovia to reside permanently in November, 1880. Mr. Keith first married 
Ellen M. Dana, daughter of Federal Dana. For his second wife he married Cather- 
ine Card Holdridge. 



Lamb, Calvin Augustus, son of Wilson Hayward and Lucinda (Gardner) Lamb, 
was born in Cazenovia, May 30, 1845. His grandfather. Dyer Lamb, was a native 
of Connecticut and became one of the earliest settlers of this region. He located on 
" Lamb Hill " and became a large and successful farmer, finally removing to the 
village, where he died respected by all who had known him. Wilson H. Lamb, his 
only son, and a representative farmer of the town of Cazenovia for many years, died 
in June, 1892. His oaly son is the subject of this notice. Calvin A. Lamb was ed- 
ucated in the schools of New Woodstock village and succeeded his father on the 
home farm. He now owns 300 acres of land and is chiefly occupied in dairy farm- 
ing. In politics he is a Republican, and although widely and favorably known 
throughout this vicinity, has never sought nor held public office. Mr. Lamb has 
been twice married, first to Ellen Webber, daughter of Winthrop Webber of Caze- 
novia, and second to Maud Wilber, daughter of Samuel Wilber of Fenner. They 
have one sou, Fordyce Wilson Lamb. 



Lype, Norman, son of Daniel Y. and Elizabeth Schuyler (Wack) Lype, was born in 
Mmdon, Montgomery county, N. Y., November 19, 1834. When he was ten years 
old the family removed to Oneida where his father started a wagon shop, the first in 
this village. Subsequently he engaged in a dry goods business (Stoddard & Lype), 
and later in building and contracting, erecting many of the present buildings of this 
village. He died July 6, 1852. Norman Lype was educated in the Oneida public 
schools, and learned the carpenter's trade under his father. He followed this trade 
about five years and in 1856 began an apprenticeship to the tinsmithing trade, work- 
ing first for Oscar Bennett; later he worked at this trade in the city of Rochester for 
a period of four years, and in 18T8 established his present business at No. 30 Phelps 
street in Oneida. He was associated seventeen years with Edward Header under 
the firm name of Meader & Lype. Mr. Meader retired in April, 1895, and since this 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 77 

time Mr. Lype has conducted the business alone. He has served as village trustee 
four terras: 1875-85-90-91; and as village treasurer one term (1877) He holds mem- 
bership in Oneida Lodge, No. 370, F. & A. M., and Doric Chapter, No. 193, R. A. M. 
Mr. Lype has been for a number of years prominent in musical circles; sang in the 
choir of the Baptist Church over twenty-five years; acted for some time as leader of 
the Oneida Baud; and organized and taught many bands in this vicinity. He mar- 
ried, March 28, 1858, Marietta Morse, daughter of Gersham Morse of Feterboro Of 
this union are three sons who are his associates in business; John H., Harvey D. 
and Allan R, ; and one daughter, Mrs. C. J. Wells of Utica. 



Loomis, Edwin Dwight, who died in Cazenovia, January 8, 1897, in the seventy- 
sixth year of his age. enjoyed the respect and confidence of the entire village of 
which he was a life-long resident. He was a son of Seba and Jerusha (Brewster) 
Loomis, and was born April 28, 1821, in the house one mile south of the village 
which was always his home. On the maternal side he was a direct descendant of 
William Brewster of the Mayflower. His father, a man of prominence in his time, 
held a commission as lieutenant in the Connecticut militia. He came into this region 
from Connecticut in 1818 and lived on the home farm until his death at the advanced 
age of ninety-three years, February 8, 1870. Of his union with Jerusha Brewster 
six children were born, all of whom are now deceased except Lathrop Loomis, a 
venerable and respected resident of Cazenovia. Edwin Dwight Loomis was always 
a farmer and held various minor town offices. At the age of fifteen he united with 
the Presbyterian Church, of which he was an honored member, holding the office of 
elder from 1869 until his death. In June, 1848, he married Mary J. Root, daughter 
of Thomas Root of Mexico, Oswego county, N. Y. , who survives him. 



Loomis, Silas L., son of Seba and Jerusha (Brewster) Loomis, and a venerable and 
respected resident of the town of Cazenovia, was born in Hebron, Conn., March 28, 
1809. Most of his life has been spent in this town whither he came with his parents 
when a youth. Mr. Loomis was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, at which institu- 
tion he was one of the first students. He has been a farmer all his life; is a Repub- 
lican in politics and has long been numbered among the foremost men in this com- 
munity. He has served several terms as supervisor of the town of Cazenovia, and 
also as inspector and commissiner of schools. For over a half a century he has been 
a deacon of the Cazenovia Presbyterian church. Mr. Loomis married first, in 1838, 
Mary Jerome, daughter of Ira Jerome of Pompey Hill. Of this union were two 
children: Mary, who died in infancy; and Helen, wife of Henry Hannum of Cazeno- 
via. In 1859 he married Harriet C. Johnson, daughter of David Johnson of Clinton, 
Oneida county. 



Loyster, J. A., editor and publisher of the Cazenovia Republican, was born in 
Niles, Cayuga county, N. Y., June 22, 1866, a son of L. B. and Lucy A. (Howland) 
Loyster. He was educated in a private school at Moravia, N. Y., and at Cazenovia 
Seminary, where he was graduated in the class of 1888. Mr. Loyster was for about 
four years associated with the firm of T. W. Thayer & Co., in the manufacture of 
sash, doors and blinds. He assumed the management of the Republican in 1890. 



78 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

His politics are Republican. He has served as a member of the school board for 
the past five years. 



Ledyard, George S., who died in Cazenovia, November 3. 1890, in the sixty-fifth 
year of his age, was one of the most prominent citizens of Madison county, and a 
member of one of the oldest families of the State. He was the third son of General 
J. D. Ledyard. His older brothers were Lincklaen and John Denise, and after their 
death George S. and L. Wolters succeeded to the business of the Holland Land 
Company. Thus, connected with one of the earliest business enterprises of this 
country he lived as did his father before him, a life of great usefulness and unswerv- 
ing integrity. Mr. Ledyard was a native of Cazenovia and although he spent much 
time in travel always kept his residence in that village. No public improvement of 
importance was made during his lifetime with which his name was not connected, 
and he was foremost in every movement for the welfare of the village. Many evi- 
dences of his public spirit and private generosity are in existence. He held at dif- 
ferent periods various village offices, the duties of which were invariably discharged 
with fidelity and ability. Mr. Ledyard's great business capabilities, his strict integ- 
rity, and staunch uprightness of character, and withal his gentleness and unassuming 
manner won for him a place in the hearts of all who knew him. 

Lippitt, W. G., p. o. Hamilton, proprietor of the Park House, the leading hotel at 
Hamilton, N. Y., was born in this village and educated here and in the academy at 
Norwich. He there learned the jeweler's trade in his father's store, and pursued 
that business until 1894. From 1887, the date of his father's death, until 1894 he 
conducted the business. In the latter year he came to Hamilton as proprietor of the 
Park House and after reconstructing it he has since made it one of the leading up- 
to date hotels in every way and in every department. In July, 1892, Mr. Lippitt 
married Sarah G. Thompson, and they have one daughter, Marian Grant Lippitt. 
Mr. Lippitt is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a popular gentleman. 



Lindsley, A. W., p. o. Stockbridge, was born in Stockbridge, October 28, 1847, a 
son of Aldin, and grandson of Elias Lindsley, who lived and died in Sullivan county. 
Aldin was born in Connecticut and came to Stockbridge about 1837, where he died in 
1876; his wife was Mary Rockwell, daughter of Thomas Rockwell of Stockbridge; 
they had four sons and one daughter. Mrs. Lindsley died April 15, 1893. A. W. 
Lindsley was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools and Oneida high 
school. He commenced business life by working out by the month and UDwhas fifty- 
eight acres of land where he lives and is one of the well-to-do farmers of Stock- 
bridge. He has been a hop grower, and also follows dairying, but makes a specialty 
of small fruit and manufactures considerable maple syrup. March 6, 1878, Mr. Linds- 
ley married Etta E. Mallery of Columbia county, and they had three children: 
Anson (deceasad), Alma B., and Emma G. Mr. Lindsley is a Republican in politics, 
but not an aspirant to office. He is a member of P. of I. at Stockbridge. 

Love, Charles E., p. o. Stockbridge, was born in Walworth, Wayne county, N. Y., 
March 16, 1859, a son of John, whose father lived and died in England. About 1850 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 79 

John Love came from England to Walworth, N. Y., where he has since resided. He 
is a nurseryman and fruit grower. His wife was Mary Burr, born in England and 
came to Wayne county with her parents, Edward and Elizabeth Burr. Her father 
died at ninety years of age and her mother at the age of forty-eight. Charles E. Love 
was educated in Marion Collegiate Institute and Medina Free Academy; he was also 
graduated from Rochester Business College in 1881, He was a successful teacher 
for nine years and in 1891 engaged in the furniture and undertaking business at 
Stockbridge, where he has resided since 1881. He has an extensive business and is 
very successful. In politics he is a Republican, but not an aspirant to office. Mr. 
Love married Emma L. Strong, daughter of Arvine Strong ; they have two children ; 
Frank Strong, born June 16, 1895, and Marjorie Fidelia, born August 10, 1897. Mrs. 
Love's father was born in Connecticut, August 31, 1823, a son of Alexander, son of 
Alexander Strong, who lived and died in Connecticut. Mr. Strong's wife was Abi- 
gail Rice, who also died in Connecticut. Alexander Strong, jr., was born in Con- 
necticut, April 22, 1792. In 1816 he married Lucinda Griggs, of Tolland county, 
Connecticut, and in 1837 came to Stockbridge and bought the farm Mr. Strong now 
owns and here died January 9, 1881. His wife passed away one week later, aged 
eighty-seven years. They had seven children, si.x of whom survive them. Arvine 
Strong was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools. In politics he 
is a Republican and has been inspector of election. November 29. 1866, Mr. Strong 
married Fidelia Belfield, born in Madison in 1837, a daughter of Isaiah and Electa 
(Tift) Belfield; they had two children, Emma, wife of C. E. Love and Burel A., born 
April 8, 1874, educated in Oneida High School, a farmer and works the home farm. 
He married Inis Dodge; they have one daughter, Leona M., born August 22, 1897. 



La Munion. A. J., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Stockbridge, on the farm his 
father settled, February 28, 1846, a son of Philip, and grandson of Thomas La Mun- 
ion, who was born in Vermont and came to Madison county about 1820, later settling 
"on" the farm A. J. La Munion now occupies and the farm has remained in the family 
ever since. Philip La Munion was first a Whig, then a Republican, and held the 
office of assessor and excise commissioner. He and his wife had thirteen children, 
seven now living. He died in March, 1898. A. J. La Munion was reared on the 
farm and educated in the common schools. At seventeen years of age he engaged 
as a clerk and after one year took up mercantile business, but his principal occupa- 
tion is farming. He has charge of the homestead as executor for the estate, keeps a 
dairy of twenty-three cows and is also a hop grower. He is a member of Prospect 
Lodge, No. 484, I. O. O. F. He married Ophelia Barrett (deceased), and for his 
second wife married Lavina Bonney. Mr. La Munion is a Republican in politics, 
has been collector, highway commissioner.and at present is one of the town auditors. 
Mr. La Munion has been manager of the La Munion & Clark cheese factory for five 
years, a factory which has been in existence about thirty-four years under the same 
name ; it was the first or the second factory built in the town. 



Lewis, A. E. & Son, p. o. Hamilton.— A. E. Lewis was born in Madison, Madison 
county, in 1840, and educated in the schools of Madison and Hamilton. He began 
active business in life as a clerk, but after four years established his present clothing 



80 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

business. This was in 1868, and in 1893 he associated his son, A. P. Lewis, with 
him in the business, forming the present firm of A. E. Lewis & Son. In 1866 Mr. 
Lewis married Margaret Potter, and they have one son, Albert Potter Lewis Mr. 
Lewis is not a politician, but has twice been elected trvistee of the village and has 
also served on the board of education. Mr. A. P. Lewis was educated at Hamilton 
and St. John's Military School, near Syracuse, N. Y. He is a prominent Mason, a 
member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, and Veiled Prophets, and is also a member of 
the Maccabees, the I. O. O. F. , and Hamilton Fire Department. He is a reputable 
representative of what may properly be called the younger circle of Madison county's 
enterprising business men. A. E. Lewis's parents were Albert and Emeline (Gif- 
ford) Lewis. Albert Lewis was born and reared in Madison county, and died April 
5, 1899, over ninety-two years of age. He was a colonel in the State militia when 
the Chenango Canal was being built. 



Langworthy, Orthello S., M. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born at West Edmeston, Ot- 
sego county, and received his literary education at Colgate Academy and Colgate 
University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1889. He then took a course 
in the University of the City of New York, Medical Department, and was graduated 
in 1891 with the degree of M. D. After a short partnership with Dr. Frank D. Beebe 
he opened his present office and has acquired a flattering practice. Dr. Langworthy 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Odd Fellows. He married 
Josephine Richardson, who died in August, 1897, leaving one son, Orthello R. Lang- 
worthy. Dr. Langworthy's parents were HoUum and Rosina (Pope) Langworthy. 
The family is an old American one. Dr. Langworthy's great-grandfather settled in 
Madison county in 1802. 



Larkin, Leroy, p. o. Brookfield, N. Y. , was born in Brookfield, December 16, 1837. 
His great-grandfather, Kenyon Larkin, came to Brookfield about 1800, where he 
died. His grandfather, James Larkin, was a native of Rhode Island and his wife 
was Nancy Berry of the same State. His father was Richard B. Larkin, who mar- 
ried Lucy Reynolds, both of whom were born in Brookfield; he was a farmer and 
politically a Whig and Republican. His death occurred in 1883 at the age of seven- 
ty-seven years, and that of his wife in 1871 at the age of seventy. Of their seven 
children only three survive, Leroy Larkin was educated in the common schools and 
has always been a farmer. He has a farm of 300 acres, and a half interest with his 
brother James in another 330 acres, and keeps a dairy of forty cows with considera- 
ble young stock. He is a Republican. On March 13, 1855, he was married to Mary 
A., daughter of Solomon Collins (born August 18, 1796), son of Solomon (born in 
1765). They had four children: S. Collins, who manages the farm; Emily L., ed- 
ucated in the common schools; Etta O., graduate of the Brookfield Union School in 
1883 and teacher for a number of years; and Annie E., wife of George Stanton of 
Earlville, N.Y. Mrs. Larkin died November 4, 1869. S. Collins Larkin was mar- 
ried to Cora Davis, who has borne him four children: MaryT., Richard B., E. Leroy 
and Willie W. Leroy Larkin has a brother, James C, and a sister, Luanna, who 
live in Brookfield. James C. is a farmer, owning 300 acres and a half interest in 230 
acres with Leroy. He was married to Mary E. Darling, who bore him two daugh- 
ters; Lena T. and Vinnie M. His wife died September 3, 1882. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 81 

Loucks, Howard, p.o. Chittenango, was born on the farm where he now lives May 
!), 1870. Mr. Loucks operates 150 acres devoted to general farming, but his specialty 
is potatoes, in which line he has an enviable record. At the World's Fair of 1893 he 
took medal and diploma for the best and largest yield of marketable tubers. He 
exhibited thirteen varieties, of which the average yield was 490 bushels per acre. 
He is a son of Charles Loucks of Holland Dutch ancestry. He is a 5'oung man of 
marked ability, above the average of those who choose agriculture as an avocation, 
and is assured of a prosperous future. He is a Republican and a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. August 35, 1897, he married Sarah E. Tyler, daughter 
of Casper T)-ler of Chittenango, now superintendent of the West Hill Butter and 
Cheese Factory. Mrs. Loucks was born at Cedarville, in the great dairy region of 
Herkimer county, June 1, 1875, and was a resident of Frankfort prior to her marriage 
to Mr. Loucks. 



Lewis, Benjamin, the ancestor in America of the Lewis family, came from Ded- 
ham, England, and settled in Wallingford, Mass., where he was one of forty free- 
holders to settle that historic town. In 1687 he removed to Stratford, Conn. Judson 
Lewis, the pioneer of one of the most respected families in this town, was the son of 
John, the grandson of James, and the great-grandson of Benjamin Lewis, the Amer- 
ican colonist. Judson Lewis purchased a farm on Stratford street in Madison in 
1798, but had previously lived in the town and worked on the land now owned by Le 
Roy Curtis. The children of Judson were Charles, Isaac, Silas, Whiting J., Will- 
iam, Catherine, Betsey, and perhaps one or two others whose names are now lost. 
William Lewis was one of the best representatives of the family in the town, and at 
one time owned the tract of land where Solsville is now built and kept a hotel there. 
He died about 1870. His wife was Atlanta Curtis, daughter of pioneer Samuel Cur- 
tis. Their children were Alonzo, Alfred, John H , Amanda, Jerome and Imogene, 
all of whom grew to maturity and were useful persons in some walk of life. John 
H. Lewis was a successful farmer, a strong Whig and Republican and an active 
man in town affairs. His wife v.'as Sarah Washburn, by whom he had four children: 
Layton D., Ellen D., William B. and Edith I. Of these only Lay ton D. and Will- 
iam B. are now living. Layton D. lived on the old home farm until about 1870, 
when he started out for himself. He worked at farming six years, then came to 
Solsville and conducted the hotel several years. In 1892 he engaged in mercantile 
business and is now one of the village merchants. He was postmaster from 1894 to 
1898, and unlike the other members of the Lewis family, is a Democrat in politics. 
His wife was Mary J., daughter of Rodney Bridge, former proprietor of the Sols- 
ville Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have two children. William B. Lewis was born 
on the farm where he now lives, August 27, 1855, and has always been a farmer and 
hop grower, and during the last several years he has been one of the political factors 
of his town and always on the Republican side. He was educated in the common 
schools. Clinton Liberal Institute and at Eastman's Business College at Poughkeep- 
sie He is now trustee of his school district, was once constable, and for the last 
two years has been superintendent of reservoirs in one of the districts of the county. 
On February 13, 1880, Mr. Lewis married Sarah, daughter of Jason and Caroline 
(Tyler) Anson. They have three children: Imogene, John L. and Minnie. 



83 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Lynch, James C, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Eaton, Madison county, N. Y., Sep- 
tember 1, 1819, a son of Terrence and Jane (Kern) Lynch, natives of Ireland. Ter- 
rence Lynch came to New York in 1801 ; he was father of eleven children, four now 
living. He died in 1853. James C. Lynch was educated in the common schools and 
came to Smithfield in 1847, where he bought the farm he now owns and has here since 
resided. He has 146 acres of land and follows general farming. In politics he is a 
Republican and served as highway comraissionor for six years. April 27, 1847, he 
married Lucinda Marshall, by whom he had two children : Flora (deceased) and Lu- 
cinda, who lives at Pratt's Hollow. Mrs. Lynch died January 14, 1853, and on March 
22, 1854, he married Maria Abbott. They had four sons: Terrence, Eddie (deceaaed), 
James and Lafayette. His second wife died August 12, 1863, and he married again 
February 9, 1866, Hannah M. Eddie of Fenner. Terrence Lynch was born April 19, 
1855; he is a farmer in Oneida. James was born August 9, 1858, educated in the 
common schools and Evans Academy, is a farmer, and married Ella Danehy ; they 
had two children; May and Eva. Mrs. Lynch died April 27, 1886. In politics Mr. 
Lynch is a Republican, has been highway commissioner three years and is now serv- 
mg his second term. He is a member of Peterboro Lodge No. 120, I. O. O. F. La- 
fayette was born May 30, 1862, educated in Evans Academy and is a farmer. He 
married Lillie Snell, by whom he had two children: Ernest and Earla. James and 
Lafayette have charge of the farm and keep a dairy of fifteen cows. 



Morgan, Francis A., son of Augustus H. and Maria (Norton) Morgan, was born at 
Morrisville, this county, July 19, 1852. His father was for twenty years in charge of 
the old Morrisville tannery, and under him the sun learned the trade of tanner and 
currier at which he worked for a period of eleven years. Mr. Morgan took up his 
present farm of 185 acres in 1879, and is known as one of the leading farmers of the 
town of Cazenovia. In politics he is a Democrat. He married, in 1875, Bessie C. 
Parslow, daughter of Peter Parslow of Pompey Hill. Of this union eight children 
have been born: Addie B., wife of W. I. Durfee; Mabel S. , Bertha M. , Clara S. , 
Maud H., Francis P., Burr C, and Mildred Anita. 

Miller, Jacob H., son of Peter and Catherine (Feterly) Miller, was born in Warren, 
Herkimer county, N. Y. , January 1, 1841. His grandfather, also named Jacob, was 
the first settler of the hamlet of Miller's Mills in that county. Mr. Miller was ed- 
ucated in the common schools of Herkimer and Otsego counties, and at a very early 
age began to take care of himself; he has been the architect of his own fortunes. 
In 1862 he enlisted in the 121st N. Y. Volunteers and served three years, participat- 
ing in the battles of South Mountain, Antietara, Chancellorsville, and Fredericks- 
burg. In 1868 he bought the Moses Scouten farm in the town of Cazenovia, four 
and one-half miles north of the village. This farm is now managed by his son. Wil- 
liam. Mr. Miller is well known in this section as a man of integrity and a represen- 
tative farmer. He retired in 1898 and took up his residence in Syracuse. In politics 
he has been a consistent Republican, but has never sought or held public office. He 
married in 1806, Amanda Dayger, daughter of Valentine Dayger of German 
Flats, Herkimer county, N. Y. Of this union there are four children: Emma, wife 
of Oscar Mann of Cazenovia; Mary, William, and Nettie J. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 83 

Marshall, Charles P., was born in La Fargeville, Jefferson county, N. Y., Septem- 
ber 12, 1861, a son of Guvera H. and Ellen Frances (Rood) Marshall. His father, a 
veteran of the Civil war, captain of Company G, 10th N Y. Heavy Artillery, at 
that time conducted a general store in La Fargeville. Mr. Marshall was educated in 
the schools of his native place and at the Watertown Academy. After completing 
his education he followed an inherent artistic temperament by learning the wood 
engraving profession, together with printing. In becoming proficient he removed 
to New York city with the intention of pursuing his profession, but just at this time 
the half-tone process was invented and employment for the old process engravers 
became scarce. He, however, followed it with a fair success for a short time, but 
finally returned to the drug business, his original vocation. After a period of two 
years he returned to his town and began the study of photography in the Watertown 
.studio of Arthur A. John.son. Poisessed of natural artistic ability, augmented by 
practical experience as an engraver, and in addition a druggist's knowledge of 
chemistry, it will be seen that he was well fitted to enter the photographic profession. 
He continued with Mr. Johnson in Watertown about two years, in the meantime 
having partial charge of the Cazenovia studio which was Mr. Johnson's original 
studio. Later he purchased this business through his brother and has since con- 
tinued it. He was for a time associated with his brother, a landscape and portrait 
painter. An artistic temperament, combined with originality of ideas, and energetic 
business ability, have placed Mr. Mar.shall in the vanguard of American photogra- 
phers, and without question he has gained a reputation national in its scope. Medals 
and diplomas of excellence have been bestowed upon him from enviable sources, and 
he has been the originator of many pleasing designs in mounts and prints which have 
been widely copied. His politics are Republican, but he has never held public office 
or been active in party work. In 1885 Mr. Marshall married Martha C. Reynolds, 
daughter of Charles Morris Reynolds of De Pauville, and one daughter has been 
born to them. Margaret Elizabeth Marshall. 



Morse, George, one of the oldest merchants of Madison county, was born in Nel- 
son, April 1, 1817, a son of Abner and Matilda (Brown) Morse. His father was a 
native of Vermont, a member of the old New England pioneer family of Morse, and 
one of the earliest settlers of the town of Nelson. His grandfather also lived in 
Nelson. Mr. Morse was reared on his father's farm and received the limited educa- 
tional advantages afforded by the common schools of those days. At the age of 
.seventeen he began to learn the painting trade at which he worked in Nelson and 
Hamilton, locating in Cazenovia in 1838. Until 186.5 he followed the business of a 
contracting painter and in that year bought the drug stock of L. D. Colburn. This 
business he still continues and on the admission of his son, George H. Morse, the firm 
name took its present form of George Morse & Son. Mr. Morse is a Republican in 
politics, has served as village trustee, and is considered one of the representative 
citizens of the place. He married in 1847 Minerva Mann of Nelson. Of this union 
three children have been born: George H., Charles F.. Emma A., who died in 1879. 



Maine, Paul S.,p. o. Perryville, was born in the town of Fenner, December 13. 1847, 
a son of Asa R. and Lucy (Ray) Maine. Asa R. was a son of Paul R. and Lydia 



84 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

(Randall) Maine, who came from Stonington, Conn., about 1810 and by occupation 
followed farming. Paul S. was educated in the schools of the town of Fennei", also 
in Cazenovia Seminary. He was one of five children as follows; Marian A., de- 
ceased, Paul S., Frank L. of Manlius, N. Y. , Nellie A., deceased, and Ida P., wife of 
Charles H. Dick of Jefferson county, N. Y. Mr. Maine's father died when he was 
fifteen years of age and he being the oldest son the charge of his father's business 
naturally fell on him. He worked the farm summers and at seventeen began teach- 
ing winters, continuing until he was twenty-four years of age when he was appointed 
school commissioner and was afterward elected for a full term. In 1876 he entered 
the general merchandise business at Perryville, which he has carried on to the pres- 
ent time with the exception of from 1883 to 1885; is postmaster at that place having 
held that position except from 1883 to 1889 and from 1894 to 189S since 1876. He was 
one of the organizers of the Perryville Milk Association and has been its secretary 
and treasurer since its organization as a .stock company. In 1872 Mr. Maine married 
Florence A., daughter of Harvey L. and Lauraett (Allen) Keeler; they have one 
daughter, L. Ethelyn Maine. Mr. Maine has represented his town on the board of 
supervisors twelve years, and was chairman of the board two years, in 1896 and 
1897, which position he resigned when he was elected county clerk, the term of office 
commencing January 1, 1898. 



Miller, Albert E., p. o. Siloam, was born in Smithfield, September 7, 18.')4, a son of 
Levi, son of John Miller, who came to Lincoln and there lived and died. Levi Miller 
was born in Madison county and has here since lived. He is a farmer, cheese maker 
and merchant, and now lives at Clockville. He married Marion M. Adams, daughter 
of Harry W. Adams, of Madison county, N. Y. In politics he is a Republican and 
has held minor offices. He and his wife are members of the M. E. church, Albert 
E. Miller was educated in the common schools. He is a cheese maker and has for 
fourteen years conducted a cheese factory at Siloam, where he makes about 100,000 
pounds of cheese yearly. He is a Republican and has been collector of the town. 
He is a member of Prosperity Lodge, No. 434, I. O. O. F. and of the P. of I. He 
married Mina Cramer, daughter of William Cramer of Smithfield. 



McCarthy, James, p. o. Stockbridge, was born in Oneida county, town of Vernon, 
N. Y. , May 15, 1857. His parents were natives of Ireland and settled in Vernon, 
later came to Stockbridge. where his father died in November, 1898, and his mother 
in 1895. Mr. McCarthy was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. 
He is a farmer and has 130 acres of land; is a hop grower and dairyman. He mar- 
ried Jennie Gregg, born May 13, 1859, a daughter of David and Delia (Linkenfelter) 
Gregg. Mr. Gregg was born in Stockbridge and his wife in Smithfield. He was a 
son of Absalom Gregg, an early settler in Stockbridge from Massachusetts, a son of 
John Gregg, who settled in Smithfield in 1802. To Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy were 
born five children: Tacy, Lilly, Armour, Parnell, and Genevieve. Mr. McCarthy is 
a Democrat in politics, and was deputy sheriff: eleven years; has been constable and 
inspector of election, and was appointed Columbia Guard at the World s Fair. 



Morse, Silas E., is one of the oldest business men of this section, having conducted 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 85 

a carriage manufactory in New Woodstock over half a century. He was born in 
Wallingford, Conn., in 1824, and removed to this vicinity with his father, who for 
many years manufactured shooks and barrels on the farm at the "Four Corners" 
near the old school house. Street Hall Morse had at one time been a man of con- 
siderable means, but met with reverses which led to his removal from Connecticut to 
Chenango county and later to this town. The family came from England, their ad- 
vent to this country being about 1635. At Medfield, Mass. , a monument has been erected 
to the seven Morse brothers who were the progenitors cf most of the name in Amer- 
ica. Silas E. Morse early developed the habits of self-reliance, industry, persever- 
ance, and rectitude, which have followed him all his life. He learned the wagon and 
carriage maker's trade when a young man and for some years was a partner in the 
business with Ralph Bell, his wife's father. He conducted his business in New 
Woodstock over half a century as stated above. In politics Mr. Morse has been a 
Democrat and at different times has held offices of public trust. In Buchanan's ad- 
ministration he was postmaster at New Woodstock. For many years he served on 
the school board and as trustee of the cemetery association. He has long been a 
member of the New Woodstock Baptist church, and served the society for a long 
period as trustee. Of his marriage to Sarah J. Bell, one daughter was born, Hattie, 
wife of Richard J. Miller of De Ruyter. 



Marshall, James W. , son of John and Jane (Nailer) Marshall, was born near Pratt's 
Hollow in the town of Eaton, November 26, 1820. His father, a native of Ireland, 
came to this country in middle life ; he was a tailor by trade and lived and died in 
the town of Eaton. James W. Marshall received an education confined to the dis- 
trict schools and was early inured to hard labor, working on a farm by the month 
when he was yet a youth. He has been engaged in farming all his life, and for a 
period of thirty-six years lived on his farm in the southern part of the town of Stock- 
bridge, near the Eaton line. Here he served as school trustee and was a well known 
and esteemed citizen. In 1888 Mr. Marshall removed to Oneida where he has since 
re.^ided. He married first in 1857, Susannah Tackabury, and five children were born 
to thera, three of whom survive: Melva, wife of Dr. F. Crounce of Albany county; 
Fred W. and C. Burton, both of Madison county. In 1889 he married Jane Gilbert 
Forrester. 



Morse, Walter, p. o. Eaton. — Joseph Morse came from Natick, Mass., in 1797, 
and took up land in the south part of Eaton, where now stands the village of that 
name. Here the pioneer spent his days, living the life of a farmer, and also dealing 
exten.sively in cattle and produce. He was a prominent figure in town affairs and 
one of the leading men of the county in his time. His wife, Eunice (Bigelow) Morse, 
was a noted woman in the town and raised to maturity a large family of children, 
who were in later years useful and prominent men and women in business and social 
life. In her house Dr. Kendrick was a frequent visitor and here through their dis- 
cussions were taken the first steps which led to the founding of Colgate University, 
and it was for some time a question whether that institution should be established at 
Eaton village or at Hamilton. The children of Joseph and Eunice (Bigelow) Morse 
were Ellis ; Eunice, who married Dr. Pratt and removed to Missouri ; Joseph, who 



86 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

started the first grist mill in Eaton on the site of the present mill; Sophia, who mar- 
ried George Ellis; Lucy, who married Rev. Joseph Griswold; Calvin who died in 
Eaton; Alpheus, who was one of the most active and energetic men in the county, 
and who with his brother Ellis were among the foremost business men of the region _ 
they having built a hotel and three store buildings, and as well were instrumental in 
founding schools, churches and other institutions; Bigelow, who died in Fabius. 
Ellis Morse was born in 1789 and spent almose his entire life in this town. In addi- 
tion to the interests previously noted, he founded and built the once famous Eaton 
Academy and was for many years its mainstay and support. Ellis Morse's first wife 
wasLoraAyer; their children were Jane M., of Eaton; Janette S., who n-arried 
Rollin Coman; Gardner, who died in 1897; Martha A., who married Dr. W. C. Tenney, 
and Andrew B., who entered the Presbyterian ministry. Mr. Morse's second wife 
was Adeline Bagg, by whom he had these children: Adeline, wife of Amos O. Os- 
borne; Walter of Eaton; Henry B., lieutenant-colonel 114th N. Y. Vols., and who 
died in 1874, then being circuit judge m Arkansas; Alfred A., who also served in the 
114th Regiment and received his death wound at Cedar Creek; and Hartwell Morse, 
who has lived m Binghamton since 1864, and for many years has been cashier of the 
City National Bank. Ellis Morse died October 15, 1869. Walter Morse was born 
February 2.i, 183.5. and has been a life-long resident of Eaton village. He was edu- 
cated in the academy founded by his father, after which he worked six years as clerk 
for Butler & Burritt. On February 23, 1859, in company with A. N. Wood, he be- 
gan building portable and agricultural steam engines, the concern being the third of 
its kind in the United States. The business had been established by Mr. Wood in 
1852, and from the outset was a successful enterprise. In 1860 Loyal C. Taber came 
into the business and then was established the firm of Wood, Taber & Morse, one of 
the bestknown firms in engine building in the country. It continued until 1892, 
when both Messrs. Wood and Taber died, whereupon Mr. Morse closed the works in 
the year following. When running at full capacity about seventy-five men were 
employed, and an engine was turned out daily. Aside from his active business life 
Mr. Morse has ever taken an earnest interest in all that pertained to the welfare of 
the town and has always been regarded as an upright, public spirited citizen. He 
has always been a Republican, though taking no active part in politics. He has 
been one of the deacons of the Eaton Congregational church since 1877. On Febru- 
ary 3, 1862, Mr. Morse married H. Celeste, daughter of Richard M. Davis of Eaton. 
Their children are Ellis W. Morse, treasurer of the Binghamton Wagon Co., and Ada 
R , wife of O. Webster Mott of the Standard Harrow Co. of Utica. 



Maxwell, John, son of James and Jane (Tait) Maxwell, was born in the town of 
Lindon, Cattaraugus county, N. Y., March 31, 1845. His father, a native of Edin- 
burgh, Scotland, came to this country in 1835, and .settled in Lindon upon the farm 
where he resided until his death. He was a well known citizen and served frequently 
as supervisor and in other town offices. John Maxwell received an education con- 
fined to the district schools, and assisted in the conduct of his father's farm until he 
was twenty-one years old. He then went to Cuba, Alleghany county, where he re- 
mained six years in the employ of S. K. Cutter, a builder, lumber dealer, and con- 
tractor, with whom he learned that business. In January, 1873, he removed to 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 87 

Rochester and wus engaged by the Empire Moulding Works as superintendent of 
the manufacture of moulding, lumber buyer, etc. He began business for himself in 
1874 as a manufacturer of caskets and mouldings in the Michaels building on Mill 
street with store rooms on State street. After the first year he formed a partnership 
with C. H. Newman and James T. McManus under the firm name of Maxwell, New- 
man & McManus. The growth of the business was rapid, and it being found neces- 
.sary to secure larger quarters, a factory in the rear of number 23 and 34 South St. 
Paul street was leased, the entire building above the first floor being utilized. After 
a short period Mr. Newman retired and was succeeded in the firm by P. J. McWeeney 
and Hosea Rogers, forming the firm of Maxwell, McWeeney & Co. About sixty men 
were employed with an average weekly output of 350 caskets and the firm continued 
in successful and constantly growing business until 1879. In that year a consolida- 
tion was effected with Chappel, Tuttle & Co., jobbers in undertakers' supplies at 
Oneida, and the plant was removed to that village, business being conducted under 
the firm name of Chappel, Chase, Maxwell & Co. The growth and development of 
the business in Oneida is elsewhere noticed. When the National Casket Company 
was formed in 1890, Mr. Maxwell became a director and manager of the Oneida 
plant. He has never held public office, with the exception of one term as village 
trustee, but has been actively interested in many enterprises tending to promote the 
welfare of the village, especially the Oneida Savings, Building, and Loan Associa- 
tion which he organized and served as president seven years. Mr. Maxwell mar- 
ried in 1867, Frances A. Harris, daughter of Thomas Harris of his native town. 



Marcellus, Albert, who died in Oneida June 11, 1899, in the fifty-ninth year of his 
age, was one of Oneida's most prominent business men and a valued citizen. He 
was born in Auriesville, Montgomery county, N. Y., March 31, 1840, and passed the 
greater part of his boyhood days in his native village, being afforded hberal educa- 
tional advantages which well fitted him for the practical business career he followed. 
He came to Oneida from Pittsford, Monroe county, N. Y. , about thirty years ago, 
and in company with his father, the late Albert Marcellus, sr. , constructed several 
miles of the Midland railroad south of Oneida. Later (in 1871-72) he took the con- 
tract of laying the two freight tracks on the Central railroad between Oneida and 
Cauaseraga, and subsequently held large contracts with that company for construc- 
tion work, which was proof that he performed his obligations faithfully and honor- 
ably. For upwards of twenty years, in addition to his other business, he conducted 
an extensive lumber trade in Oneida and vicinity. Mr. Marcellus was reliable and 
thorough in everything he undertook, and was usually successful in his fenterprises. 
He was a man of strong convictions and could not be swerved from what he consid- 
ered honorable and just, but withal was a genial man and a warm hearted friend. In 
politics he was a true Democrat but by no means a narrow partisan. Contrary to his 
expressed wishes he was elected a village trustee in 1895 and served two years. As 
chairman of the street committee he proved one of the most efficient and practical 
officers that ever acted in that capacity, and as member of several other important 
committees he showed no lack of zeal, ever being keenly alive to public interests. He 
was an esteemed member of Oneida Lodge, No. 370, F. & A. M., and of Doric Chap- 
ter, No. 193. R A. M. Mr. Marcellus married in 1873, Miss Mary Gors of Dansville, 



88 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

N. Y. , who survives him. He is succeeded in business by his son, George A. Mar- 
cellus, who was born in Oneida, December 4, 1873; was graduated from Yale College 
with the class of 1896 ; and was associated with his father in business until the lat- 
ter's death. 



Mott, David C. , p. o. Hamilton, was born at Hamilton, N. Y. , and was educated in 
Madison University (now Colgate University) He then studied law in the ofBce of 
Conklin & Throop, Utica, N. Y., for a year, attended the \a.Tf department of Colum- 
bia College, N. Y , a year under Theodore Dwight, and was admitted to the bar at 
the General Term in Syraeuse in 1860. After residing several years in St. Louis and 
a short time in Utica, he returned to Hamilton, where he has since resided. Mr. 
Mott was for years largely interested in real estate in Hamilton and built some of 
the substantial old blocks. He has been clerk of the village for three years, presi- 
dent of the village a year and a member of the board of education nine years Mr. 
Mott married Mary E. Hughes, and they have two children: Joseph Addison and 
Caroline Jane. His parenis were Joseph Addison and Caroline L. (Crocker) Mott. His 
grandfather, Amos Crocker, was a member of the legislature in 1820 On his moth- 
er's side Mr. Mott is a lineal descendant of John Howland, who came over in the 
the Mayflower. He married Elizabeth TiUey, and their daughter, Hannah Howland, 
married Jonathan Crocker. Their son, James Crocker, was the father of Jonathan 
Crocker, who was the father of David Crocker, whose son, Amos Crocker, was the 
grandfather of Mr. Mott. John Howland was a prominent man in the early days, 
came over as a man of affairs for Governor Carver, and was one of the first of the 
settlers to resist the invasion of the Indians. 



Maxon, Samuel A., son of Lewis and Betsey (Caldwell) Maxon, was born in Verona, 
Oneida county, N. Y., January 11, 1841. His grandfather, Ethan Maxon, was one 
of the early settlers of Oneida county whither he came from Rhode Island in the 
year 1811. Mr. Maxon's early education was confined to the common schools, and 
he is mainly self educated. His first employment was as a clerk in which capacity 
he served several firms, having charge for a time of the store of Seeley & Armitage 
at Munnsville. In 1864 he enlisted in Company K, 5th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, and 
served until the close of the war. He was then engaged in real estate business in 
the State of New Jersey for a time and later went to Lawrence, Kansas, whence he 
came to Oneida in February, 1872. On his arrival he assumed the editorship of the 
Oneida Union, and in the following August purchased the paper in company with 
Richard M. Baker, forming the present firm of Baker & Maxon which has conducted 
the Union upwards of twenty-seven years. Mr. Maxon has interested himself deeply 
in educational matters; was one of the chief promoters of the Oneida Union School; 
and has served on the Board of Education for thirteen consecutive years. He is a 
man of much public spirit, and has always been prompt to give his time and influence 
in promoting worthy public enterprises. He married, June 3, 187.5, Sylvia L. 
Stringer, daughter of William Stringer of Munnsville, and three children have been 
born to them; William R., S. Lynn and Bessie S. Ma.xon. 

Moore, Sidney W., son of Eli G. and Adeline (Weaver) Moore, was born in the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 89 

town of Stockbridge, this county, October 6, 1859. His grandfather, El; Moore, was 
a native of Union, Conn., and removed thence to Stoclsbridge among the earliest 
settlers, driving an ox team and bringing his young wife, Rebecca (Gail) Moore, and 
their son, Eli G. They located at Valley Mills, near the Lenox line on the farm now 
owned by Mr. Moore, and which has never been deeded out of the possession of the 
family. Sidney W. Moore was educated in the district schools in the vicinity of his 
home and at Whitestown Seminary. When eighteen years old he went west but re- 
turned in two years, and for six years following remained at home. In 1883 he went 
to Lyons, N. Y. to engage in the drug business with Dr. C. A. Moore under the firm 
name of Moore & Moore. He retired from active interest in this firm in 1892, having 
become interested in the manufacture of silverware in Lyons. In 1893 he removed 
his plant to Oswego, N Y., where he sold out the following year and came to Oneida. 
He at once organized the Oneida Silverware Manufacturing Company with a capital 
stock of $10,000, (afterwards increased to §50,000,) and erected the present building 
and plant of the company. Mr. Moore acts as president and manager of the corpora- 
tion, which manufactures a full line of silver plated ware, employing upwards of 
seventy-five people, and is rapidly increasing its trade and output. Mr. Moore mar- 
ried in 1884, Nellie S. Baker, daughter of D. C. Baker of Fulton, N. Y. Of this union 
are two sons: Alfred D. and S. Gail. 



Morgan, John, who for more than sixty years has been identified with business life 
in Madison village, and who during that period has always been regarded as one of 
the foremost men of the town, was born in Clinton, Conn., April 20, 1821, and was , 
one of four children in the family of John and Esther (Parsons) Morgan. At the age 
of sixteen he started out to make his own way in life, coming to Madison, where he 
learned the trade of tinsmithing with Henry Hull, who knew the young man and was 
naturally attracted by his frank, manly demeanor. In the first year of his apprentice- 
ship John Morgan earned $29 and saved $7 of the amount; when twenty-one years 
old he had saved §100. His very first sixpence was earned in helping to unload 
hay. This was the foundation of his later success m business life, for Mr. Morgan 
became forehanded as the result of energy, perseverance and honesty; he has 
always made generous use of his means for the benefit of family and friends. 
After his apprenticeship was ended Mr. Morgan worked three years as "boss" in 
Mr. Hull's shop and for the next three years was his partner in business. After 
Mr. Hull's death Mr. Morgan continued alone for a time, but later was associated 
with his sons, to whom he eventually sold out his interest and devoted himself to 
farming and caring for his other property. He is still an active man, notwith- 
standing his seventy-eight years of life and in Madison no man is more highly 
respected than he. He has always taken an earnest interest in the welfare of 
the town, is an active Republican, though never seeking political honors. He 
has been a member of the M. E. church more than forty years, and has held the 
positions of trustee and class leader. Of his means he has generously contributed 
to the support of the church and to other worthy causes. Mr. Morgan has been 
thrice married; his first wife was Pamelia J. Merchant, who died soon after mar- 
riage; his second wife was Phoebe Hazard, daughter of Paul and Lucretia Haz- 
ard. She died four years after marriage. His third wife was Lucretia Hazard, 



90 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

sister to his second wife. Three children were born of the last marriage: Leverett 
J., Harry and Albert. 



Moody, Adelbert, p. o Peterboro, was born in Sraithfield, February 13, 1823, a 
son of David and Sabrina (Chauncey) Moody. His father was born is Mass- 
achusetts in 1771 and came to Oneida county, N. Y., early and finally to Smith- 
field, where he died in 1846. He was a farmer; in politics a Whig. His wife 
was born in Massachusetts in 1781, and they had three children, Adelbert the only 
one now living. Adelbert Moody was educated in the common .schools. He has 
been a great reader and is well informed. He owns eighty arces of land, a part 
of the old homestead, and follows dairying and farming. He is a Republican in 
politics, but not an aspirant to office. 



Miller, Levi, jr., p. o. Peterboro, was born in Lenox. Madison county, N. Y. , July 
28, 1848, a son of Levi Miller. He was educated in the common schools and 
learned the trade of cheese making with his father, which he has followed during 
his married life, with the exception of three years spent at farming. He was in 
Fenner one year, four years at Putnam factory, four years at the Mile Strip, three 
years at Peterboro, and then located where he now lives and built a cheese factory, 
which he has operated eleven years. He has been very successful, having a yearly 
output of 100,000 pounds, which is handled mostly by Hunter, Walton & Co. of New 
York. Mr. Miller was married January 31, 1871, to Jennie Wright, born at Siloam, 
June 13, 1850, a daughter of Isaac J. Wright, and they have one adopted son, Alfred 
S., a son of Morris E. Wright, a brother of Mrs. Miller. In politics Mr. Miller is a 
Republican since Cleveland's administration, previous to which time he was a Dem- 
ocrat. He has served as constable; is a member of Smithfield Lodge No. 120, 
I. O. O. F. and has been chaplain of the lodge since it was started. He and wife 
are members of the M. E. church, and Mrs. Miller has been president of the Ep- 
worth League. 



Marquisee, Lewis, p. o. Peterboro, was born on the farm he now owns, October 26, 
1843, a son of Timothy and Lydia Goff (widow of Gaylord Mattison) Marquisee. His 
father left home at twelve years of age and came to Smithfield in 1837 from Bouck- 
ville, Madison county, where he learned the trade of scale making. He followed 
farming and blacksmithing, also scale making. In politics he was a Republican and 
held office of highway commissioner for many years. He died March 15, 1887, aged 
eighty-seven years, and his wife died April 33, 1892, aged eighty-nine years. Lewis 
Marquisee was educated in the common schools and follows farming. He owns eighty 
acres where he lives and 126 acres near Peterboro, following dairying and general 
farming. March 12, 1861, Mr. Marquisee married Martha A. Woodworth. daughter 
of Ephraim and granddaughter of Ephraim Woodworth, one of the early settlers of 
Smithfield. Mr. and Mrs. Marquisee had two children; Celia A., wife of Elmer 
Cramer, a farmer of Sraithfield. They have three children; Cora M., Lewis E. and 
Hazel A. Mr. Marquisee is a Republican and has been justice of the peace about 
twenty years, which office he now holds. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 91 

Northrup, Joel, was born on the farm he owns, June 7, 1824, a son of Stephen and 
grandson of Stephen Northrup, who spent his last days in Lenox, and died in 1840; 
his wife was Rhoda Benedict, who died in Lenox in 1841, and they had a family of 
ten children. Stephen Northrup, jr., was born in Nassau, Rensselaer county, Feb- 
ruary 15, 1783. came to Lenox in 1820 and bought the farm Joel now owns, where he 
died May 3, 1859. His wife was Sallie Benedict, born in Sherburne in 1790, by 
whom he had nine children, three of whom are now living. Joel Northrup was edu- 
cated in the common school, is a farmer and has thirty-five acres of land. July 1, 
1858, he married Sara Hatmaker, born in Sullivan,- Madison county, N. Y., October 
29, 1819, a daughter of George and Margaret (Shute) Hatmaker, early settlers of 
Sullivan. Mr. and Mrs. Northrup had one daughter, Anna E , born July 28, 1859, 
educated in the common schools, and married, in 1880, C. B. Waterbury, a farmer of 
Lenox; they had the following children: Estella, Newel J., S. Esther, Eugene C, 
Bertha, Joel, Herbert and Howard. In politics Mr. Northrup is a Republican, and 
he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he has been an 
elder for some years ; Mr. Northrup is also society clerk of the church. 



Near, William S. , p. o. Canastota, was born in Lenox, N. Y., December 13, 1863, a 
son of Timothy and grandson of Jasper Near, one of the early settlers of the town. 
Timothy Near was born in Lincoln, May 9, 1838. educated at Syracuse, and for 
many years was a teacher. In politics he was a Democrat and was assessor nine 
years. March 11. 1850, he married Lucretia Baum, who died June 1, 1874; they had 
SIX children, three now living. Mr. Near wasamember of Canastota Lodge No. 231, 
F.& A M. At the time of his death. December 29, 1890, he owned 125 acres of land. 
William S. Near was reared on a farm and educated in Canastota Academy. He 
owns the homestead and carries on general farming. September 29, 1886, Mr. Near 
married Elizabeth D.. daughter of George Loucks, and they have one daughter, 
Wmifred S. , born October 30, 1897. George Loucks was a son of Abram, son of 
John, who lived and died in Schoharie county, and came to Oneida in a very early 
day, where he died. His wife was Elizabeth Ten Eyck, born in Schoharie county 
and died in Oneida county. George was educated at Oneida Castle, came to Lenox 
in 1868 and bought seventy-two acres where he now lives. In politics he is a Demo- 
crat, but not an aspirant to public office. He married Solinda Ritter, by whom he 
had three children: Arthur G. (deceased), Milton A. and Elizabeth D. 



Near, J. De Forest, p. o. Canastota, was born in the town of Lenox, Madison county, 
July 31, 1858. His father was Timothy Near, a farmer, and at one time engaged in 
the grocery business at Canastota. He died aged sixty-two years in 1891. De 
Forest Near is engaged in the cultivation of hay, grain, onions and dairying, and is 
recognized as a citizen of sterling worth. He was bereft of his father and of his 
wife in the same year, 1891. She was. before marriage, Minnie E. Hettinger. She 
left two sons, Arthur and Harlow Near. In 1893 Mr. Near married his present 
wife, Louisa Hill, daughter of a well-known family of Perryville, and they have one 
daughter, Minnie, now three years of age. 

Northrup, Irving J., p. o. Chittenango, grocer at Chittenango Landing, is an El- 



92 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

miran by birth (December 28, 1850), and a son of Jerome B. Northrup. The latter 
was a native of Montgomery county and died there in 1885, aged fifty-five years. In 
the civil war he served in Co. E, 122d Regt. N. Y. S. Volunteers, 6th Corps. The 
business now conducted by Irving J. Northrup since 1887, was established by Jacob 
Walker in 1872. Mr. Northrup deals largely m fine groceries, making a specialty of 
canal supplies. In 1885 he married Mane, daughter of his predecessor in business, 
Jacob Walker, and has one daughter, Anna M. Northrup. Mr. Walker died in 1893 
aged eighty. Nr. Northrup is a Republican in politics and a most genial and popu- 
lar citizen. 



Nichols, Orville A., p. o. Mile Strip, was born at Mile Strip, May 13, 1841, a son of 
Rufus H. and Tacey (Culver) Nichols, who had six children named Diederick R., 
Frances M., Riley Ne\<'ton (deceased), Riley, Samuel C, and Orville A. By occupa- 
tion Rufus H. followed farming, with the exception of six years, when he was at 
Peterboro and worked as a miller. Rufus H. was a son of Samuel and Catharine 
(Hess) Nichols. They had two children: Rufus H. and Catherine, wife of Samuel 
Frisbee. Orville A. Nichols was educated in the town of Fenner and in Peterboro 
Academy. His early life was spent on the farm with his father, with whom he has 
been associated in business many years. When about twenty-five years of age he 
married Lovisette Jenette, daughter of Nathan Lamb, and they have two children: 
Fred F., and Florence M., wife of Herbert A. Bristol, and one deceased, Claude. 
Samuel Nichols, sr., was in the Revolutionary war and was wounded in the right leg 
at the battle of Monmouth. His first wife was Hannah Resigue, who was Samuel, 
jr.'s mother. He later married Sybil Baldwin and she was a widow of David Cran- 
sou. August ly, 1862, he enlisted in Co. B, 157th Regiment and was wounded at the 
battle of Chancellorsville in the right forearm and was discharged for disability m 
October, 1863. He is a member of Reese Post, G. A. R., No. 34, of Canastota. He 
has always taken an active part in town affairs, has been justice of the peace for 
twenty years, and also collector. He has always taken a great interest in the school 
of which he has been tru.stee many terms and was its trustee when the school house 
was rebuilt. He is a contributing and supporting member of churches. 



Newton, Alfred J., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Canada, but was brought to the 
United States by his parents, Byron F.. and Margurite (Wahn) Newton, when an 
infant. They settled at Hamilton, N. Y., and this has been Mr. Newton's home 
since. He was educated here and then began the active duties of life as a clerk, in 
which capacity he passed eleven years. On January 20, 1897, he opened his grocery 
store in Hamilton, which has been a successful business venture from the first. Mr. 
Newton's enterprise and honorable business methods stamp him as one of the repre- 
sentative young business men of Madison county. He is a member of the Order 
of Odd Fellows, both subordinate lodge and encampment, and also of the Masonic 
fraternity. 



Nixdorf, William G., who has served on the village board of trustees eight years, 
was born in Oneida, March 26, 1861. His father, Herman C. Nixdorf, a native of 
Germany, came to this country when a young man, and settled first in Rome, thence 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 93 

removing to Oswego, and in 1861 to Oneida where he resided until his death. For 
many years he conducted a business on James street in Oneida as a shoemaker and 
dealer. William G. Ni.xdorf was educated in the public schools of Oneida and has 
always been engaged in the grocery and liquor business in this town. He erected 
the building where he has conducted his business for the past sixteen years in 1882. 
Mr. Nixdorf has served as a village trustee eight years, and as sewer commissioner 
two years (1896-97). He is a member of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows. In 1891 
he married Charlotte Bieseigel and of their union are five children: Catherine M., 
A. J. Herman, NelHe M., Karl W., and William B. 



Niles, R. Olmstead, son of S. Russell and Sophia M. (Drake) Niles, was born in 
the town of Lebanon, this county, January 20, 1835. His father, also born in Leb- 
anon, died in Cazenovia in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He was a man of strong 
character, strict integrity, and is highly respected m this community. He was a son 
of Isaac Niles, a native of Massachusetts and one of the earliest settlers of the town 
of Madison, whence he removed to Lebanon. R. Olmstead Niles was educated in 
the common schools and has followed the occupation of farming all his life. He 
owns a farm of 100 acres one mile south of Cazenovia village on the west road to 
New Woodstock and has given much attention to the breeding of fine cattle. In 
politics Mr. Niles is a Prohibitionist; he is a member of the Cazenovia Baptist 
church. In 1863 he married Mary E. Kingsley, daughter of A. Z. Kingsley of Leb- 
anon; three children have been born to them: Charles O., engaged in farming; R. 
Avery, who conducts a furnishing goods business in Cazenovia; and Mav A. Niles, 
music teacher. 



Nourse, J. Harvey, was born in Cazenovia, in the place which has always been his 
home, February 9 1834, a son of Solomon and Savilla (Case) Nourse. His grand- 
father, Joel Nourse, was an early settler of the town of Fenner, and q man of prom- 
inence in his time. His father was born in Fenner, just across the line from the 
farm, June 8, 1806, and died May 30, 1877. Of his union with Savilla Case were four 
children: Loren C, who died January 29, 1840; Angeline L., wife of Jo.seph J. L. 
Baker of Chittenango; J. Harvey, and Clinton K. of Otselic, Chenango county. J. 
Harvey Nourse was educated in the common schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. 
He has followed the occupation of farming all his life. In politics Mr. Nourse is a 
Republican and he has served his town with fidelity in many offices of public trust; 
as assessor one year to fill a vacancy; highway commissioner six years; supervisor 
four successive years; and as justice of the peace eight years. Mr. Nourse married 
March 15, 1860, Carrie J. Elmore, daughter of Horace Elmore of Fenner; they have 
one daughter, Nellie F. Nourse. 



O'Brien, Thomas, was born in Ireland in 1837, and came to this country with his 
parents when ten years old. They settled in Cazenovia where his father resided 
until his death in 1870, gaining the respect and confidence of all his fellow citizens. 
Mr. O'Brien was educated in the common schools of Cazenovia, and at an early age 
entered the woolen mill there, owned by R. Jackson. This mill afterwards came 
into the possession of Henry Ten Eyck for whom he worked until it was destroyed 



94 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

by fire. In 1853 he went to Utica where he had charge of the carding department in 
a woolen mill for a period of five years. At the end of this period he removed to 
Pittsfield, Mass., where he held a similar position about two years. In 1858 he re- 
turned to Madison county, and in 1864 in company with Charles Stewart purchased 
the woolen mill at Eaton which they conducted about eight years. At the end of 
that time Mr O'Brien settled permanently in the village of Oneida, and for twenty- 
five years was engaged in buying and shipping wool. In 1893 he became a member 
of the firm of Stewart Barton & Co. In politics Mr. O'Brien has been a consistent 
Democrat; he has served as village trustee three years, as assessor two years, and is 
now a member and president of the sewer board. He married, in 1863, Margaret 
McLaughlin, a daughter of Patrick McLaughlin of Holland Patent, N. Y. 



Owens, William W., p o. De Ruyter, proprietor of the well known hotel that bears 
his name in the village of De Ruyter, is a native of Broome county, born in Deposit. 
Decembers, 1858. He is a son of Spender and Lavina (Peters) Owens. His parents 
removed to Massachusetts when he was quite young and where he attended the pub- 
lic schools. Later they returned to New York State and settled in Oneida county, 
where William and his father were engaged in the tannery business for a period of 
twenty years. In April, 1891, Mr. Owens removed to De Ruyter and succeeded Lee 
Stebbins in the hotel business, in which he has since been engaged. In September, 
1881, Mr. Owens married Julia, daughter of Alman and Ann (Carlisle) Beckwith, and 
they have one son, Wesley, born May 25, 1883. Mr. Owens has prospered in his new 
business, his genial, courteous manners and straightforward business methods serv- 
ing not only to retain the old patrons, but winning him many new ones. 



Potter, George H., was born in Lodi, California, May 17, 1864, a son of George M. 
and Lucinda (Rhodes) Potter. His father was a " forty-niner," a native of the State 
of Connecticut. Mr. Potter was educated in the public schools of the village of 
Phoenix, Oswego county, N. Y. His first employment was as clerk in a men's fur- 
nishing goods store; subsequently he was employed as a clerk in a grocery store; 
and later as postal clerk in the Phoenix post-office. He came to Oneida in 1896, and 
purchased the grocery and variety business of R. A. Stowell which he has since suc- 
cessfully conducted. Mr. Potter married, in 1889, Miss Mary Keller, and of this 
union is one daughter, Ola M. Potter. 



Phipps, David H., who died in Oneida, April 7, 1889, in the ninety-second year of 
his age, was born in Connecticut, October 7. 1807, but came to this State at an early 
age, and in 1861 to Oneida where he resided until his death. Mr. Phipps was a man 
of integrity and not easily swerved from what he believed to be right. He was a 
good neighbor and a genial, kind hearted friend who is missed by a wide circle of 
acquaintances. Mr. Phipps married, December 19, 1831, Eliza H. Brown, whom he 
survived some years. 



Pfaff, Otto, M. D. , son of Jacob and Anna Katherine (Pfaff) Pfaff, was born in 
Croghan, Lewis county, N. Y. , January 9, 1864. His parents were both natives of 
Germany, came to this country in 1851 and settled in Lewis county. Dr. Pfaff was 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 95 

educated in the Carthage (Jefferson county) Union Free School, and began the study 
of medicine in the University of the City of New York, Medical Department, taking 
the M. D. degree in 1888. He at once began practice, locating in Turin, Lewis 
county, where he remained three years, and thence removed to Oneida in 1891 to be- 
gin his present practice. Dr. Pfaff served for some time as president of the Lewis 
County Medical Society; is a member of the American Medical Association ; Oneida 
Lodge, No. 370, F. & A. M. ; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and the Knights 
of Pythias. In politics he has been an active Democrat and is now serving as village 
trustee. He married in 1891. Adella T. Williams, daughter of William R. Williams 
of Oneida. 



Parsons, Cyrus, for many years vice-president of the National Bank of Cazenovia, 
was a native of Massachusetts and removed when a youth to this vicinity with his 
parents. The family were among the early settlers of this town, and Mr. Parsons 
possessed an inexhaustible fund of anecdotes of life in the settlement at that time. 
His parents were poor and as a boy he worked a greater part of his time for the 
neighboring farmers, finding little opportunity to acquire an education, but amply 
remedying this defect m after life. In 1843 he bought what was known as the Mil- 
ton Humphrey farm just outside of Cazenovia village, on the Nelson road. Here he 
resided until his death, being engaged in general farming and also for many years 
in the Cazenovia Bank, in the capacity of vice-president. He was always a Whig 
and Republican, but never held public office with the exception of an appointment 
as deputy sheriff. In this community where he resided from boyhood he was uni- 
versally esteemed as a useful citizen, and a man of the strictest integrity and love of 
justice. He always enjoyed a wide friendship and even in his advanced age kept 
well in touch with the life of the community. Mr. Parson married, in February, 
1834, Harriet M. Witherbury, and five children were born to them, only two of whom 
now survive: Edward B., and Charles C. both of Cazenovia. He died in March, 
1898. having reached his ninety-third year. 



Pratt, Charles E. , son of Edward J. and Harriet (Partridge) Pratt, was born in 
Fayetteville, Onondaga county, N. Y., December 24, 1853 His father, Edward J. 
Pratt, was born on the old homestead at Pratt's Falls purchased by Daniel Pratt and 
still in the possession of the family. During the greater part of his active life he was 
engaged in the hotel business, and at different times conducted the Grove House in 
Fayetteville, Pompey House at Pompey Hill, Oran House at Oran, and the Cazeno- 
via House at Cazenovia. The family had originally settled in Connecticut, and 
Daniel Pratt removed from that State to the site of the present settlement of Pratt's 
Falls in 1796. He built a saw and grist mill and became one of the influential men 
of the region. He is recorded as having been a pensioner of the war of 1813. 
Charles E. Pratt was educated in Fayetteville and Auburn, and spent three years in 
and near Lincoln, Neb. Following this period he became station agent of the Che- 
nango Valley Railroad at Oran, and later was connected with the old Remington 
Hotel m Syracuse, then owned by the Syracuse University. He came to Cazenovia 
in 1877 to take a position as clerk in the Cazenovia House, then conducted by Perry 
Crandall, with whom he remained until the latter's death in 1884. At this time he 



96 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

assumed the management of the Cazenovia House, being associated with his father 
until 1894, since which time he has conducted the business alone ; his hostelry is one 
of the landmarlis of Cazenovia and has always had a fair share of patronage. In 
politics Mr. Pratt has been a Democrat and has served in both the town and county 
committees for upwards of ten years. He has been a member of the school board 
two years and of the sewer commission since the inauguration of the system. He 
was a charter member of Cazenovia Lodge, of the A. O. U. W., and for a number of 
years a member of Ledyard Hose of the old Volunteer Fire Department. He mar- 
ried, in 1881, Pearl Clarke, daughter of Lewis Clarke, and their children are Edward 
L., Homer D., Lena and Eugene B. 



Perkins, Gai-dner H., a respected resident of Cazenovia village and inventor of the 
" Perkins Patent Perfect Truss Wire Fence," was born in Cazenovia two and one- 
half miles south of the village, February 33, 1841, a son of Stillman Perkms and 
Delana Squier, born March 8, 1800, died July 6, 1878. The family were among the 
earliest settlers of this region, coming from Massachusetts, and is of New England 
pioneer stock. Stillman Perkins reared a family of nine children, eight of whom 
lived to maturity. He was born July 7, 1796, and died in 1863, honored and respected 
by all who had known him. Gardner H. Perkins was educated at Cazenovia Sem- 
inary and has been principally engaged in farming. He has been a prolific inventor 
and is the patentee of a hay knife named the ' ' Diamond " ; a combined fork hook ; a 
pulverizer and reversible harrow; and the Perkins Patent Perfect Truss Wire Fence. 
The last named patent is a valuable one and the wonder is that a fence of so much 
merit and evident superiority has not already come into more general use. Many 
property owners in this vicinity have erected sections of the fence and as all are en- 
thusiastic in their endorsement of its superior points and stable qualities, it is be- 
lieved that the time is not far distant when Mr. Perkins's fence will have a wide sale. 
Its double truss form makes it non-sagging, economizes posts, enhances its beauty, 
and makes gates in keeping with the fence. The invention has three merits: first, 
it successfully repels all stock ; second, it is rapidly made without any special tools 
and therefore costs much less to build than other fences; third, it can be easily taken 
down and put up in another place and is readily repaired. Without doubt Mr. Per- 
kins will eventually be successful in securing a large market for his patent, as he has 
more fence in his immediate vicinity than all other patent fences combined. He has 
never held public office of any kind, being no aspirant in that direction. He mar- 
ried September 23, 1868, Lucretia S. Niles, daughter of Russell Niles of the town of 
Lebanon. 



Perry, nee Anna H. Wells, p. o. Chittenango, N. Y. , born March 6, 1825, eldest 
daughter of Ozias and Mary (Kennedy) Wells, a prominent family in years gone by. 
Both the Wells and Kennedy families came from New England. The Wells family 
trace their descent back to Elder John White, who came from England and landed 
in Boston on ship " Lyon," September 16, 1633. They are also closely related to the 
well-known Thurston and Green families, so prominent in Revolutionary days. De- 
cember 24, 1848, Anna H. Wells married St. George Talbot Perry. He was the 
fourth in direct line to bear the name. His mother was Amanda Herkimer, grand- 



PERSONAL REFERRNCKS. »7 

daughter of Capt. George Herkimer, who fought with his brother, Gen. Nicholas Her- 
kimer, in the noted battle of Oriskany. The Perrys came from England and settled 
in Rhode Island some time in the year 1600. To (ieorge T. and Anna II. Perry 
were born three children; Hattie Sims, now the wife of Hon. R. C. Briggs, resident 
of Rome, N.Y. ; Georgia Talbot, now the wife of Charles S. Button of Chittenango; 
Edward Sims, named in honor of good old Deacon .Sims whose wife was cousin of 
Mrs. Perry, and in whose family much of her childhood was spent; he died January 
31, 1864, aged four years. Mr. Perry in early life was associated in business with 
the late Alfred Bellamy in Chittenango. For over twenty years he was engaged in 
business in New York city where his abilities commanded the highest salaries. He 
was a conspicuous example of a self-made man and won the respect and friendsliip 
of a very large circle of friends. In politics he was a steadfast Republican. He 
was an active member of Strong Place Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N. Y. His death 
occurred November 15, 1865. Since then Mrs. Perry has made her home in Chit- 
tenango. 



Peet, Mrs. Mary A., p. o. Bouckville — Moses Phelps came from Charlestown, Mass.', 
about 1800, and settled on land in Madison now occupied l)y Benjamin Phelps. 
There he lived and died in 1854. His farm was small and Mr. Phelps combined 
shoemaUing with farmmg, but he died comparatively ])o()r. His children were Ruth, 
Isaac, Elias Smith, Ambrose, Angeline. Pliney, Olive, Polly Ann and Andrew J. 
Ambrose Phelps, who is remembered as one of the largest and mcjst successful farm- 
ers of the county, was born August 9, 1804. In his early farming life he was asso- 
ciated with his brother, Elias S. , but about 1830 he bought out the brother's interest 
and conducted the business alone until 1874, when he came to live in Bouckville, 
where he died February 10, 1880. His wife was Sally Edgarton, whom he married 
in 1831, and by whom he had five chddren: Benjamin E., AUaseba M., Mary A. 
(who married E. L. Peet), Anah M. and William J. Elsie M. Leonard was a daugh- 
ter by adoption of Ainbro.se Phelps and wife. Edwin L. Peet was born in Pratt's 
Hollow in 18'i3 and spent his young life in that vicinity. Edwin and his brother 
came to Bouckville and bought a lumber mill and bo.t factory owned and operated 
by Elisha Root, and engaged in an extensive and profitable business under the name 
of Peet Brothers. The firm was in business .several years, beginning about 1838, 
and a comfortable fortune rewarded their efforts Later on Edwin L. Peet retired 
and enjoyed the fruits of early industry until his death April 32, 1893. They also 
operated a large cider mill in connection with their other mill, making a choice 
brand of cider, cider brandy and cider vinegar. Mr. Peefs first wife was Angerose 
Brigham, by whom he had two children: Frank and Winifred. His second wife 
was Mary A. Phelps, whom he married March 16, 1873, Rose Mary Peet was the 
child by this marriage. 



Preston, George, was born in Seneca county, N.Y,, September?, 1841. His father, 
John Preston, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to the United States in 
1836, He married Elizabeth Swales, and through life was engaged in farming and 
milling; he died in 1880, George Preston was educated in the common schools, and 
learned the milling trade of his father. In 1863 he established a business for him- 



98 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

self in Sodus, Wayne county, N. Y. ; in 1878 he went to Belleville, Ont., in 1888 to 
Oswego, and in 1890 came to Canastota and purchased the Eagle Mills and is mak- 
ing a si)ecialty of high grade flour. In 1870 Mr. Preston married Annie E., daughter 
of Stephen G. Weaver. Mr. Preston is one of the .self-made men of Madison county, 
taking an active interest in school and church matters, and is recognized as a man of 
conservative character and sterhng integrity, who has ever advanced the best inter- 
est of his town and town's people. 



Perry, Eugene M., p. o Georgetown. — Prominent among the successful business 
men of the village of Georgetown none is more conspicuous than Eugene M. Perry. 
He is a native of Madison county, born m Georgetown, July 11, 1845, the only son of 
Charles L. and Charlotte C. (Niles) Perry. His father was born in Fabius, Onon- 
daga county, and his grandfather. John Perry, a native of New England, was one of 
the early settlers of Fabius. Charles L. , father of Eugene M., spent his boyhood on 
the farm and later learned the harness-making trade in Pompey. after which he 
carried on a business for himself in Georgetown and later in De Ruyter. He also 
kept a public house while a resident of De Ruyter. From there he removed to Ham- 
ilton and kept the Park Hotel for two years, when he returned to Georgetown and 
opened and conducted a harness shop, m which he was engaged a number of years. 
He afterward returned to De Ruyter, where he died in May, 1887, from the effects 
of a kick from a horse. He married Charlotte C. Niles, a native of Lebanon, and 
daughter of Luther and Chloe C. (Gray) Niles, who were pioneers of that town. 
They had two children: Chloe Adellah (Mrs. T. A. Wilson) of Hamilton, and Eu- 
gene M. Until nineteen years of age Eugene M. Perry lived at home, attending 
school and assisting his father in his shop. The war of the Rebellion was now in 
progress and young Eugene, animated by patriotic ardor and enthusiasm, enlisted 
in the Oneida Cavalry, his regiment being stationed for a time at City Point, Va. 
This was in August, 1864, and in the spring of 1865 they marched to Richmond, 
and thence to Washington. The following May he was honorably discharged and 
returned home. He then entered his father's shop where he worked until 1870, and 
in 1871 opened a harness-making .shop on his own account, which he successfully 
conducted until December, 1893. Having been elected sheriff of the county the 
month previous he, in January, removed to Morrisville to assume the duties of his 
office. On January 19, 1871, he married Achsah A., daughter of Edwin R., and 
Mary J. (Sherril) Niles. They have one child, a son, Harold R., born September 24, 
1882, who is now attending the Georgetown Union Free School. On January 1, 1897, 
Mr. Perry returned to Georgetown and resumed his harness business, in which he 
has since been successfully engaged. He is in the full prime of manhood, active, 
energetic and of unmistakable business ability; he is a man of genial and pleasing 
manner and the highest personal integrity. Politically he is a Republican and has 
held the office of town collector, constable, clerk and supervisor. He was a member 
of the Republican county committee three years, elected supervisor in 1892, and re- 
elected in 1893, serving on the committees on equalization, sheriff's and jailer's ac- 
counts, apportionments and loans, etc. He was a charter member of Cautious 
Lodge, No. 726; F. & A. M., and its master for two years. He is also a member of 
Carey W. Miner Post, No. 624, G. A. R. , was officer of the day for two years, after 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 99 

which he was elected to the office of senior vice-commander, after which he was 
elected to the office of commander. Mr. Perry takes an active interest in all matters 
pertaining to the advancement of education, and was one of the prime movers in the 
establishment of the Georgetown Union Free School, and has since been elected one 
of the board of trustees. Of Mr. Perry, who was born and reared in Georgetown, it 
should be further said that his record as a county and town official has always been 
of the highest character. 

Price, George H., p. o. Sheds. — New York State is probably the leading Slate in 
the Union in hop culture, and Madison, moreover, one of its most productive coun- 
ties. Prominent among the most successful hop growers of this county none is more 
conspicuous than George H. Price. He is a son of William E. and Jane (Colier) 
Price, and was born in the town of Otselic, Chenango county, N. Y., January 17, 
1856. The rudimentary education of the district school was all that he was able to 
obtain, but he made the best use of his limited opportunities and at least laid a sub- 
stantial foundation for the fund of information which he has since acquired by ex- 
perience and observation. He assisted his father in the farm work until he was mar- 
ried, when he started out for himself. He married, March 6, 1878, Anna Maxson, 
who died in October, 1881. There were born to them two children: Lena, born Feb- 
ruary 5, 1879, and Eva, born September 8, 1880. On July 3, 1883. Mr. Price married 
Rebecca, daughter of Thomas and Ann (Evans) Jones, who has borne him three 
children: Jennie A., born February 3, 1883; Nina M., born April 27, 1887; and Flor- 
ence, born February 27, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Price are members of the M. E. church. 
In politics he is a Republican, but is not an office seeker. An upright, honorable, 
conscientious man, he has the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, irrespec- 
tive of creed or party. 



Rouse, H. J., justice of the peace, was born in Cazenovia, July 31, 1856, the oldest 
son of George L. and Jane (Corwin) Rouse. He was educated at Cazenovia Semi- 
nary and for a number of years was engaged in the wholesale dry goods business in 
New York city. In 1888 he returned to Cazenovia to assist in the management of 
his father's business interests, and since the latter's death has been manager for the 
Cazenovia Coal & Lumber Co. 

Rouse, George L. , who died in Cazenovia October 5, 1889, was one of Cazenovia's 
foremost citizens and business men, a member of the old firm of Hobbie & Rouse. 
For many years he was one of the most prominent men of the village; a trustee for 
a long period of the seminary to which he gave, not only faithful service as trustee, 
but material aid in times of need; a member of the board of education for many 
years; and the representative of this district in the State Legislature for one term. 
He also held at various times village offices, but in his later years became displeased 
with the current political methods and refused to accept office of any kind. In his 
business life he was all that could be desired, and the firm of Hobbie & Rouse at- 
tained considerable success and popularity throughout the entire region. He was a 
faithful citizen, full of public spirit and possessed of qualities which endeared him to 
all. After his death the trustees of the seminary and the village paid him merited 



100 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

tributes, for his usefulness to both had been great. He was a consistent christian, 
a member of the Baptist church. Of his union with Jane Corwin three sons were 
born: H. J. and E. C. Rouse, both in business in Cazenovia, and George H. Rouse, 
(deceased). 



Rich, James W. , p. o. Peterboro, was born in Smithfield, May 35, 1849, a son of 
Reuben, and grandson of Reuben Rich, born in Connecticut, October 5, 1779, who 
came to Smithfield when a young man and there died in 1854; his wife was Lucinda 
Ford, born March 17, 1781. Mr. Rich's father, Reuben Rich, was born in Smithfield, 
November 12, 1805, and was a farmer. He married Charlotte Coeman, daughter of 
Samuel Coeman, by whom he had five children, four now living. Mr Rich died in 
August, 1883, and his wife July 4, 1862. James W. Rich was reared on a farm, was 
educated in the common schools and has been engaged in farming, hop growing and 
dairying, having a farm of 116 acres. In politics Mr. Rich is a Republican and has 
served as highway commissioner. September 19, 1877, he married Abbie. daughter 
of Monroe, and granddaughter of Giles Harrington, an early settler in Lenox. Mr. 
and Mrs. Rich had two children: Ximena L. , born November 24, 1883, and Stewart 
C, born December 13, 1886. 



Richardson, A. E., p. o. Eaton. — Lemuel Richardson was born in Keene, N. H., 
August 22, 1771, and emigrated to New York previous to the opening of the 
present century in company with his four brothers, Benjamin, Eri, Asa, and Eldad. 
They settled in Nelson and were pioneers in that town. All were young and un- 
married men and were descendants of Samuel Richardson who came to America 
from Kent, England, in 1630, in Gov. Winthrop's historic company, landing at Salem, 
Mass. , and thence removing to Charlestown. The brothers who settled in Nelson were 
five generations from the American colonizer. Lemuel and Eldad settled on the lot 
on which they ever afterward lived ; Lemuel became forehandtd and died August 7, 
1832. His wife was Cynthia Buck, and these children were born to them: Laura, 
Julia, Louisa, Mary, Lucinda, Harriet, Ira and Albert F. The latter of these chil- 
dren married Lucetta Colson and died October 13, 1856; his life was spent in Nelson. 
His only child was Albert Eugene Richardson, one of the best known citizens of 
Eaton and for many years connected with the once noted engine works of that vil- 
lage. He was born June 8, 1848, and passed his young life on a farm. His father 
died when Albert E. was eight years old, upon which the family came to Eaton and 
afterward lived in the village. Albert was educated in the union .school and also at 
Waterville Academy, after which hd was employed as clerk in a drug store and also 
worked on a farm at $4 per month. When seventeen he began work for Wood, 
Tabor & Morse at seventy-five cents per day, doing chores and boy's work about the 
shops, but his industry and aptness were rewarded by promotion through various 
grades of mechanical work until 1874, when he was made superintendent of the en- 
tire mechanical department and was an important factor in the company's success, 
having during three years become a practical and skilled engine builder and also a 
draftsman of considerable at^ility. The works were closed in 1898 and in the follow- 
ing year he was President Cleveland's appointee as postmaster at Eaton village, 
holding office until April 15, 1898, Mr. Richardson has always been a Democrat. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 101 

firm though consistent, but never intruding with his views upon unwilling listeners. 
For twenty years he was a trustee of his school district ; was one of the advocates of 
the present union school system and since its inauguration has been president of the 
board of education Both he and his family are members of the Baptist church. On 
April 5, 1871, Mr. Richardson married Emeline Ophelia, daughter of Rev. M. L. 
Bennett. They have one son, Linnwood A. Richard.son. Benjamin Richardson, the 
pioneer, married Dolly Olcott, and lived and died in Nelson. His children were Ira, 
Eri, Nelson, Benjamin, Barzilla, William, Dolly, James and Savilla. Asa, the 
pioneer, married Roxana Mor.se; their children were Roena, Cromwell, Arabella, 
Angeline, Chancellor, Jane, Roxana, Hiram, and Emeline. Eri, the pioneer, mar- 
ried Polly Brown; their children were Eri, Polly, Alvin, Edward, Eldad, Benjamin, 
Hiram, Cynthia, Miranda and John. Eldad, the pioneer, married, first, Lydia Fisk, 
and had one child.. His second wife was Happy Brown, by whom he had Ira, 
Rhoda, Levi, George and Johanna. 

Rowlands, J. W., p. o. Hamilton, was born in the town of Eaton, Madison county, 
N. Y. , a son of William O. , and Mary (Richards) Rowlands, natives of Wales, who 
came to America in June, 1843, J. W. Rowlands was educated in the district schools 
and Utica Business College. He then followed farming for ten years, after which he 
was a cattle dealer for two years, then embarking in the furniture and undertaking 
business, of which he has made a marked success. He carried on the business alone 
for a time and then in partnership with W. E. Brown for seven years. After this 
partnership was dissolved the firm of Rowlands & Beal was formed, the junior part- 
ner being George Beal. Mr. Rowlands is a member of both the Masonic fraternity 
and the order of Odd Fellows. In 1867 he married Elizabeth C. Van Heusen. 

Roberts, De Witt Clinton, p. o. Peterboro, was born on the farm where he now re- 
sides, June 3, 1842, a son of Hiram and Thankful (Humphrey) Roberts. They had 
seven children: Susanna H. (deceased); Lucretia L. (deceased), who married Cor- 
poral Stephen L. Smith, who was killed at the siege of Knoxville, Tenn. , and was a 
member of the 8th Michigan Regiment of Infantry in the war of 1861-65; George 
W. (deceased); Irving L., Jay H., Lorain A., and De Witt C. Hiram Roberts was 
a native of the town of Fenner and born on the farm where De Witt C. now lives; 
he was a son of Amasa and Keturah (Lindsey) Roberts, Their children were Jesse, 
born October 9, 1788, died June 24, 18,52; Alvory, born December 1, 1790, died Feb- 
ruary 14, 1849; Susanna, born November 3, 1793, died January 19, 1855; Alice, born 
February 6, 1795, died June 1, 1869; Amasa, jr., born December 5. 1796, died April 
2, 1849; Hiram, born August 31, 1798, died June 20, 1874; and Jared, born February 
8, 1804, died April 15, 1885. Amasa, senior, moved from Bristol, Hartford county, 
Conn., with his three oldest children and settled at Brothertown, N. Y., between 
1792 and 1795, and shortly after moved to Madison county, where he died in 1810, at 
fifty-two years of age. Alvory was in the war of 1813 and was located at Sackets 
Harbor. Jay H. enlisted in 1861 in the 13th N. Y. Regiment, but was discharged in 
a short time on account of ill health. De Witt C. Roberts was a member of the 
State National Guards. He was educated in the schools of the town of Fenner and 
Cazenovia Seminary. He was associated with his father in business until his father's 



102 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

death, when he purchased the estate from the heirs, where he now resides and fol- 
lows general farming. He has been actively interested in town and county affairs 
and has been assessor of his town three years; has always been active in promoting 
education and has been clerk of the school board for about twenty years. 



Rightmyer. Dennison R., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., 
in 1833, a son of John D., and grandson of David C. Rightmyer, a native of Scho- 
harie county, who came to Herkimer county in 1800. The family is of Holland de- 
scent and were among the first settlers of Albany. John D. was a farmer by occu- 
pation and died in Little Falls in 1861 ; his wife was Nancy Staring. Dennison R. 
Rightmyer received a limited education and at twelve years of age started in life for 
himself. He was on the canal for several years and also spent several years in New 
York city. In 1868 he located in Onondaga county and engaged in hotel work in the 
town of Manlius, at Fayetteville and Kirkville. In 187.5 he came to Munnsville and 
bought tne American Hotel which is now known as Hotel Rightmyer. Mr. Right- 
myer married Louisa Hall, who died August 34, 1898. Mr. Rightmyer is a member 
of Oneida Lodge, No. 370, F. & A. M. and Oneida Chapter R. A. M. ; also of Pros- 
perity Lodge No. 484, I. O. O. F. , being a charter member. In politics he is inde- 
pendent, but not an aspirant to office. Mr. Rightmyer's father was supervisor of 
Manheim, Herkimer county, and a justice about thirty years. His great-grand- 
father was a captain in the Revolutionary war. 



Rogers, J. F., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Chenango county, N. Y., a son of Jo- 
seph F. and Catherine (Pickett) Rogers. His grandfather, Joseph S. Rogers, was a 
native of Connecticut. Mr. Rogers was educated in the district schools and at O.x- 
ford Academy. He was reared on a farm and pursued that vocation until Decem- 
ber 1, 1884, when he located in Hamilton and entered the employ of Bartle & Beal, 
remaining with them five years. He was subsequently associated with his brother 
in the meat business for two years, and on August 1, 1893, he embarked in the bak- 
ery business. He now conducts the only bakery and ice cream parlor in Hamilton. 
Mr. Rogers is a member of the A. O. U. W. and the Select Knights. He married 
Lois M. Miner, and they have one daughter. Bertha M. 



Robbins, Herman D., son of De.xter and Hannah (Robbins) Robbins, was born 
near Durhamville. this county, November 19, 1858. His father was a native of Duns- 
table, Mass., and his grandfather was one of the earliest settlers of this region, 
whither he removed from Springfield, Mass., in 1838; he cleared part of a farm of 
sixty acres, and afterward purchased forty acres of the Hulbert farm, making his 
holdings about one hundred acres. Of the union of De-\ter Robbins and Hannah 
Robbins two children were born; Ella, who married in April, 1887, Fred Metz of 
Minoa; she died August 3, 1889, leaving one child, Eldred Robbins Metz, and the 
subject of this notice. Herman D. Robbins was educated at the Cherry street 
school in Oneida and later graduated from the Utica Business College. During his 
life he has been engaged in the occupation of farming, and now owns and occupies 
the farm purchased by his grandfather in 1838 and which has often been called the 
"banner farm" of that section. In politics he has been a consistent Democrat and 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 103 

has served in minor town offices. He married, in 1883, Martha Belle Olcott, a 
daughter of Gurdon Olcott of Durhamville. Five children have been born of this 
union' Florence Bertha, Herman Dexter, Harriet Frances, Hulbert Olcott and Sarah 
Belle. 



Reidy, John, p. o. Morrisville.^David Reidy was a native of County Kerry, Ire- 
land, and came to the United States in 1837, settling at Eaton village, where he was 
a cattle buyer for Alpheus Morse & Brother. After about five or six years he moved 
to Morrisville and was connected with the Tillinghast tannery seventeen years. 
Later on he was sexton of the village cemetery and also worked a small farm ; he 
died in the village October 19, 1882, and is remembered as an industrious, upright 
citizen. His wife was Mary Yoar of Cazenovia. Their children were John, William 
H., David S., Patrick H., Mary, Thomas F. , Catherine Y. and Alice M. John Reidy 
was born m Eaton, March 18, 1855. He was educated in the Morrisville Union 
School, after which he learned the harness maker's trade with Edward Barnard. In 
1877 he began business for himself as one of the firm of Stevenson & Reidy, but four 
years later Mr. Reidy succeeded the firm. He has since conducted the business 
with a fair degree of success and in 1895 erected the Reidy Block, the largest and 
most pretentious business building in the village. In political life Mr. Reidy has 
not been a passive factor, and while he is a member of the minority party in the 
county and town where he has been the candidate of his party for public office, he 
has invariably run ahead of his ticket. On December 9, 1893, he was appointed 
postmaster of Morrisville and served until July 1, 1898. On October 21, 1880 Mr. 
Reidy married Lilla S. , daughter of Joseph Tooke, and they have one child. 



Riddell, Mrs. E. L., p. o. Chittenango, is the widow of the late William Wallace 
Riddell, who was born and died in that village and spent most of his life there. 
Mr. Riddeli was a man of sterling worth, quiet and unassuming. His business 
was farming and he was successful in acquiring a competence and left a pleasant 
home to the companion of his mature years. While he was politically a strong 
partisan, yet to him men and measures were always more than party. In every 
way he was an honorable and respected citizen. His death occurred April 11, 
1888, at sixty-seven years of age. Mrs. Riddell was before her marriage Elizabeth L. 
Ellis, daughter of Ira and Mercy Ellis of Athol, Mass. Mrs. Ellis was the sister of 
Hon. Timothy Jenkins of Oneida Castle, N. Y. She has always resided in Chitte- 
nango since her marriage to Mr. Riddell in 1880. 



Root, Solomon, was one of the pioneers of Madison, having come from Connecti- 
cut with one Coolidge, at a very early day and made a settlement at Bouckville. He 
was also the pioneer of the hop industry in the town and in all respects an earnest, 
worthy developer. He died in the town. His children were Lyman, Hiram (who 
died in the army during the war of 1861-65), Solomon, jr., Susan (who married Henry 
Lewis), Mary (who married Rev. Mr. Peck), and Ann (who married Rev. Thomas H. 
Pearue). Solomon Root was the founder of the M. E. church in Bouckville and in 
allusion to him the first house of worship was known as " Root's Chapel." He was 
also prominent in all public affairs and one of the foremost men of the town for many 



104 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

years. Lyman Root, son of the pioneer, was an early village merchant and built 
the store now occupied by his son. He was in trade about twenty years and had 
several partners. His first wife was Miss Putnam, who bore him no children; his 
second wife was Phoebe Gernsey, by whom he had three children: Frances (now 
Mrs. A. J. Cushman), George H., and one who died in infancy. Lyman Root died 
in 1855. Ge6rge H. Root was born May 18, 18.50, and acquired his early education 
in Hamilton Union School. He obtained a mercantile education as clerk for Lane 
& Higgins, R. B. Lane and J. S. Lucas. He then spent four years in Wisconsin, re- 
turning to Madison in 1875, and in the next year formed a mercantile partnership 
with A. J. Cushman that continued until 1893, when Mr. Root became sole proprie- 
tor. He is a strong Republican, active in town and village affairs, but seeks no polit- 
ical office. He was a member of the board of education eight years and is now its 
treasurer. For many years he has been a member of the M. E. church. On Janu- 
ary 20, 1876, Mr. Root married Eda, daughter of Benjamin King of Chenango county. 
They have two sons: Charles and Walter, both students in Syracuse University. 
Justus Root, brother to Solomon, was also an early settler near Bouckville and lived 
and died in that vicinity. His wife was Sally Griswold; their children was Justus, 
jr., Aurora, Daniel, Josiah, Lucinda, Lurancy, Reuben and George, nearly all of 
whom emigrated to other localities and settled. 



Richards, Wellington R. , was born in the town of Nelson, August 7, 1855, a son of 
William and Margaret (Roberts) Richards, who had ten children as follows: Edward 
(who died in infancy); Nelson E. , Wellington R. , Edwin W., Newton D., Milton H., 
W. Lincoln, EveretB., Margaret E., and John G. Mr. Richards's grandfather, Ed- 
ward Richards, emigrated to Oneida county from Wales in 1840. William and Mar- 
garet moved from Oneida county and settled near the eastern Welsh Church about 
1854. By occupation he followed farming, and speculated in farm produce, making 
a specialty of dairy products. He was the owner of seven creameries in Madison 
county; also interested in commission business with F. W. Moore of Syracuse, and 
ran a general store at Nelson. Mr. Richards was active in town affairs, being asses- 
sor of Nelson many years. Wellington R. Richards was educated in the common 
schools of the town of Nelson and Cazenovia Seminary. He was associated with his 
father until his father's death on June 19, 1894. In 1889 he formed a co-partnership 
with his father in general merchandise business at Nelson, which continued until his 
father's death, since which time he has carried on the business alone. Mr. Richards 
is the executor of his father's estate, which consists of a large amount of property 
Mr. Richards is a member of the Welsh Congregational church, and interested in 
school and educational work. In his early life when associated with his father, he 
was his bookkeeper and head manager of his creamery business. 

Reeve, Jonas L. , was born in the town of Nelson, August 14, 1838, a son of James 
and Malinda (Lovejoy) Reeve, who had three children: Remsey, Jonas L. , and Silas 
A., all born in the town of Nelson. Mr. Reeve's early life was spent on the farm 
with his father. He was educated in the Temple school, and also attended at Morris- 
ville. When twenty-one years of age he married Maranda, daughter of Abner Love- 
joy and Maranda (Reeve) Lovejoy; they have one child, Minnie, who was educated 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 105 

at Erieville, and De Ruyter. Mr. Reeve is a farmer and builder, James was a son 
of Silas and Phoebe, who came from Long Island. Silas's father was one of three 
brothers who came from England and during the Revolutionary war were residents 
of Long Island. Silas's children were Keturah, born November 35, 1793, died May 
39, 1830; Huldah, born August 36, 1795, died September 15, 1796; James born Sep- 
tember 14, 1797, died January 4, 1856; Harriet, born November 1, 1799, died Septem- 
ber 13, 1879; Herman, born January 8, 1803, died June 1, 1848; Maria, born June 35, 
1804, died September 11, 1855; Maranda, born April 13, 1806, died November 21 1830; 
Mary, born June 12, 1808, died June 1, 1838; and Sally, born May 1, 1813, died No- 
vember 16, 1877. Silas by trade was a wheelwright and cabinet maker, which trade 
he taught his sons. He was also interested in farmmg. He was one of the early 
settlers of the town of Nelson. He was also prominent in church circles, and was a 
deacon in the Baptist church in this place a good many years, until his death, which 
occurred September 38, 1851. 

Richardson, Sidney J, , p. o. Sheds, the oldest son of Austin and Laura (Dailey) 
Richardson, was born at Whitehall, Washington county N. Y., October 11, 1833. 
His father was a native of the Green Mountain State and settled in Washington 
county in 1831. When Sidney J. was but four years of age his parents removed to 
Cattaraugus county, where his boyhood was spent in school and having acquired a 
good education at the early age of sixteen, he was engaged as a teacher, which oc- 
cupation he followed until his enlistment in Co. C, 130th N. Y. Vol. Infantry, which 
was afterward the 1st N. Y. Dragoons. He enlisted as a private in August, 1863, 
and in .September, 1863, was appointed bugler and served in that capacity until 
his discharge on June 30, 1865. At the close of the war he went to St. Louis, Mich., 
and engaged in the insurance business, where he remained for a time, then removed 
to Nebraska, and took up farming. After ten years residence in the west he returned 
to New York State and was engaged in farming in Madison county until June 15, 
1891, when he was appointed agent for the Elmira, Cortland & Northern R. R.) now 
the Lehigh Valley) at Sheds, where he has since been employed. Mr Richardson is 
also agent for the U. S. E.^press Company and manager for the Western Union 
Telegraph Company. In January, 1866, he married Sarah Van Dyke, who bore him 
one daughter, Anna (now Mrs. Edwin Harris). Mrs. Richardson died in May. 1869, 
and in July, 1873, he married Arline, daughter of George and Eliza (Lamb) Soule, 
and they had four children: Fred, L. Mae, Minnie and Francis (deceased). Mr. 
Richardson is a member of W. E. Hunt Post, No. 376, G. A. R. ,and affiliates with 
the Republican party, the principles of which he warmly advocates and supports. 



Root, Samuel, who died in Cazenovia, August 23, 1891, in the seventy-first year of 
his age, was for many years a substantial farmer and leading business man of the 
town of Cazenovia. He was born in 1820 in the town of Fenner, a son of Ed- 
ward and Hannah (Turner) Root. He was a member of an old New England 
family, representatives of which were among the first settlers of this region. His 
grandmother, Nancy Turner, was the second white woman to come to Cazenovia. 
Mr. Root was educated in the schools of Fenner and at Cazenovia Seminary. He 
was engaged in farming all his life, and also interested m other business enter- 



106 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

prises and was one of the pioneer cheese manufacturers in the county. In poli- 
tics he was a strong Republican, but could never be induced to accept public 
office. He married Miss Sarah Comstock, daughter of Zephaniah Comstock, and 
four children were born to them: Charles Z. (deceased), Anna Averill, wife of Dr. 
J. F. Clays of Binghamton, N. Y. ; Martha, and Sarah Grace (deceased). 



Roberts, Thomas R.. was born in Fenner, a son of Amasa, son of Amasa Roberts, 
a native of Connecticut, who came to Madison county at an early day and here died. 
His wife was Keturah Roberts. Amasa Roberts, jr., was born in Connecticut and 
spent his last days in Fenner, where he died in 1849. His wife was Phoebe Reynolds, 
daughter of Thomas Reynolds, who came from Connecticut to Lenox ; she died in 
1880. Thomas R. Roberts was reared on a farm and educated in the common 
schools. He is a farmer and owns the old Palmer homestead. In 1885 he married 
Amorette, davighter of George and Julia (Forte) Reynolds. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
have had four children: Julia, educated at Peterboro and Canastota, died in 1886; 
Clarence, educated in the common schools and Peterboro Academy ; Alice, educated 
in Peterboro and Canastota and died in 1889; and Nellie J., educated in Canastota, 
married in 1887, Esquire Faulkner of Fenner, and has one daughter, Lena N. Mr. 
Faulkner was educated at Cazenovia. is a farmer and Republican, and has been 
constable for several years. 



Salisbury, George W., postmaster of Cazenovia, was born m Otselic, Chenango 
county, N. Y., March 1, 1843, a son of Horace and Wealthy (Wells) Salisbury. When 
he was an infant the family removed to Nelson, near the village of Erieville, where 
he was educated, later attending the Cazenovia Seminary and Elgin Academy at 
Elgin, 111. Much of his time in early life was employed in school teaching. In 1864 
he enlisted from Elgin, 111., in Company A, 144th Illinois Volunteers, and served un- 
til honorably discharged at Camp Frye, Chicago. He was a non-commissioned 
officer, but during his service was detailed at different times to act in every company 
office. After receiving his discharge he returned to Earlville and married Mary Ann 
Wells, a daughter of Clarke Wells of that place. For a time he taught the Erieville 
school and was also engaged in farming In 1869, he, with Peter R. Duffy, bought 
the Erieville cheese factory, and conducted it until 1871, under the firm name of 
Duffy & Salisbury. In 1871 he purchased his father-in-law's farm, but rented it the 
same year and went into the insurance business, having been offered a position as 
traveling agent by C. W. Hatch of Cazenovia. Later he was employed by the insur- 
ance firm of Carpenter & Mallory for a short time, and in 1877 opened an agency of 
his own, covering Erieville and vicinity. In 1882 he began an insurance business in 
Cazenovia, which he still continues. In politics Mr. Salisbury has been a Democrat, 
and has frequently served on the Democratic county committee. He was a justice 
of the peace eight years. In 1896 he was appointed by President Cleveland post- 
master of the village of Cazenovia. He holds membership in Knowlton Post, No. 
160, G. A. R', and in Cazenovia Lodge of Masons, Chapter, Council, Commandery 
and Veiled Prophets. Of his union with Mary A. Wells two sons were born: Homer 
W. and C. Birney Salisbury. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 107 

Smith, Horace K , was born in the northern part of the town of Nelson, March 6, 
1857, a son of S. Allen and Mary Ann (Hotchkis) Smith, who had six children: Irving 
S., Esther Ann (deceased), wife of W. J. Knox ; J. Emory, Ward W., Horace Kellogg 
and Charles A., all bora on the Smith homestead. S. Allen Smith was a son of 
Aristabulus and Experience (Kellogg) Smith, who moved to the town of Nelson soon 
after they were married and settled on the old Smith homestead ; their children 
were Mary 1st, Marella, Delia, Aristabulus, Horace, Whiting, S. Allen, Mary 2d, and 
Experience. By occupation Aristabulus followed farming. S. Allen was in early life 
a Methodist minister, confining his church work to Madison and Onondaga counties; 
in the latter part of his life he followed farming. Horace K. Smith was educated in 
the common schools of the town of Nelson, in what is known as the Togg Hill dis- 
trict and in Cazenovia seminary. His early life was spent on the farm with his 
parents. When a young man he commenced teaching school, and when twenty-four 
years of age, on May 11, 1881, married Elizabeth, daughter of Merritt D. and Frances 
(Weaver) Lyon; they have two children: Mary F. and Merritt A. Soon after his 
marriage he purcha.sed the farm where he has since lived. Mr. Smith has always 
taken an active interest in town affairs, and when twenty-one years of age was elected 
inspector. In 1888 he was elected supervisor of the town of Nelson, which position 
he has held continuously to the present time, and is now chairman of the board. In 
1897 and 1898 he held a position as assistant superintendent of documents in the 
capitol at Albany, and in 1899 was a Senate door-keeper. He is a supporting and 
contributing member of the Nelson M. E. church. Merritt D. Lyon was a son of 
Ebenezer, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, enlisting from the State of 
Connecticut. Mr. Smith's wife is a member of the Daughters of the Revolution, 
Ovvahghena Chapter of Cazenovia, N. Y. 'Mr. Smith is a member of Grange Lodge 
No. 615, of Nelson, also Cazenovia A. F. & A. M. No. 616 and Mornsville I. O. O. F. 
He is a charter member of the Grange, both in the county and subordinate lodge 
and has also been president of the Patron's Fire Relief Association since its organ- 
ization. 



Stillman, Arthur J., p. o. Brookfield, the leading merchant of Brookfield, was born 
in this place February 25, 1841, a son of Ethan and grandson of Nathan Stillman, 
who came from Rhode Island to Brookfield at an early day. Ethan Stillman was 
boru in Brookfield, N. Y. , learned the trade of cabinet making and after a few years 
engaged in the tin and hardware business, from which he retired several years be- 
fore his death. Arthur J. Stillman was educated in the Brookfield academy and 
clerked in Brookfield several years, then started in business for himself, and after 
three years sold out and went to New York, working in a wholesale notion store. 
In 1869 he returned to Brookfield and engaged in the grocery business, and located 
in his present store about 1874. Mr. Stillman married Marie A. Clarke, daughter of 
R, Leroy and Angeline(Crandall) Clarke: they have one daughter, Mattie A., wife of 
Charles A. Teflft, and they also have one daughter. Vera Adell. Mr. Stillman and 
wife attend the Baptist Church. In politics he is a Republican ; was supervisor in 
1884, 1890 and 1893, and for seven years was clerk of the board of education. Mr. 
Stillman's mother was Clarissa, daughter of Eli S. Bailey, who came from Plain- 
field, Conn., to the town of Brookfield in 1808. He was a physician and Seventh 



108 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Day Baptist minister. He also owned a large farm in Brookfield and was an Aboli- 
tionist. R. Leroy Clarke was born in Brookfield, a son of Hosea B. Clarke, son of 
Capt. Samuel Clarke of Revolutionary fame. The wife of Hosea B. Clarke was 
Lura, daughter of Oliver Babcock, one of the pioneers who came from Massachu- 
setts. 

Sheldon, William P. , p. o. Hamilton, was a native of Oneida county, and a success- 
ful farmer and dealer in farm lands. In 1854 he bought and occupied a farm in 
Madison, on Howe's Hill. Ten or twelve years later he came to the Center and a 
little later located on Tyler street. His last years of life were passed in Hamilton, 
where he died. His wife was Mary A. Beebe, by whom he had ten children, six of 
whom are now living; they were Asa P.. Augusta, William P., jr., Ida, Edwin B., 
Charles (formerly a professor in Colgate and who died a few years ago), Alice, Ada, 
W. Scott (of Co. D, 9th Regt., U. S. A.) and John J. Mr. Sheldon died June 5, 1881, 
and his wife June 30, 1890. William P. Sheldon was born May 16, 1849, and has 
lived in Madison since he was four years old. He came to his present farm near 
Hamilton in 1878, and in 1886 purchased the milk route previously owned by Charles 
Osborn. In Republican politics he takes an earnest interest and has held several 
town offices. He is a member of Hamilton Lodge No. 120, F. & A. M., of Cyrus 
Chapter R. A. M., of Tuscarora Lodge I. O. O. P., and of the A. O. U. W., all of 
Hamilton. On August 9, 1870, Mr. Sheldon married Alice Hamlin. They have no 
children. 



Smith, Joseph, p. o. Munnsville, was born in Oneida, N. Y., February 17, 1845, a 
son of George and grandson of George Smith, born in England and who came to 
Oneida about 1820; his wife was Elizabeth Smith, and they had a family of five 
sons. Mr. Smith's father was a farmer, and a tailor by trade in England; his wife 
was Martha Cliff, and they had five sons and three daughters. Mrs. Smith died in 
1880. Joseph Smith was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools. 
He has made his own property and is one of the well-to-do farmers of Stockbridge, 
having 106 acres of land and a dairy of twenty-one cows; he is also engaged in hop 
raising. In politics he is independent and has b^-en assessor three years. The fam- 
ily attend the Methodist Episcopal Church and his grandfather preached some in early 
life. Mr. Smith married Emogene Spaulding, and they have had four children: 
Martha, Samuel, Fannie L. and Jo.seph. 



Scott, Loren R., p. o. Unadilla Forks, was born in Brookfield, November 24, 1846, 
a son of Giles, son of Marvin Scott, who came from New England to Brookfield at 
an early day. He had eleven brothers and sisters and several came to Brookfield, 
and the vicinity where Mr. Scott lives was known as Scott street; his wife was Julie, 
daughter of Joel Ives, one of the earlier settlers of Bridgewater. The father of 
Marvin Scott was Amos, 2d, who spent his last days in Brookfield. His father, Amos 
Scott, 1st, died in Brookfield and was buried in Bridgewater. Six children were 
born to Marvin and Julia (Ives) Scott. Giles Scott was born in Brookfield, October 
13, 1818, and here lived and died. He was one of the leading farmers of the town; 
was first a Democrat and after the organization of the Republican party joined that 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 109 

side and was once assessor and a captain of militia. His wife was Elizabeth Bab- 
cock, daughter of Martin Babcock, one of the early settlers of Bridgewater, coming 
from New England in an ox cart. They had two sons: W. I. of Bridgewater and 
Loren R. Mr. Scott died in 1892, aged seventy-four years, and his wife died in July, 
1892. Loren R. Scott was reared on a farm, educated in the common schools and 
Clinton Liberal Institute and has always been a farmer; he is one of the leading 
agriculturists in Unadilla valley and follows dairying and hop growing. He is a Re- 
publican in politics, but not an aspirant to office. November 23, 1870, Mr. Scott mar- 
ried Clara Ferris, and they have had six children; Giles F. , born November 17, 1871, 
educated in the common schools and Clinton Liberal Institute; Fred L. , born Sep- 
tember 14, 1877, educated m Clinton Liberal Institute, graduated from Fairfield Mil- 
itary Academy and enlisted in Co. D, 1st Florida Regiment in the Spanish war; 
Charles T., born July 26, 1881, at home; Earl B., born August 20, 1884, at home; 
Irving N., born April 26, 1887; and Elizabeth, born August 8, 1892. Mr. and Mrs. 
Scott are members of the Universalist Church of Bridgewater. Mrs. Scott gradu- 
ated from Clinton Institute in 1868 and followed teaching a short time. 

Snell, Morey, p. o. Valley Mills, was born in Stockbridge, April 19, 1841, a son of 
George, son of Joseph Snell, who came from Herkimer county to Stockbridge 
about 1818 and here died ; his wife was Elizabeth Snell, who also died in Stock- 
bridge George Snell was born in Herkimer county and came to Stockbridge 
when a boy. where he died at the age of thirty-six years. His wife was Betsey 
Stam, born in Herkimer county, a daughter of Joseph Stam, who came to Stock- 
bridge about 1818. Morey Snell was reared on a farm and educated m the common 
schools. He is a farmer and has 140 acres of land and follows hop growing and 
dairying. In politics he is a Democrat and has been highway commissioner for 
three years. He martied Louisa Childs of Nelson, and they have two children; 
Emory E., born in 1873, educated in the common schools and Utica Business Col- 
lege, married Lillie Parker; and EvaL., born in 1884. The family attend the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, of which Mrs. Snell is a member. 



Stafford, Henry M., was born in Fenner, August 20, 1839, a son of John, son of 
David, born in Connecticut, and was one of the pioneers of Fenner. John Stafford 
was born July 27, 1800; he married Malissa Hutchinson, and they had four sons and 
four daughters. He died April 26, 1878, and his wife July 2, 1874. Henry M. Staf- 
ford was educated in Cazenovia. He was a carpenter until 1878, when he bought 
the farm he now owns of ninety-five acres of land. He makes a specialty of onion 
raising. In politics he is a Republican, was town clerk for five years, collector one 
year, and has now held the office of assessor four years in succesbion. He is a mem- 
ber of Perryville Lodge No. 690, I. O. O. F. May 8, 1867. he married Louisa M. 
Davis of Fenner; they had three children; Eddie E., born March 13, 1868, and died 
September 25, 1869; Smith H. , born August 13, 1869, educated at Chittenango union 
free school and academy; and Fred F. , born June 24, 1874, educated in Cazenovia 
high school. Smith H. Stafford is a farmer, with a farm of fifty-five acres; he mar- 
ried, October 17, 189.5, Louisa D. Inman of Fenner, and they have one son, Louis E. 
He is a Republican in politics and a member of the A.O.U.W. Fred F. is employed 



110 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in the Cazenovia sash, door and blind factory, and is a member of Perrj'ville Lodge 
No. 690, I. O. O. F. Mrs. Henry M. Stafford died in 1877 and in 1879 Mr. Stafford 
married Alice Selleck of Lincoln, by whom he has had three sons; William S., born 
April 16, 1880; Frank J., born December 6, 1882; and Milton D., born May 2, 1889. 



The Stisser Family — Dr. John H. C. Stisser was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 
1745, and came to America in 1775, and some years afterward performed efficient 
service in the revolutionary war as a surgeon In one of the skirmishes of the 
war, he was, with two other comrades, taken prisoner. His two friends were killed, 
and only his medical ability, which he had occasion to prove, saved him from shar- 
ing their fate. For six weeks he was a prisoner, watched night and day and sub- 
jected to many indignities; but, fortunately, finding his guard very drunk one night, 
he stole away, and once again reached the camp of his friends. He came with his 
family to Madison county in 1830, and was one of the earliest settlers of this region. 
Of his children the last, Solomon Stisser, died in Orleans county in 1888, at a very 
old age. Dr. John H. C. died at the house of his son, John, on Cole Hill, at the age 
of ninety- six. His wife died in 1828 in her eightieth year. It is related that Dr. 
John Stisser had come to this country to fight with the Germans, but being captured 
at the battle of Saratoga, he took the oath of allegiance. After his marriage, and 
previous to his removal to Madison county, he settled near what is now the village 
of Amsterdam where at one time he owned about three hundred acres of land. His 
youngest son, named John Stisser, was born near Amsterdam March 21, 1801, and 
married in 1825, at Lenox Furnace, Delilah Buyea of Lenox. He rented a little log 
house on Cole Hill and engaged in the business of burning coal for the furnace com- 
pany ; his earlier years were full of toil and privation, but by thrift and industry he ac- 
quired a competency and one time was the owner of 800 acres of land in this vicinity. 
He became a man of prominence, and held various positions of public trust, serving 
as road commissioner three terms of three years each, and as assessor nine years; he 
was also the founder of what is still called the Stisser school district. He removed 
to the farm where his son John Stisser now resides in 1852, and built the house there 
where he resided until his death which occurred April 7, 1881, at the age of eighty. 
His wife died July 20, 1885, in the eighty-second year of her age. Of their children, 
only three are now living: Maria, wife of John Davis, who is a farmer in the town of 
Oneida; John, who resides on the old homestead; and Augustus, who resides on his 
farm near Wampsville. Augustus, the oldest living son, has been a resident farmer 
in Wampsville, over a quarter of a century. He was born on Cole Hill in 1826, and 
reared on a farm, early learning to help in the farm work, and receiving a good edu- 
cation in the district school. He remained with his parents until his marriage. Jan- 
uary 12, 1S53, to Miss Asenath Clement of Stockbridge, this county, a daughter of 
Lewis and Dorothea (Vedder) Clement. Lewis Clement was a farmer in Stock- 
bridge where he died in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and his wife six years later, 
in 1884. at the age of eighty-one. Mr. and Mrs. Stisser have seven children, namely: 
Charles A , of Tacoma; Lewis J., who resides at home; Ellen M., wife of Franklin 
Pine, a farmer in Oneida county; Albert E., who resides at home; Andrew J., a 
farmer in the town of Lenox; William H., who resides at home; Adelia wife of 
Robert Tuft, a farmer in this town. Mr. Stisser has been in politics a consistent 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. Ill 

Democrat, but has never sought or held public office. He is large farmer, and owns 
several farms in this vicinity; he has made a specialty of stock raising and dairying. 
He is well known throughout the county, and as a citizen is highly respected and es- 
teemed. John Stisser was born on Cole Hill September 12, 1835, and obtained his 
education in the old Stisser school district, later attending the polytechnic school at 
Chittenango. After leaving this institution he remained on the home farm two 
years, and then went west, locating finally in Milwaukee, Wis., where he was em- 
ployed as a traveling agent by a wholesale dry goods firm. He returned east in 
March, 1864, soon afterward married and has ever since resided on the home farm. 
By virtue of his long residence Mr. Stisser is well known in this vicinity and through- 
out Madison county. He is a Democrat in politics but has never held public office. 
He is a member of Oneida Lodge, No. 370. F. & A. M. ; Doric Chapter, No. 196, R. 
A M. ; and of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows. He married in 1864, Minerva P. 
Gridley, a daughter of Warren Gridley, of Clinton, N. Y. Two children have been 
born to them : Delia Orila, who married Frank E. Conley of Utica, and has one 
daughter, Mildred; and Warren J., who married Lena, daughter of D. L. Davis of 
Munnsville, and has three sons: Clarence, Wesley, and Frank. Warren J. Stisser 
conducts the home farm. 



Stewart, John G,, who died at his farm on Fairview street near the village of 
Oneida, April 13, 1897, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, was a native and lifelong 
resident of Madison county. He was born near the village of Peterboro and all his 
life was engaged in farming. His father, George .Stewart, was a native of Scotland, 
and undoubtedly a descendant of the noble Scottish family of Stuart. He came to 
this country in early life and located near Peterboro, where he was one of the earli- 
est settlers. Here he bought and cleared a farm, and became a man of considerable 
prominence in his time, frequently holding positions of public trust. Some sixty 
years ago he removed from Peterboro to the present Stewart farm which he bought 
and cleared, John G. Stewart was educated in the district schools of the vicinity and, 
as above stated, never engaged in any other occupation but farming in which he was 
very successful. He was well known throughout Madison county and gained an en- 
viable reputation as a man of the strictest integrity, dying honored and respected by 
all who had known him. He married in 1864, Eleanor Butterfield, daughter of 
Samuel Butterfield of Oneida county, and two children were born to them: George 
Lester, and Elizabeth M. George Lester Stewart was born on the home farm Octo- 
ber 7, 1805, and was educated at the Rome deaf mute institution. He has, like his 
father, always been engaged in farming, and now conduct the home farm. Mr. Stew- 
art married October 7, 1896, Hester J. Roraback, whose home was in Brockport, 
N. Y. Two daughters have been born to them, Edith Amy, and Elizabeth H. 
Stewart. 



Sherman, William C, who died in Cazenovia, September 25, 1898, in the seventieth 
year of his age, was one of the prominent citizens of that village, and a man well 
known and respected throughout the whole county. He was born December 15, 
1828, in a house but a few rods from the one where he died, spending the early and 
later days of his life on the same farm. Mr. Sherman was typical of the solid, sub- 



112 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

stantial, intelligent farming community in which he lived. He was conscientious to 
the last degree, a good business man, and possessed of unerring good judgment and 
executive ability. For twenty-four years he served his town in some office within the 
gift of the people. For eight successive years he was supervisor and during all that 
time he enjoyed to the fullest e.Ktent the confidence of his townsmen and the esteem 
of his fellow members of the board. It was a matter of sincere regret when on ac- 
count of impaired health he declined to serve the town longer. There was no resi- 
dent of the town of Cazenovia who had more friends, or who was more highly and 
universally esteemed than Mr. Sherman. He lived his entire life in the community 
and no one can point to a single act not compatible with the life of a Christian man. 
In 1860 Mr. Sherman married Miss Maria Goodrich, who survives him. 



Stone, John E., .son of Erasmus and Helen Ten Eyck (Schuyler) Stone, was born 
in Salina, Onondaga county, N. Y., November 16, 1833. His father was in early life 
a contractor, and later a merchant in Syracuse; he moved his family to Oneida in 
1840, and kept the Railroad House until 1844. Subsequently he established himself 
in the drug and grocery trade in Oneida, and also was extensively engaged in sup- 
plying wood to the New York Central railroad company. He established the post- 
office in Oneida and was the first postmaster; he also served as justice of the peace, 
and was a man of importance in his time. He died in November, 1878, in the 
seventy-ninth year of his age. John E. Stone was educated in the public schools, 
and at the old Oneida Academy. When twenty years old he engaged in the business 
of supplying the Central railroad with wood for engines, and ties, an enterprise in 
which he continued successfully seven years, supplying partially the stations at Chit- 
tenango, Canaseraga and Oneida. Following this period he was for two years en- 
gaged in the manufacture of lumber in the northern part of Madison county where 
he had acquired considerable woodland. Mr. Stone had a large amount of real 
estate m the county, and his deals in real estate have been extensive. He purchased 
the block on Madison street where his store is now located in 1865, and the following 
year began the dry goods business which he has ever since continued. By the ad- 
mission of his son, Willard E. Stone, in 1889, the firm name took its present form of 
John E. Stone & Co. Mr. Stone is one of the oldest business men in the village, and 
a valued citizen. He has avoided all public office, having given all his time and at- 
tention to the development of his business. In 1860 he married Henrietta F. Har- 
den, and three children have been born to them: WiUard E. , Charles M., and Mrs. 
W. G. Hill. 



Sawyer, Ambrose E., was born in Watertown, Jefferson county, N. Y. . August 16, 
1838, a son of Rev. Elisha Sawyer, a Baptist clergyman, and Clarissa (Baker) Saw- 
yer. He was educated in the public schools and at the Parma Institute, Parma, N. 
Y. For some years he followed the profession of teaching, and subsequently became 
engaged in business in both eastern and western New York. He served two years 
in the 13th N. Y. Volunteers during the Civil war; was taken sick in Virginia and 
sent to the hospital where he suffered a severe attack of typhoid fever. In 1875 he 
was elected school commissioner of Jefferson county, which office he held six years. 
In 1879 he formed one of a syndicate of five in purchasing Round Island in the St. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 113 

Lawrence River and in forming what is known as Round Island Park. This com- 
pany was incorporated with a capital stock of $50,000, and Mr. Sawyer became its 
secretary, continuing until 1888, when he, with his associates, sold their holdings to 
New York capitalists. With L. V. Rathbun, he purchased the Oneida flouring mills 
in 1888. The mill was then in poor condition, the equipment being antiquated and 
practically useless. They at once introduced the most modern machinery and made 
other improvements in the property, with the result that this plant is now one of the 
most perfect in Central New York, and the business one of the important enterprises 
of Madison county. In March, 1893, the Rathbun-Sawyer Company was incorpor- 
ated with a capital stock of $50,000. Mr. Sawyer serves as vice-president, treasurer, 
and local manager, giving his entire time to the business. Mr. Sawyer is well known 
to the business community as a man of ability and integrity. He has been for many 
years an official member of the Baptist church, and is a member of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. He married Frances E. Cox. of Byron, Genesee county, and two 
children were born to them. Both his wife and children are now deceased. In the 
spring of 1899, he married Miss Alice Lincoln Decker, daughter of A. L. Decker of 
Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Scheifele, George L., was born in Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., February 1, 1865, 
son of John and Elizabeth (Uhl) Scheifele. His parents, who were both natives of 
Germany, came to this country in the early fifties and settled first in Oneida, thence 
removing to the town of Verona. Mr. Scheifele was educated in the Oneida public 
schools, and for a period of three years was employed as clerk in the grocery store of 
Douglass & Cowles. In the fall of 1887 he began the grocery business for himself, 
forming a partnership with Adam Neir under the firm name of Neir & Scheifele 
which continued about eighteen months. Mr. Scheifele then sold his interest and 
associated in a similar business with F. B. Petrie, (Scheifele & Petrie). Mr. Petrie 
retired from this firm in 1894, and since that time Mr. Scheifele has continued the 
business alone. He has been at his present location eleven years. Mr. Scheifele 
has served two years as village trustee. 1896-97; he is a member of the K. O. T. M. 
and of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows. He married. October 14, 1893, Mary E. 
Wilbur, daughter of Samuel Wilbur of Fenner. Of this union are two children : 
Mildred and Harry. 

Scott, Henry, son of Samuel and Rosina Scott, was born in Cazenovia, June 25, 
1828. His father came from Ireland when a young man and worked for John Linck- 
laen until he bought a farm in the town of Nelson, where he lived one summer, then 
bought the farm on which Henry now lives, and died there May 15, 1876. His chil- 
dren were Willis, Helen, John, Charles, Walter, and Cyrus (deceased), Henry, Jona- 
than, Lucinda of Cazenovia and Andrew of Minnesota. Henry Scott was educated 
in the district schools and has always followed farming, having a farm of 130 acres 
three miles south of Cazenovia village on which he was born. In politics Mr. Scott 
is a Democrat and well known in this vicinity as a man of strict integrity. On Sep- 
tember 19, 1871, he married Polexina Slocum, who died March 6, 1897. 



Stebbins, John, son of Hon. Charles and Eunice (Masters) Stebbins, was born in 



114 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Cazenovia, October 20, 1825, and resided there all his life. He was a lineal descend- 
ant of Rowland Stebbins, who came from Ipswich, England, in 1634, and .settled in 
Springfield, Mass., later removing to Northampton. The family, it will thus be seen, 
were of old Puritan stock ; many representatives were prominent in the earlier Indian 
wars and in the wars of the Revolution and of 1813. John Stebbins's father was one 
of the earlier residents of this vicinity, whither he had removed from Massachusetts m 
1810. He entered the law office of Hon. Perry G. Childs and was admitted to the 
bar in 1813. On the maternal side John Stebbins came of remote English ancestry. 
His maternal grandfather, Hon Josiah Masters, was a prominent citizen of Schaghti- 
coke, Rensselaer county, and held several positions of public trust, serving as county 
judge, member of assembly, and congressman. Mr. Stebbins was educated in his 
native town and at the Bartlett collegiate institution, Poughkeepsie. For many 
years he engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods and also gave some attention 
to farming. He was for a time president and superintendent of the Chittenango 
Turnpike Company and later superintendent of the Cazenovia and Canastota rail- 
road. He was for a number of terms a trustee and also president of the village of 
Cazenovia; served the town as supervisor in 1858, 1859. 1882, and 1883 and from 
1878 to 1881, and from 1884 to 1890 was assistant State superintendent of public 
works, having under his direct supervision the middle division of the Erie Canal ex- 
tending from the west side of Oneida county to Wayne county, and including the 
Oswego, Cayuga, Seneca, and Black River Canals. Mr. Stebbins married, in 1860, 
Katharine Fairchild, daughter of Sidney T. Fairchild, and they had two daughters; 
Katharine, wife of J. H. Ten Eyck Burr, and Helen Lucy, wife of Arthur W. Ken- 
nard of Boston, Mass. Mr. Stebbins died at Boston, Mass., April 29, 1892, in the 
sixty-seventh year of his age. 



Fairchild, Sidney T. , who died in Cazenovia, February 16, 1889, in the eighty-first 
year of his age, was for many years a leading member of the New York bar. He 
was born in Norwich, Chenango county, N. Y., November 15, 1808, a son of John F. 
and Flavia (Merrill) Fairchild. He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and at 
Hamilton and Union Colleges, graduating from the latter in 1839. He began his 
legal work with Childs & Stebbins of Cazenovia, and later studied under Joshua A. 
Spencer at Utica, where he was admitted to the bar in 1831, and began practice in 
association with E. P. Hurlbut. In 1835 he returned to Cazenovia and formed a law 
partnership with Charles Stebbins. Both gained a reputation as corporation lawyers 
and in 1858 Mr. Fairchild became general attorney of the New York Central railroad 
company, having his office at Albany. He was also a director, secretary and treas- 
urer of the Third Great Western Turnpike Company. During the last twenty-five 
years of its existence he was a director of the Madison County Bank, trustee for 
many years of the Union Trust Company of New York, and president for a time of 
the Cazenovia and Canastota railroad company. Mr. Fairchild's politics were Dem- 
ocratic, and he was a valued worker in the party, the friend and adviser of Cleve- 
land, Cassidy, Hoffman, Richmond, Seymour, and Tilden. Notwithstanding all of 
this he never sought political preferment and never held a public oflice except that 
of clerk and president of his village. In this brief notice we could not give adequate 
mention of his personal character. He was a man of modest and unassuming tastes 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 115 

and without a spark of personal vanity. It is enough to say that he is remembered 
in Cazenovia as a man of absolute integrity and justice. Mr. Fairchild married, in 
1834, Helen Childs, second daughter of Hon. Perry G. Childs. Three children were 
born to them: Katharine, who married John Stebbins of Cazenovia; Charles S., late 
secretary of the United States treasury ; and Sophia, who married Rev. T. G. Jack- 
son. 



Shute, George S., was born in Chittenango, February 24, 1842, a son of Stephen 
and Caroline (Parmlee) Shute. The family is of New England stock, Stephen Shute, 
having been a native of Bridgeport, Madison county, where several generations of 
the family lived and died. At the time of his death Stephen Shute, a cultured and 
earnest educator, was an instructor in Cazenovia Seminary. On the maternal side 
Mr. Shute descends from Moses Parmlee, remembered as one of the leading business 
men of his time in this region and Chittenango. Mr. Shute was educated at the 
Chittenango polytechnic institute and Cazenovia district schools. In 1859 he com- 
menced to drive the stage from Cazenovia to the New York Central railroad at 
Chittenango, a distance of twelve miles. Three stages made this trip daily, the first 
mail leaving Cazenovia at 5:30 A. M., and the last arriving at 8:00 p. m. This line 
was owned by Keller & Hubbard and he drove a stage on it until the latter part of 
1860, when he went on the line from Cazenovia to Syracuse, where he remained until 
1865, H. J. Mowry proprietor. He then drove a stage to Chittenango until the rail- 
road was built, and then went into the employ of O. W. Sage, for whom he worked 
several years. November 18, 1876, Mr. Shute established his present stage line and 
baggage transfer in Cazenovia village, and has now conducted it for a period of over 
twenty- two years. By virtue of his life-long employment-in this vocation he has be- 
come well known to both residents of and visitors to Cazenovia, and has many 
friends. He married Harriet Rogers, a daughter of John Rogers, and a member of 
a family of early settlers near Chittenango. Four sons and one daughter have been 
born to them. He still has one of the old fashioned Concord coaches in his posses- 
sion such as were used in the early days. 



Sheldon, E. B., p. o. Hamilton, was born near Madison village, Madison county, 
N. Y., December 18, 1855, a son of William F., and Adeline (Beebe) Sheldon, and 
has lived in Hamilton since his boyhood. He was educated here and afterwards 
spent four years in the west. Returning to Hamilton at the age of twenty-one 
years, he embarked in the grocery business, which he has since successfully con- 
ducted and has to-day the leading grocery establishment in Hamilton and vicinity. 
He is also builder and owner of the fine opera block, which he erected after the fire 
of 1895. Mr. Sheldon is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Odd Fellows, 
and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is one of the progressive, enter- 
prising men to whom Hamilton owes its beauty and prosperity. He married Katie 
Piotrow, of Hamilton, and they have two children: Frederica and Victor. 



Smith, Adon N., p. o. Hamilton, one of the enterprising business men of Hamil- 
ton, was born in that village and educated in the public schools of that place and 
New York. He began the active business of life as a clerk, in which capacity hp 



116 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

passed seven years, when he embarked in the grocery business in V. milton and con- 
ducted it three years. He then ran a mill and feed business seven years, when he 
established his pre.sent hardware hou.se, the leading one in Hamilton. Mr. Smith 
has long been an important factor in the business and public life of Hamilton. He 
was trustee of the village eight years and has been president of the school board 
nine years. He is also vice-president of the National Hamilton Bank and has occu- 
pied that position since 1892. He is a prominent Mason, a member of the Blue 
Lodge, Chapter, Council, Norwich Commandery, Knights Templar, Ziyara Temple, 
Mystic Shrine and Veiled Prophets. Mr. Smith married Ella J.Tompkins; their 
children are Adon, Philip T., Alice L, Herbert L, and Le Roy F. Mr. Smith's par- 
ents were J. D. F. and Martha (Snow) Smith. His grandmother was a daughter of 
Rufus King, whose name is familiar in connection with both the Revolutionary war 
and King Philip's war. 



Southworth, O. W., p. o. Brookfield, N. Y. , was born in Otsego county, N. Y., 
July 28, 1843, a son of Horace Southworth. He obtained his education in Leonards- 
ville, N. Y. His chief occupation has been the manufacture of revolving horserakes. 
He resides on a farm of forty acres near the village of Brookfield; he also owns a 
farm of 175 acres, on which perhaps is the best barn in the town ; he is also engaged 
in the sale of wall paper. He is a Prohibitionist, and firm in his advocacy of tem- 
perance principles. On July 2, 1882, Mr. Southworth was married to Bertha Hill ; 
they have had three children: Wallace H., born September 22 1883; Wiot C. , born 
August 33, 1885, died in 1895; and Eva May, born December 20, 1894. Mrs. South- 
worth is a member of the M. E. church, which the members of the family attend. 



Stanbro, William, p. o Brookfield, N. Y., was born in that place, July 24, 1865. 
He is a grandson of Peleg Stanbro (born m Stonington, Conn., March 28, 1790,) who 
came to Brookfield when a young man, was married to Rhoda Collins, a native of 
Rhode Island (born August 19, 1798, died December 21, 1849), and lived in Brook- 
field till his death. March 2, 1888. William Stanboro, son of Peleg and father of 
William, the subject of this sketch, was born in Brookfield, October 15, 1829. He 
was one of the leading farmers of the town, cultivating 416 acres of land. He was a 
prominent member of the Republican party in his town, serving as assessor twelve 
years, supervisor seven years, justice of the peace four years, and many years on the 
Republican county committee. He was a member of Brookfield Lodge No. 632, I. O. 
O. F. In 1852 he was married to Phoebe, daughter of Hoxie Collins, who bore him 
six children: Elmer, J. Duane, and Jennie, (all deceased,) William, Frank, and Jay 
(deceased). Mrs. Stanbro died in 1872, and he was married to Esther Palmiter; he 
died June 16, 1898. William Stanbro, jr., was educated m Brookfield union school, 
taught school four winters, was a cheese maker three seasons, and is now engaged 
in farming, living on the homestead and keeping about fifty head of cattle. He is a 
Republican, has represented his town in county conventions and at present is a jus- 
tice of the peace. In 1886 he was married to Maud Poppleton of Brookfield; of their 
union there are are three children, Leon E., Jennie E. and William Hallard. 



Southworth, Oscar L., M. D., p. o. Leonardsville, N. Y., was born at Edmeston, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 117 

Otsego county, > Y., July 21. 1839, a son of Horace and Sophronia (Crumb) South- 
worth. He is a representative of the fifth generation from the original Southworths 
who emigrated from England to Plymouth, Mass., in 1628. Joseph Southworth. 
grandfather of the Doctor, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. and died in Ed- 
meston. Horace Southworth, father of the Doctor, was born April 30, 1809. He 
was a prominent temperance man, a Wliig, and later an Abolitionist ; was a Captain 
in the Militia; and cast his first Presidential vote for William Henry Harrison. He 
was an excellent mechanic, and was engaged in the extensive manufacture and sale 
of farming implements. He was married to Sophronia, daughter of Joseph Crumb, 
one of the first settlers of Plainfield, N. Y. Their children were Horace, jr., Lucy 
A. (both deceased), Susan L., Oscar Lemuel, and Orville W. Dr. O. L. Southworth 
received his primary education at South Trenton Academy, after which he worked 
on a farm for his father one year and was engaged as clerk in a store at Leonards- 
ville for several years, paying over the principal part of his wages for that time for 
the support of his parents. At the age of twenty-three he began the study of medi- 
cine with D. Chauncey Perkins, of Columbus, N. Y. ; and in 1866 was graduated from 
the Philadelphia University of Medicine and Surgery, since which time he has been in 
active practice at Leonardsville, and has been eminently successful. In 1867 he be- 
came a member of the Eclectic Medical Society and later served as its vice-president. 
He is a Mason, a Republican, is president of the Board of Education of Leonardsville 
Union School, and served as Supervisor of Plainfield, Otsego county, in 1885 and 1886. 
October 2, 1862, Dr. .Southworth was married to Isiphire J., daughter of Dr. Chaun- 
cey Perkins. They have one son, Horace C, who. after graduating from Leonards- 
ville School, entered the Medical Department of the University New York City ; at the 
end of two years failing health compelled him to forego his studies, but after recover- 
ing his health, resumed his studies, and graduated at the Medical Department of the 
University of Chicago. He is also a registered pharmacist, of admitted ability, and a 
member of the N. Y. State Pharmaceutical Association. At present he is meeting 
with success in the manufacture and sale of Dr. Southworth's Remedies, and in 
treating cases by correspondence. He was married to Maud Burdick, and they have 
one daughter, Mertie Lee. 



Stoddard, S. J., p. o. Merrillsville, was born in Lenox, Madison county, October 
30, 1847, a son of Preston M., and grandson of Mitchell Stoddard, a native of Eng- 
land, born June 80, 1792. Preston M. Stoddard was born in Madison county. May 1, 
1815. He was a carpenter by trade, and a farmer. He married Diantha Strong, 
born May 16, 1820, in Connecticut, a daughter of Alexander Strong, mentioned in 
this work. Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard had twelve children: Anna L. , born January 1, 
1843, died September 25, 1851; Mitchell P., born December 25, 1844, died April 7, 
1899; Thaddeus A., born February 25, 1846, was a soldier in the Civil war; Schuyler 
J. (as above); William D., born February 12, 1849, died November 1, 1874; Albert 
W., born May 1, 1850; Emma L., born October 3, 1851, married E. O. Moore of Sid- 
ney; Alviu. born August 1, 1853. died in infancy; Clara A,, born March 23, 1855, 
died July 12, 1872; Joseph D., born September 23, 1856; Edward, born June 28, 1858; 
and Hattie M. , born March 8, 1860, wife of De Forest Rutman of Syracuse. Mr. 
Stoddard died February 24, 1875, and his wife October 29, 1888. Schuyler J. Stod- 



118 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

dard was educated in the common schools and is a farmer. He owns 146 acres where 
he lives and forty-four in the town of Oneida. December 23, 1874, he married Ellen 
A., daughter of Emerson Stone. Mrs. Stoddard was educated in Oneida Seminary 
and taught for four years ; she is a writer for the Oneida Union. They had three 
children: Nora D., born March 23. 1876, educated at Peterboro Academy, and taught 
school five years, and on December 22, 1898, married Frank Moon; Grove S., born 
October 27, 1878, at home; and Harry D., born May 11, 1882. Mr. Stoddard is an 
ardent Democrat and has been as.sessor of Lincoln one year, being one of the first 
of the town, and was highway commissioner one term. Mrs. Stoddard's grandfather, 
Joseph Stone, came from Hadley, Mass., and was one of the pioneers of the town 
of Lincoln. He married Wealthy Bennett and they had six children, of whom four 
are now living. Both were members of the M. E. church and spent their last days 
in Lincoln. Emerson Stone was born in Lincoln, and carried on farming; at the 
time of his death he was owner of 266 acres of land, having accumulated his own 
property. In politics he was a Republican. In 1846 he married Diana Ward, born 
in Massachusetts, a daughter of Haden and Chloe (Ward), natives of Massachusetts, 
and who were early settlers of Lincoln. He was a leader in the M E. church for 
many years. Emerson Stone and wife had four children: Edwin, born in Novem- 
ber, 1847, died in infancy; Dwight, born November 26, 1849; Ellen, born March 22, 
1853; and Elnora, born November 17, 1857, and died at the age of ten. Mr. Stone 
died May 21, 1891, and his wife December 10. 1883. 

Sabine, A. M.. p. o. West Eaton. — Ethan Sabine was one of the early settlers in 
Lebanon, to which town he came from the East. He was a farmer and worthy citi- 
zen ; he died in 1830. His children were Phoebe, Ezra, Chester, Stephen and Alonzo 
Sabine. Ezra was born January 4, 1806, and died July 17, 1871. His wife was 
Harriet Wadsworth, by whom he had seven children: Henry E. , Sullivan. Austin 
M., Harriet E.. Phoebe C. Caroline A., and Ann O. Sabine, all of whom except one 
grew to maturity and raised families, but of whom only Austin M. lives in this 
county. He was born in Lebanon, July 10, 1833, and came to live in Eaton in 1854. 
In 1859 he bought the Miles farm of eighty acres on which he has since lived. On 
April 6, 1856, he married Elgirtha Wilcox, by whom he has four children living: 
George W.. Lena M., Gertie E.. and Austin M. Sabine, jr. George W. married Cora 
M. Suits; Lena M. married George Sternberg; Gertie E. married Frank E. Tooker. 
Isaiah Wilcox, one of the early settlers in this region, was born in Rhode Island. He 
married Amanda Darrow and in 1853 settled in Eaton where both afterward lived 
and died. Their children were Ethel B., Morris, Elgirtha, Lester H., and Mary F. 



Stebbins, H. L., p. o. Hamilton.— Gilbert Stebbins was born in Wilbraham, Mass., 
March 11. 1769, and was one of the pioneers in Madison, as the history of that town 
shows, though the exact year of his settlement is not now recalled. He had two 
children: Betsey and William. The latter married Nancy Murdock ; their children 
were Rufus L., Betsey H.. William E.. Nelson G., and Hamilton M. Rufus Stebbins 
married Sarah M. Woodard, July 11, 1837, and both spent their early married life on 
the old Stebbins home farm. Later on they removed to Hamilton, where Mr. Steb- 
bins was a cabinet maker and undertaker, as well as farmer. He died December 18, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 119 

1891, and is remembered as being a generous and public spirited man; a prominent 
Mason and worthy citizen His only child was Horace L. Stebbins, born May 28, 
1850, a prosperous farmer in Eaton. His wife was Ella C. Ackley, by whom he has 
two children: William A., and Alice M. 



Sherman, William C. , p. o. West Eaton. — Knowles Sherman was born in New Leb- 
anon, Columbia county, and about, or soon after 1830 settled in Nelson, west of Erie- 
ville. He was then a young man and well equipped with determination to open and 
develop a new farm. In this he was successful, but died when only thirty-seven 
years old. His wife was Amanda, daughter of Cyrus Finney of Eaton. Their chil- 
dren were William C, Elias, Seth, Henry G., Eunice, and one other who died in 
infancy. After the death of Mr. Sherman his widow remarried and went west and 
ihe only member of this old and respected family now living in this county is Wil- 
liam C. Sherman of West Eaton. He was born in Nelson, September 7, 1824, and 
has always been a farmer. At the age of twenty-three he went to Chenango county 
and began his life work there. On January 12, 1848, he married Amanda Leonard, 
daughter of Abial Leonard of Lebanon. Of this marriage two children have been 
born: Theresa, who married Edwin Stanton, and Addie, who married Clarence 
Brown. Mr. Sherman began life with small means and by industry and frugality 
gained a comfortable property. In Eaton he is a highly respected and worthy citi- 
zen. Abial Leonard came to this county from Mayfield, N. Y., in 1836, and worked 
in several places before settling in Georgetown. He later on lived at Lebanon Cen- 
ter and died there about ten years ago. He was a blacksmith by trade and an hon- 
est industrious man. By his first marriage he had one son, Joseph ; his second wife 
was Lois Hall, by whom his children were Amanda (Mrs. William C. Sherman), Ade- 
line (Mrs. William Morris). Oresta (Mrs. Elias Sherman), Emeline (Mrs. Russell 
Sherman), and Mary (Mrs. Devillo Robinson, and later Mrs. Sidney Dart). 



Stafford, Norman, was born in the town of Fenner, February 10, 1840. His father, 
Joseph Stafford, jr., was also born in the town of Fenner, where his father, Joseph 
Stafford, settled in 1815. Joseph Stafford, jr., married Cornelia, daughtgr of Ste- 
phen Hill, and through life was engaged in farming; he died in 1846. Norman 
Stafford was educated in Peterboro and Cazenovia, entering into partnership with 
his father and brother in farming and dealing in stock. In 1873 he formed a part- 
nership with W. H. Patten for the manufacture of horse rakes at Clockville, having 
an output of 300 rakes and employing ten men in that year, and in 1898 an output 
of 8,000 and employing 100 men, the firm now being located in Oneida, where their 
business is one of the leading industries of Madison county. In 1873 Mr. Stafford 
married Nettie, daughter of William Smith, who died in 1878; later he married Jen- 
nie, daughter of George Bull. Mr. Stafford is one of the progressive men of Madison 
county, taking an intelligent interest in educational and religious institutions. He 
was a member of the board of education for nine years, of the water board eight 
years, president of the village in 1898 and 1899 and vice-president of the State Bank. 



Sadler, George S., was born in Ingham Mills, August 31, 1845. His father. Samuel 
Sadler, was a native of England and came to the United States, settling in the town 



130 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of Elmira with his parents. Later he moved to Herkimer and in 1844 purchased 
Ingham Mills and was one of the pioneer millers of the Mohawk valley. He mar- 
ried Lavinia, daughter of John F. Bellinger. George S. Sadler was educated in the 
common schools and the Little Falls Academy. In 1873 he became interested in 
railroad building and was engaged with the Lehigh Valley road for twenty-hve 
years. In 1868 Mr. Sadler married Melissa C, daughter of Ephraim Glaus. Mr. 
Sadler was one of the progressive business men of Madison county, serving as pres- 
ident of the village, water commissioner eight years and was elected supervisor in 
1898. 



Stroud. Hon. R. W. , was born at Canastota, town of Lenox, Madison county, N. Y. , 
February 13, 1842, where his father and grandfather were early settlers. He was 
educated in Canastota and McGrawville, and was prepared for civil engineer under 
the personal supervision of Hon. John B. Jervis, an eminent and widely known 
member of the profession, whom he succeeded as chief engineer of the Canastota 
and Cazenovia Railroad. Two years before the completion of the Chenango Valley 
road he accepted the position of chief engineer, and in 1872 was nominated and 
elected canal commissioner. In 1872 he married Ella, daughter of Gen. B. F. Bruce. 
He died in Syracuse December 2, 1875. Mr. Stroud's strong individuality, and en- 
ergy, with superior judgment, were characteristics which contributed largely to the 
rare qualifications which made his comparatively young life unusually successful. 
His acquaintance was broad especially among public men and his genial nature and 
fidelity to friends made him universally popular. 



Bikes, John H., p. o. Canastota, was born in Waterville, Oneida county, N. Y., Oc- 
tober 26, 1801, a son of Daniel and grandson of Judge Reuben Sikes of Somers. 
Conn. ; his brother, J. Warren Sikes, started the first stage in the United States. 
Daniel Sikes was born in Somers, Conn., removed to Waterville Oneida county, 
and in 1811 to Lenox, where he lived and died. John H. Sikes came to Lenox when 
ten years old and died there March 25, 1889; his wife was Ruth Darby of Tolland, 
Conn. Mr. Sikes was a farmer and brick maker; he and his wife had three chil- 
dren: Reuben C. of Stockbridge; Ellen L., wife of Merton Smith of Syracuse, and 
Nancy L., wife of McCleary Lockhart who was born in Albany county. May 31, 1840, 
a son of WiUiam and Sarah (McCleary) Lockhart, and came to Madison county in 
1843, and later to Lenox, where he died in 1886, and his wife May 16, 1877. To Mr. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart were born three children; Ella R., Ernest W. , and Louis M. 



Stephens, Albert G., was born in Durhamville. December 6, 1844. His father, 
Dewitt C. Stephens, was born in Stephensville, Albany county, in 1810, which town 
was named after Archibald Stephens. Dewitt C. married Sarah, daughter of 
Thomas Conkling. He came to Durhamville in 1826. where he built the glass 
works, a twenty-five mile section on the Erie Railroad, and a section of the Erie 
Canal, through the Montezenma marshes. He was member of Assembly and 
supervisor of his town. In 1865 he moved to Oneida, where he died in 1889. Albert 
G. Stephens was educated in Cazenovia Seminary, and entered upon the glass 
trade in Constantia, taking charge of the works and purchasing one-half of the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 121 

plant, which he operated until 1876. In 1877, with his brother Clinton he purchased 
his father's property of 700 acres. In 1870 he married Mary A., daughter of John 
R. Mitchell; their children are Dewitt C. , Mrs. D. G. Chrisnjan, and Irma. Mr. 
Stephens is one of the progressive business men of Madison county, taking an intelli- 
gent interest in school and church matters, and has ever advanced the best interests 
of his town and townspeople. 



Souter, John W., was born in the town of SulUvan, December 13, 1865. His 
father, William Souter, was a native of Johnstown, and his father, Isaac, of Germany. 
Isaac first settled in Johnstown and came to Canastota in 1802, where he was engaged 
in the jewelry business. His son William followed him in the business, and was one 
of the first to build a boat on the old canal ; he was engaged in canal transportation 
up to 1880. He married Matilda, daughter of Leonard Whitney; he died January 2, 
1894. John W. Souter was educated in the common schools and at Chittenango. He 
engaged in the produce business at Clockville in 1886, and in 1892 came to Canastota, 
where at the present time he is one of the largest shippers in New York State of hay. 
grain, potatoes, apples, onions and other produce. In 1885 Mr. Souter married 
Martha, daughter of E. A. Bridge, and they have one daughter, Myrtle. Mr. Souter 
is one of the progressive business men of Madison county, served as trustee of the 
village two terms, and merits and receives the respect of the community. 



Stimson, John E., was born in Caughdenoy, N. Y. , October 4, 1854. His father. 
John F. Stimson, was a native of Chittenango, N. Y. , born in 1822, and his father, 
Jonathan, was a native of Scotland and came to the town of Canastota, settling at 
Ouality Hill, when a boy, being one of the first white people to come to the Mohawk 
valley, and one of the first settlers in Madison county ; he died in 1833, in his 94th 
year. John F. Stimson married Nancy, daughter of Elder Deacon. John E. Stim- 
son was educated in the common schools, and engaged in dealing in hay and grain 
and canal transportation. In 1871 he married Lydia A., daughter of Christopher 
Van Slyke, and they have two sons, William H. and Reuben L. Mr. Stimson is one 
of the self-made men of Madison county, serving as deputy sheriff and chief of the 
police force twenty years and deputy U. S. marshal for eight years. 



Sherwood, J. T., was born at Oneida Lake, February 14, 18.55. His father, Joseph 
Sherwood, was a native of England and came to the United States in 1850, settling 
in Madison county; he married Ann Rhodes, and through life was engaged in deal- 
ing in live stock ; he died in 1862. J. T. Sherwood was educated at Oneida Valley 
and was engaged in canal transportation. In 1892 he established his coal business, 
handling 2,000 tons per year. In 1875 Mr. Sherwood married Flora A., daughter of 
Harrison Allen, and they have one daughter, Grace, aged fifteen. Mr. Sherwood is 
one of the self-made men of Madison county, and has served as street commis- 
sioner, trustee and poormaster of his town. 



Stanton, Albert C, p. o. Georgetown. — William A. Stanton's genealogy of the 
Stanton family in America, to which we are indebted for the following particulars, 
shows Albert C. Stanton to be a descendant, in the eighth generation, of Thomas 



122 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Stanton, the emigrant ancestor, who came to this country m 1635 on the merchant- 
man Bonaventura, being then twenty years of age. He first located in Virginia, but 
the records show that in 1636 he was serving as a magistrate in Boston. He served 
through the Pequot War, acting as an Indian interpreter. He married Ann, eldest 
daughter of Dr. Thomas and Dorothy Lord. The exact date is not known, but it 
was between the years 1638 and 1639. They had ten children, one of whom was 
Capt. John, the subject's lineal ancestor. He was born in Hartford, Conn., in 1641, 
and married Hannah Thompson in 1664. February 18, 1675, he was commissioned 
captain of one of the four Connecticut regiments in Kmg Philip's War. There were 
six children born of this union: Joseph, son of Capt. John, was born June 23 1868, 
married Margaret, daughter of Nathaniel and Hannah (Denison) Chesebro. They 
had nine children. Lieut. Joseph Stanton, seventh child, was born May 1, 1712, 
married Ann Wheeler of Stonington, Conn., November 6, 1735, and died March 14, 
1778. Their issue was eleven children. Joseph, born May 31, 1739, married Han- 
nah Chesebro, April 22, 1767, and died in 1832. Amos, son of Joseph, was born in 
Groton, Conn., June 10, 1773, married Sabra Palmer of Edraeston, N. Y., December 
13, 1795. AmosC, father of the subject, was born in Otselic, N. Y., May 7, 1798. 
He married and by his first wife had children, Samuel and Sally. He married sec- 
ond, Azubah Duncan in February, 1818. To this union were born two children : Har- 
rison M., and Albert C, the latter being born in Otselic, July 30, 1835. He was edu- 
cated in the district schools and when he was twelve years old his father died and 
he with his mother removed to Georgetown, He was thrown on his own resources 
and served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, which he afterward followed 
until 1867, when he retired from active work. On January 29, 1853, he married 
Susan Brown of Georgetown. She was born March 30. 1837, a daughter of John 
and Emily (Hawks) Brown. They have two children : Mary E. (who married Har- 
vey E. Priest), and died November 3, 1884, and Minna B. (now Mrs. Charles E. 
Thompson). Mr. Stanton is a prominent member of Cautious Lodge No. 736, A. F. 
& A. M. He has a pleasant home in the village of Georgetown. He has been a 
most successful business man and has accumulated a handsome competency wholly 
by his own energy and industry, and enjoys the confidence and esteem of all those 
who know him and especially those who have had business dealings with him. Po- 
litically he supports the principles of the Republican party. He has held the office 
of justice of the peace for eighteen years and town clerk for ten years. Mr. Stanton 
has been faithful to every trust confided to his care, and the citizens recognize in him 
one to whom they may .safely confide the highest public interests. 



Stoddard, Albert A., p. o. Georgetown, was born in the town of Otselic, Chenango 
county, N. Y., March 9, 1838. He is a descendant in the eighth generation of John 
Stoddard, who is known to have been a large landholder in Welhersfield, Conn., as 
early as 1639. The line of descendants is as follows: (1) John, (3) John, (3) John, 
(4) Moses, who was one of the petitioners for the incorporation of Newington as a 
separate ecclesiastical society, (5) Aaron, who served in the Revolutionary war, and 
was captured by the British, and died a prisoner; he was born in Litchfield, July 15, 
1739; (6) David, born in Litchfield, Conn., November 15, 1773; in 1803 came to New 
York with his family, bringing his household effects in a covered wagon drawn by 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 123 

oxen, and his wife, Dorcas Kent Stoddard, rode horseback, carrying her youngest 
child in her arms. They were the second family that settled in what is now 
the town of Otselic, Chenango county; (7) Harmon, father of the subject of the 
sketch, born in Litchfield, Conn., June 27, 1797, and was but six years of age when 
he came to this State with his parents. He married Clarissa Maria Brown, who was 
born in Stephentown, Rensselaer county, and they had eight children; Albert A,, 
Clarissa Maria, Cordelia, Sarah, Mary L., Noyes W. , Elvira M., and Dever. Albert 
A. was educated at the common schools of his district, afterward at De Ruyter In- 
stitute, and at seventeen commenced teaching in a neighboring district, receiving 
eleven dollars per month and board. He was thus engaged until March 11, 1851, 
when he married Julia A., daughter of William P. and Betsey (Bartlett) Hare A 
year later he engaged in farming and kept a public house in Otselic on the farm 
on which his grandfather first settled. Mr. Stoddard was successfully engaged in 
farming until 1870, when he retired and removed to the village of Georgetown, 
where he has since resided. Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard have an onlj' child, a son. J. 
Floyd, a successful merchant in Georgetown. Politically he is a Democrat. At the 
age of twenty one years Mr. Stoddard was elected superintendent of common schools 
of the town of Otselic for a term of two years, and was re-elected for the two suc- 
ceeding terms. He was elected supervisor of the same town in the spring of 1860, 
defeating the popular young Republican, David B. Parce by twenty-three majority; 
he was re-elected in 1861 by an increased majority, although the town was largely 
Republican at that time. He refused a renomination in 1862. He served as chair- 
man of the railroad commissioners of the town of Otselic, and as such signed the 
coupons of the railroad bonds of that town. He represented Georgetown two years 
as a member of the Madison county bnard of supervisors. He was elected justice of 
the peace in 1873, but refused to qualify. Under each of President Cleveland's terms 
he held the office of postmaster of Georgetown. Fraternally he is a member of Cau- 
tious Lodge No. 736, F. & A. M., and was its first master. An upright, honorable 
and conscientious man he has the esteem and good-will of all who know him. 



Stoddard, J. Floyd, p. o. Georgetown, a public-spirited and useful citizen of Mad- 
ison county, an enterprising merchant of the village of Georgetown, is the only son 
and child of Albert A. and Julia A. (Hare) Stoddard, was born in the town of Otse- 
lic, Chenango county, N. Y., July 24, 1857. His education was begun in the district 
schools of his native town and in 1870, he removed with his parents to Georgetown, 
where he attended the public schools. He afterward took a 5'ear's course at the 
Utica high school, and subsequently at the Cazenovia seminary. After finishing his 
schooling he engaged in the flour and feed business in Georgetown, which business 
he conducted two years. He then sold his business and removed to Otselic on his 
father's farm, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits three years; but not be- 
ing satisfied with that vocation he returned to Georgetown and in 1884 established 
what is now the leading mercantile house in Georgetown. In 1890, in company with 
Arthur E. Drake, he bought another stock of goods belonging to W. A. Hare and 
the two were consolidated. The firm of Stoddard & Drake carried on business un- 
til April 5, 1895, when Mr. Stoddard succeeded the firm and has since conducted the 
business alone. Mr. Stoddard is a good business man and his prosperity is largely 



124 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

due to his own industry and thrift. He is held in high esteem by a large circle of 
social and business acquaintances. On February 15, 1877, he married Nettie A., 
youngest daughter of Epaphroditus and Susan (Conant) Whitmore. They have two 
children- Lonnelle M., born May 2, 1880, and W. Marie, born June 23. 1893. Mr. 
Stoddard has been shown the high appreciation in which he is held by his towns- 
men, by being elected to the office of justice of the peace three terms, justice of ses- 
sions two terms, and three years inspector of election. He is now serving his third 
year as secretary of the Board of Education in this village. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of Cautious Lodge, No. 726, F. & A.M., and the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets, 
Hamilton, N. Y. In every department of life Mr. Stoddard has ably filled the sta- 
tion in which he has been placed, and is regarded by his townspeople as a thoroughly 
honorable and upright man. 



Smith, Ira E. , belongs to a family originally from Holland, who were settled in 
the eastern part of this State at an early period of its history. His immediate pro- 
genitors lived in Chatham, Columbia, county, N. Y., and afterward removed to De 
Ruyter and then to Lincklai^n, Chenango county, where he was born August 29,185.5. 
His grandfather, Henry Smith, was born in Chatham and died at the ripe old age of 

ninety-one years. He married Margaret , who was also born in Chatham, and 

they had nine children, one of whom was Richard P., father of Ira E. Richard P. 
Smith was born August 16, 1806, in Chatham, and died October 6, 1883, at Lincklaen. 
He married Eliza, daughter of Luther and Elizabeth (Wagner) Justice, December 31, 
1835. She was born November 28, 1817, and died July 3, 1892. To this union were 
born ten children: Mary J. (Mrs. W. S. Haskell); Pheba M, (widow of Albert Bald- 
win); Philip N., who married Ellen Williams; Spencer (deceased); Byron B., who 
married Emmer Williams; Marcia E., married William Dana; Nelson A. (deceased); 
Eunice L. (deceased); Frank A , who married Ida Wells; Ira E., and Kitty A. 
(widow of Samuel G. Keim). Ira E. Smith received a good education in the com- 
mon schools and remained at home on his father's farm until December 6. 1886, 
when he removed to De Ruyter and engaged in the furniture and undertaking busi- 
ness, which he still carries on with unusual success. On October 2, 1889, he married 
Blanche M., daughter of Frank D., and Nancy (Angell) Wire. Mr. Smith in politics 
is a sound Republican and has held the ofKce of town clerk two terms. Fraternally 
he is a member of De Ruyter Lodge, No. 692, F. & A. M. He is a trustee of the 
village corporation, one of the originators of the village water works, and a stock- 
holder in the village gas plant. Mr. Smith is a man of good business qualifications 
and of industrious and thrifty habits. He is popular among his townspeople and is 
well known as a wide-awake, enterprising merchant, looking not only to his own in- 
terests, but to the advancement and progress of his town. 



Spear, Mrs. Annie Augusta, a resident of the village of De Ruyter, and widow of 
the late Lyman F. Spear, and was born in Cayuga, N. Y., October 4, 1848. Her 
grandfather, David Reynolds, was a native of Rhode Island, who with his wife, 
Susan (Bentley) Reynolds, came to New York State at an early date. Mrs. Spear is 
a daughter of the Rev. Schuyler and Amanda A. (Johnston) Reynolds. When she 
was a child of thirteen she went to live with the family of Joseph Stafford, and on 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 125 

November 24, 1865, at the age of twenty, married Leroy P., a son of Joseph and 
Polly A. (Jones) Stafford. He was for many years a dealer in horses, grain, produce, 
etc., and died May 21, 1891. On November 19, 1892, she married Lyman F. Spear, 
who was for a number of years or up to the time of his death, a successful harness 
dealer in the village of De Ruyter. Mr. Spear was a prominent member of De Ruy- 
ter Lodge, F. & A. M., the A. O. U. W., and the fire department. His death oc- 
curred in August, 1897. Mrs. Spear is a lady posse.ssed of all true womanly virtues 
and one of those that prefers the quiet of home life to the empty honors and exacting 
demands of social life. She is an active member of the Congregational church, has 
a wide circle of friends in her town and county, and the good will and esteem of all. 



Scoville, J. Edward, is a native of Pompey, N. Y., where he was born January 17, 
1860. His father was Charles Edwin Scoville, a contractor on the Syracuse, Bing- 
hamton & New York Railroad, and latterly a farmer. The Scoville genealogy is 
traceable to Sir Arthur Scoville of the fourteenth century, in England. The first 
American ancestor was James Scoville, who settled in Pompey, Onondaga county, 
at an early date. J. E. Scoville spent his boyhood in Manlius, N. Y. , where his father 
had purchased what is known as the Scoville homestead in 1864, and is now occu- 
pied by a brother, Addison E. Scoville. His mother was Mary Putnam Gould, a 
lineal descendant on her maternal side of the famous Gen. Israel Putnam, and a 
daughter of one of the pioneers of the county of Onondaga. Mr. Scoville early 
showed a marked genius for the mechanical arts and for adventure. He came to 
Canaseraga in 1888 and operated a general milling business, having previously been 
engaged in the same line at Chittenango and elsewhere. In 1895 he installed a tele- 
phone line from mill to mill, now grown into a large system, having lines to Lake- 
port, Bridgeport and to Syracuse, in all no less than sixteen long distance lines. In 
July, 1897, he went into the Klondike region and established a telephone exchange 
at Dawson, the first one in that territory, and the most northerly exchange in the 
world. He is now general manager of the Yukon telegraph and telephone company, 
also owning several undeveloped gold claims. After a winter within the Arctic cir- 
cle Mr. Scoville was suddenly recalled by the illness of his wife, who died here 
August 4, 1898. She was Eva, daughter of Horace Wheeler of Fayetteville, and 
left two children. 



Smith. Lucian B., son of William and Lovina (Conglin) Smith, was born in the 
town of Taylor, Cortland county, N. Y., June 10, 1844. His father, who was a tan- 
ner and currier by trade, was a native of Chatham, Mass , and one of the early 
settlers in Corland county. Of his union with Lovina Conglin eleven children were 
born, of whom .seven survive; Maria, wife of James Allen of New Woodstock; 
Emeline, wife of William Petrie of Cuyler, Cortland county; Harriet, widow of Dr. 
L. Greene of Taylor, Cortland county; Willis, of Chenango county; Gerrett, of 
Ellenville, Ulster county, and Lucian B. Smith. The latter was educated at De 
Ruyter academy and has always followed the occupation of farming. He located 
on his present farm of 200 acres near New Woodstock village in 1875. A Republi- 
can in politics, Mr. Smith is one of the representative men of the town of Cazenovia. 
He has served the town as highway commissioner three years, and while a resident 



126 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

of the town of Lincklaen, Chenango county, served as assessor three years. He is 
a member of De Ruyter Lodge, F. & A. M. Mr. Smith married Eunice A. Barber, 
daughter of George Barber of Cazenovia. They have one son, William H. Smith, a 
resident of New Woodstock village. 



Smith, Charles Edward, p. o. Hamilton, was born at Mobile, Ala. At fifteen years 
of age he left the South and was educated at the Troy Polytechnic School. When 
the war of the rebellion broke out he went with the Confederate army as a lieuten- 
ant of engineers and served through the entire war. After the war he located in 
New York and resided there until 1889, when he settled in Hamilton. Mr. Smith is 
a prominent Mason, being a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council, and Com- 
mandery and of the Veiled Prophets. His parents were Charles and Martha B. 
(Todd) Smith. His great-great-grandfather was in the French and Indian wars, and 
Capt. Abijah Smith was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. 

Thompson, Luther Brownell, son of Jervis J., and Jane (Brownell) Thompson, was 
born m Cazenovia, November 21, 1833. He was educated in the district schools and 
has always been a farmer, cultivating seventy-five acres. Mr. Thomp.son enjoys a 
large measure of the respect and esteem of his fellow townsmen and as a citizen is 
actively interested in all measures designed to promote the welfare of the town. He 
is a Democrat in politics but never held public office. He married, in 1861, Joanna 
A. Wagner, daughter of Aaron Wagner of Cazenovia. Of this union four children 
were born: Jennie E., wife of Norton S. Hall of Norwich; Hattie E., wife of Her- 
man Woodworth of Cornwall-on-the-Hudson ; Fannie E. and Cora A. Thompson. 



Truax, James, was born in Albany, N. Y., in 1804, and when a boy came to reside 
on the farm of Gerrit Smith, at Peterboro, where he remained until 1833. In that 
year he purchased a farm in Peterboro and conducted it until 1843, when he removed 
to Cazenovia and for about five years lived in what was known as the Krumbahr cot- 
tage, having the care of General Ledyard's farm. Then for twenty years he owned 
and occupied the farm on the east shore of the lake which became known as the 
Truax farm. In 1867 he retired, owing to advancing age, and took up his residence 
in Cazenovia village, where he became known to almost everjf resident as a genial 
and kindly gentleman. After his death Rev. Lyman Eddy, who had known him 
well, pronounced the following eulogy of him: "I should do violence to my own 
feelings were I to let this opportunity pass without offering a grateful tribute to his 
memory, in view of the evidence which many years' residence opposite my own 
dwelling have furnished of his sterling integrity in his business transactions the 
excellence of his character as a peace maker, as a sympathizer and helper in afflic- 
tion, and as an unostentatious good-doer in behalf of the needy. More than once have 
I seen him quietly, I had almost said stealthily, ministering to the suffering and 
feeding the hungry, and when doubtless he was unaware that any eye, save that of 
the Infinite one, was witness to his kindness." Mr. Truax married, in 1832, Lovina 
Cleveland, daughter of Neheraiah Cleveland of Peterboro, who belonged to an 
ancient English family and numbered Sir Guy Cleveland among his ancestors. Of 
their union three children were born: Mrs. M. L. IngersoU of Ilion, N. Y., James C. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 127 

Truax of Ilion, and Florence B. Truax of Cazenovia Mr. and Mrs. Truax were 
the first family in Cazenovia to receive into their home people in search of the quiet 
of country life. Their farm by the lake was beautiful for situation and natural 
charms and many guests found a welcome there. Thus they were the practical 
founders of Cazenovia as a summer residence village. 



Thompson, Gideon, son of Jervis J. and Jane (Brownell) Thompson, was born in 
Cazenovia, March 8, 1832. The family is of Dutch and Scotch origin and Gideon 
Thompson's grandfather, also named Gideon, was a life-long resident and highly 
respected citizen of the town of Beekman, Dutchess county, N. Y. Here Jervis J. 
Thompson was born and when he was a young man came into Cazenovia to locate 
on a farm of 140 acres in the Belmont district which had been acquired by his father. 
He died August 2, 1879, ia the eighty-second year of his age. Of his union with 
Jane Brownell seven children were born: Dewitt C. (deceased); George W. (deceased); 
Caroline, widow of J. Tucker; Gideon, Luther B., A. J., and Jane A. (deceased). 
Gideon Thompson was educated in the district schools of this town and has always 
followed the occupation of farming. In politics he is a Democrat. He is one of the 
representative men of this section and enjoys an enviable reputation as a man of 
strict integrity. Mr. Thompson married, in 1872, Mary Stockham, daughter of John 
Stockham, a native of Fabius, N. Y. 



Tillotson Family, The. — Abraham Tillotson was a native of Connecticut and in the 
year 1795 came into Madison county with a team and covered wagon, bringing his 
family. Their first night within the limits of the town of Cazenovia was passed in 
an unoccupied log house in the Perkins district, and on the following day, having 
inquired for a farm which included a brick yard, they were directed to Pompey Hol- 
low and there located on what became the home farm. Here Abraham Tillotson 
made most of the brick used for chimneys in this region and also those used in the 
construction of the Lincklaen Hou,se. He became a man of considerable local promi- 
nence and died honored and respected, September 23, 1819. About the year 1816 
his son Ephraim (who was a youth of nine years when the family settled here), pur- 
chased a large farm on the west side of the lake now known as the Burr Wendell 
farm, and became a large and successful cattle dealer and farmer. After many 
years of hard work he retired and for a period of twenty years resided in Cazenovia 
village. He married Lodema Cowls and three children were born to them, only one 
of whom now survives: Jabez C. Tillotson, a venerable and respected resident of 
Cazenovia. The latter was born July 11, 1812, and on the west side of the lake where 
Burr Wendell now lives and lived there with his father for twenty-one years He 
worked the place on shares for three years and was married for the first time to 
Samantha Childs of Cazenovia, N. Y., in 1836. About this time he bought the farm 
near the head of the lake now owned by Sylvester Norton, on which he lived for 
twenty-four years. In 1860 he left the farm and has since been a resident of Caze- 
novia village. Mr. Tillotson has held many offices of public trust and has always 
faithfully discharged his duties. He was elected town assessor in 1844, and was re- 
tained in that capacity for twenty-three years, until 1867. In that year he was ap- 
pointed revenue assessor and served as such twelve years. In 1872 he was elected 



1?8 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

loan commissioner, serving as such twenty years, but was relieved of the duties of 
that office through the kindness of Governor Flower in 1892. He was elected trustee 
of the Seminary in 1870 continuing in that office twenty years, and was trustee of 
the Methodist church and chairman of the executive committee at the lime the 
present church edifice was constructed. Mr. Tillotson has also had a large experience 
in the .settlement of estates and assignments. In 1876 he was appointed receiver of 
the Cazenovia Bank, under bonds of $300,000, and successfully conducted the work 
of adjusting its affairs. Few men live to attain the years and prominence which 
have been accorded to Mr. Tillotson. Ephraim Tillotson married for his second 
wife Rachel Wadsworth; seven children were born of the union, only two of whom 
are now living; Mrs. Orange Atwell, and A. W. Tillotson, both now residing in 
Cazenovia. Leslie B. Tillotson, son of Ephraim B. and Harriet (Allen) Tillotson, 
was born in De Ruyter in 1841. In that town his father served as assessor and poor- 
master for over thirty years. Mr. Tillotson was educated at Cazenovia Seminary 
and Poughkeepsie Business College. For a period of fifteen years he was success- 
fully engaged in the dry goods trade in Cazenovia and for the past eight years in the 
coal business (Tillotson & Howson). Mr. Tillotson is a member of Cazenovia Lodge, 
F. & A. M., and Manlius Chapter R. A. M. He has served as railroad commissioner 
for the town and on the board of cemetery commissioners for several years; has also 
filled the offices of trustee, secretary, and treasurer for many years and is at present 
a trustee of the Baptist church. He married Alice N., daughter of Alexander Nichols 
of Cazenovia, and four children have been born to them: Florence A., wife of O. E. 
Webster of Mt. Vernon, N. Y. ; Harriet N., wife of E. J. Dimraick of Chicago, III. ; 
Arthur L. and Laura N. of Cazenovia 



Tripp, Melvin, p. o. Hamilton, was born on the border of Madison county and has 
been a life-long resident thereof. At the age of sixteen he began to learn the cabinet 
making trade and after completing his apprenticeship he came to Hamilton and pur- 
sued a liberal course of studies in both the academy and university. Subsequently 
he embarked in the grocery business and continued therein twenty-five years in 
Hamilton. He was afterwards in the furniture business for five years. Mr. Tripp 
has always taken a great interest in the welfare of Hamilton and has acted a promi- 
nent part in both business and public affairs. He has been trustee of the village 
eight years, village treasurer twenty years, town clerk two years, and supervisor of 
the town sixteen years. He is an ardent Republican and has for many years sat in 
the councils of his party and been delegate to many county and congressional con- 
ventions. He is one of the men who have been the builders of Hamilton, both be- 
fore and after the disastrous fire in 1895. He erected the first opera house here, known 
as Tripp's Hall, which went down in the aforementioned fire, and many fine dwell- 
ings besides his brick block, burned down and rebuilt. He has been one of the com- 
missioners on the water and light plant since its organization and was treasurer of 
the board for many years. Mr. Tripp married Hattie E. Holmes, a native of Ham- 
ilton, N. Y. His parents were Jonathan and Euphemia (Van Dyke) Tripp. His 
grandfather, Israel Tripp, was a native of New England, of Scotch descent and his 
grandfather Van Dyke was of Holland extraction. Mr. Tripp was one of the orig- 
inators and promoters of Woodlawn cemetery, of which Hamilton is justly proud. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 129 

for few places of its size have such an attractive necropolis, and acting both as secre- 
tary and treasurer of the association he has expended a great deal of time and work 
to the cemetery. 



Tooke, James N., p o. Pratt's Hollow. — Michael Tooke was one of the early set- 
tlers in the northeast part of Eaton, to which locality he came in 1809, from Arklow, 
Ireland, as one of the colony of Protestant Irish families, who about that time settled 
in this county, and who were afterward among its best citizens. In the family of 
pioneer Tooke were several children who afterward became prominent persons in 
business and social life. Among them were John, who entered the ministry and re- 
moved to Canada; Esther, who married George Kern; Mary, who married George 
Philpot; Frank, who lived and died in Eaton; Joseph, who settled in Canada; and 
Michael and James, both of whom settled in Madison county. Michael Tooke, son of 
the pioneer, was born May 11, 1793, and when twenty-five years old was connected 
and united with the M. E. church. In 1819 he was an authorized local preacher and 
was regularly licensed to preach June 18, 1831 ; was ordained deacon June 14, 1839, 
and elder August 35, 1840. He was always active in church work, and an instru- 
ment of great good in the community. His useful career terminated in death De- 
cember 30, 1870. In 1833 he married Sarah Tackabury, by whom his children were 
Rachel, who married John Stringer ; Michael of Eaton ; Nathanielof Clinton ; Francis, 
who entered the M. E. ministry; Sarah, who married Henry Burns; Wesley F.,who 
entered the M. E. ministry; John D. of Chittenango Falls; James N. of Eaton; Mary 
Jane, who married Rev. Solomon McGinniss; Summerfield of Illinois. James N. 
Tooke was born January 33. 1837, on the farm where he now lives and has always 
lived. After the pioneer died his son Michael bought the farm and at the death of 
the latter James bought the interests of the other heirs. He is a farmer, thrifty and 
successful and enjoys a large acquaintance in this part of the county. He is a young, 
yet prominent Odd Fellow and is deeply interested in lodge work. On July 14, 1859, 
Mr. Tooke married Helen Margaret, daughter of William Stevenson of Sherburne. 
They had three children : Chandler of Syracuse; Arthur of Eaton; and Helen lona, 
who died in infancy. 



Tallett, Morell E., p. o. De Ruyter, dealer in coal, lime, brick and produce, is a 
son of John and Julia Tallett, and was born in Otselic, Chenango county, N. Y. , 
April 10, 1858. His education was received in the common schools and the De Ruy- 
ter Institute. Having successfully passed a teacher's examination he taught school 
for a number of terms, and then entered the employ of the Ontario & Western rail- 
road as station agent at Otselic; while there he learned telegraphy. He was also 
engaged in the produce and grain business during this timei In March, 1879, he re- 
moved to De Ruyter and became agent for the U. I. & E. railroad, afterward the E. 
C. & N. , and now the Lehigh Valley, where he has since resided. Mr. Tallett has 
had large experience in business and through strictlj' honorable methods and close 
attention to the wants of the community, has built up a trade that is creditable to his 
ability and sagacity and which constitutes a fair share of that which naturally comes 
to the pleasant and thriving village of De Ruyter. On March 4, 1873, he married 
Nellie A., daughter of Alden and Rhoda (Dunbar) Mason. During their residence 



130 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

in Otselic, Mrs. Tallett also learned telegraphy and she is now manager for the 
Western Union Telegraph Co. at this place. Mr. and Mrs. Tallett have no children. 
They reside in their beautiful home at De Ruyter, surrounded by a host of friends 
and are deservedly esteemed. Mr. Tallett is a member of De Ruyter Lodge, No. 
659, F. & A. M., Cortland Chapter and Knights Templar. He takes a prominent 
rank among the business men of the county and with his estimable wife, who is the 
embodiment of womanly virtue and housewifely qualities, leads a happy and con- 
tented life. 



Tuttle, Irving, was born on the farm he owns, February 5, 1844, a son of Cornelius 
and Anna (Buyea) Tuttle. Cornelius Tutlle was born in Lincoln and there lived and 
died. He was a farmer, also owned a plaster mill at Lenox, N. Y. His wife was a 
daughter of Conrad Buyea, one of the early settlers of Madison. Mrs. Tuttle died 
in 1891, aged eighty-nine years. Irving Tuttle was reared on a farm and educated 
in the common schools and Eastman's business college at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He 
conducts a farm of 120 acres, also owns the plaster mill, where he does an extensive 
busine.ss. He has a hop yard of three acres and a dairy of sixteen cows, also raised 
considerable for the McKinley canning factory. In 1875, Mr. Tuttle married Harriet 
Wemple, daughter of A. A. Wemple of WampsviUe, N. Y. ; they had one son, Willis 
I. Mrs. Tuttle died October 17, 1878, and in 1893 he married Alpheretta Thornton 
of Lenox. Mr. Tuttle is a Democrat in politics and has been collector. He is a 
member of Oneida Lodge, No. 270, F. & A. M. 



Tuttle, Abraham, p. o. Clockville, was born in Lenox, March 5, 1820, a son of 
Abram, grandson of Gehiel Tuttle, of French extraction, and who in a very early 
day came to Lenox and here lived until his death in 1824. Abram Tuttle was born 
in Connecticut and died at Lenox at the age of forty-six years; he married Betsey 
Keller, born in Montgomery county, and who died in 1871. Abraham Tuttle was edu- 
cated in the common schools. He taught school for several years, but his principal 
occupation has been farming, in which he has been very successful. At present he 
owns .587 acres of land and follows dairying and mixed farming and is a large hop 
grower. In 1841 Mr. Tuttle married Armenia Snyder, by whom was born three 
children ; J. Otis, Stillman. and Jeanette. His second wife was Jane Clock, by whom 
he had one son, De Forest Tuttle. Mr. Tuttle was a Democrat in politics, but since 
Cleveland's first administration has been a Republican, and has been justice eight 
j'ears and assessor nine years. In 1862 he raised Co. G of the 157th regiment 
N. Y. v., and served honorably as its captain. 



Timmerman, Silas, p. o. Clockville, was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., October 
9, 1835, a son of Levi and Margaret (Burkdorff) Timmerman. In 1854 Levi Timmer- 
man came to Madison county, and bought the farm Silas now owns; later he moved 
to Clarkson, Monroe county, where he died April 11, 1889, and his wife died in Lin- 
coln, March 23, 1860. S las Timmerman was reared on a farm and educated in the 
common schools. He has a farm of 188 acres and follows dairying, keeping about 
twenty cows, and also mixed farming. In 1879 he built a large barn, 120x86. March 
19, 1857, he married Sarah J. Betsinger, and they had four children: Ella A., wife of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 131 

Jasper Thorn ; Alice, wife of Thomas M. Gordon ; Levi, who married Phoebe Allen 
of Nebraska; and Frank, who lives in Onondaga county, N. Y. In politics Mr. 
Timmerman is a Democrat, and was chairman of the board when the town of Lin- 
coln was formed. 



Tifft, W. A., p. o. Pratt s Hollow. — Jonathan TifiCt was the pioneer head of a 
family of enterprising descendants who came from Connecticut many years ago and 
settled in Sangerfield, whence they moved to Madison county. Among the children 
of the pioneer were Amaziah, who is remembered as one of the best farmers of 
Eaton; Joseph, who was accidentally killed about twenty-five years ago; Electa, 
who married Isaiah Bellfield and lived in Stockbridge; Lorenzo, who died in Rome; 
Lydia, who now lives in Waterville. Amaziah Tifft came to Eaton about 1838, but 
from early childhood had made his own way in life. In this town he bought the Asa 
Clark farm, which he cleared up and improved. His wife was Martha Pierce, 
daughter of one of the pioneers of Oneida county, by whom he had three children : 
William A., who now lives in comfortable retirement on the old farm in Eaton, and 
James A. of the famous "Black Horse Cavalry," who was killed in the year 1861-65; 
and one other child who died in infancy. Amaziah Tifft's wife died comparatively 
early and their children were reared by "Aunt Eunice " Pierce, a woman of splendid 
qualities and excellent capacity. 



Tucker, Mrs. Eliva B., p. o. Hamilton. — Adoniram Tucker was born in Cherry Val- 
ley, N. Y., and came to Madison county when only sixteen years old, having then 
only the clothes he wore and a few shillings in his pocket. He located in Hamilton 
and hired out to work on a farm at $50 per year. He learned shoemaking and worked 
at the trade several years, previous to 1840, when he and Mr. Pool opened a shop in 
Hamilton village and continued in business many years. In 1873 he bought the Col. 
Herman Howe farm in Madison and lived there until the time of his death in 1894. 
In many respects Adoniram Tucker was a noble man. one of his generous traits be- 
ing his ever ready hand to help a poor and less unfortunate fellow being. He had 
little early education, but learned much by observation and association with men of 
education. As a result of economy and industry he gained a competency. In 1838 
he married Mary L. Pool, but never had children. His wife died m 1860. and in 
1867 he married Eliva B. , daughter of Samuel and Almira Thompson, of Hamilton. 
No children were born of this marriage. In 1853, Mr. Tucker adopted Elizabeth 
Hooker, who has since been a member of his family. He was a strong Abolitionist 
and later on a Republican of much influence. He was reared under Presbyterian 
influences, but an incident changed his views and he became a Universalist. He 
once said: "I always aimed to get something to ease me through life and now I am 
contented." So he died comfortable and contented. Samuel Thompson was one of 
the sons of Samuel Thompson, sr., a New Englander and a pioneer in Hamilton. 
The younger Samuel married Almira Tinkham, and had three children; Samuel A., 
Eliva B. , and Charles P. Thompson. 



Taylor, Dr. William, was born in the town of Nelson, January 18, 1839. His 
father, William Taylor, was a native of Fenner, where his father, Thomas Taylor, 



132 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

settled in 1803; he married Alpha, daughter of William Ballon, and through life was 
a farmer. William Taylor married Betsey, daughter of Samuel Putney, who was a 
farmer and lumberman in the town of Nelson ; he died in 1869, the result of an acci- 
dent. Dr. William Taylor was educated at Fenner and Peterboro. He attended 
lectures at the University of Buffalo and was graduated from the medical depart- 
ment of the University of New York in March, 1863. He was appointed assistant 
surgeon of the 33d N. Y. Infantry and was mustered out in 1863 with the regiment. 
He was then commissioned in the 80th Regiment, N. Y. Infantry, was mustered out 
in 1866, and returned to Madison county locating in Pompey in 1867 and in Stock- 
bridge in 1869, where he remained until 1873. He then came to Canastota and en- 
gaged in general medical and surgical practice. In 1864 Dr. Taylor married Jennie, 
daughter of Alexander McGregor, who died in 1866, and in 1869 he married Sarah, 
daughter of John N. Brewster; their children are William B. E., and Marguerite H. 
Dr. Taylor is one of the progressive men of his town, was coroner nine years, mem- 
ber of the pension examining board from 1889 to 1894, and reappointed in 1897; 
member of the board of education twelve years and of Reese Post, No. 49, G. A. R., 
the first established in Madi-son county, and which he materially aided in organizing. 
He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, of the State medical society, and Central 
New York and Madison county medical societies. 



Ufford, Joel, was born in Vermont, December 9, 1823, and came to the town of 
Lenox in 1834 with his father, Joel Ufford, who bought his farm of Peter Smith. In 
1848 Mr. Uiford married Huldah Marble, and their children are George, Curtis, 
Emma, and Mrs. Mrs. Ella Shea. Mr. Ufford is one of the pioneer settlers of Madi- 
son county, and has served as assessor. He is a progressive and respected citizen. 



Watts, John R., was born in the county of Kent, England, September 13, 1829, a 
son of John and Mary (Watts) Watts. When twenty years old he came to this country 
arriving in New York, September 4, 1850, and in Cazenovia four days later. For a 
period of four years he worked at the book binding trade under the firm of Mills, 
Crandall & Mosley. At the end of that time he went West, working at the book 
binding trade in Madison, Wis. ; Janesville, Wis. ; and Chicago, 111. He returned 
east in 1857, was in a hotel in Chittenango about two years, and in 1860 located in 
Cazenovia in painting business. In the fall of 1863 Mr. Watts went to the defense 
of his adopted country, enlisting in Company K, commanded by Seneca Lake, of 
the 114th N. Y. Vols., and serving three years. For a period of over ten years Mr. 
Watts was in the grocery trade in Cazenovia and during this time had as partners at 
various periods, R. K. Blair, Eber D. Peet, and Peter P. Cobb. In politics Mr. Watts 
has been a consistent Republican ; has served the village as fire warden three years 
and took the census of the Second election district in 1890. He is a member of Caz- 
enovia Lodge No. 616, F. & A M., of which he was treasurer fifteen years; and Man- 
lius Chapter, R. A. M. For many years he has been a vestryman and is now treas- 
urer of St. Peter's Episcopal church. In January, 1890, Mr. Watts, in company with 
William Watkins, purchased the old concert hall called the " Cazenove," which they 
conducted until the building was burned in 1895. He is now secretary and treasurer 
nf the Cazenovia Hall Association. Mr. Watts married in 1860, Mary Jane Powell 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 133 

Cobb, and of this union is one son, Willis E. Watts, a practicing dentist in Lyons, 
France. 



Watkins, William, came to Cazenovia March, 1863, and entered the general store 
of Hobbie, Rouse & Clark as clerk. He remained with them until October, 1866, 
when he became a member of the firm of Chappell, Watkins & Co., publishers, book- 
sellers and stationers. Two years later he bought the other partners' interests, and 
has conducted the business successfully ever since, and thousands of students all 
over the country remember Watkins's bookstore with pleasure, as it always has been 
a center of student life. Mr. Wattins has taken a just pride in his business and 
aimed to elevate it to the dignity of a profession. He is widely known among the 
publishers of the country, and respected for his prompt and honorable methods. He 
has been a trustee of Cazenovia Seminary many years, and always sought to ad- 
vance its mterests. He has been treasurer of the public school over twenty years, 
and been treasurer and director of several important corporations, and been found 
competent and faithful in all. Mr. Watkins is a member of St. Peter's Episcopal 
church, and has long be^n a member of its vestry. He was born at Elmira, N. Y. , 
March 24, 1842. At the age of thirteen he became a clerk in the general store of 
Booth, Watkins & Munson, and has been in active business life ever since. Mr. 
Watkins, while never seeking political honors, has served the village as trustee, pres- 
ident and water commissioner, and has represented his party both at county and 
State conventions. Mr. Watkins is president of the Masonic Veterans' Association 
of Central New York and a charter member of Cazenovia Lodge. 



Winchell, Wallace M., son of Luman and Mary (Wood) Winchell, was born in the 
house which has always been his home, September 19, 1833. His father, who was 
born in this town near New Woodstock, was a man of prominence in his time and 
held the rank of captain in the militia. He died in July, 1883. John (grandfather) 
Winchell was a soldier of the war of 1812 and died from exposure endured in the 
service. He was a native of Connecticut and one of the earliest settlers of this town. 
Wallace M. Winchell was educated in the common schools and has always been a 
farmer. He succeeded to the homestead farm of 240 acres in 1858. In politics he is 
a Democrat. He has been twice married, first in 1865 to Francis Ingalls. daughter 
of Joseph Ingalls of Lenox ; his second wife was Arietta Woodcock, daughter of 
John Woodcock of Fenner. Of this union are two children: Floyd and Flossie 
Winchell. 



Wells, Edward G., son of Lester G. and Sarah (Watson) Wells, born October 10_ 
1857, is a native and lifelong resident of the village of Cazenovia, where he has been 
in the furniture and undertaking business many years; succeeding his father who 
began trade in 1843. He was educated in the Elllis private school and Cazenovia 
Seminary, and by virtue of the nature of his business and long residence is well 
known throughout the vicinity. He married, September 20, 1883, Clara, daughter 
of Robert Hammond of Osceola, Tioga county, Pa. ; and two children have been 
born of this union: Margaret S. and Lester G. Few business men have obtained a 
better name in this community than did Lester G. Wells. He was born in Phelps, 



134 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ontario county, N. Y. , May 5, 1817; being the son of Silas and Emily (Royce) Wells: 
and died in Cazenovia in the seventy-second year of his age (November, 1889). His 
father was a tailor by trade and lived in Norwich, N. Y., Phelps, N. Y., and later in 
Cavenovia, where both he and his wife were buried. The family were poor and 
Lester G. Wells received onlv a limited education, much of his boyhood being spent 
in the employ of farmers in this vicinity. He was finally apprenticed to Benjamin 
T. Clark under whom he learned the cabinet making trade and to whose business he 
eventually succeeded, taking into the business his sons D wight W. and Edward G., 
as they reached maturity. Mr. Wells was a man of excellent business qualifications 
and most exemplary character. The Cazenovia Republican gives him the following 
tribute in an obituary: "He was what might be termed a strong man. Firm in his 
convictions of right and wrong he swerved neither to the right or left; honorable in 
all his dealings; a thorough disciplinarian; a true Christian gentleman — this was his 
character and by these he won the confidence, respect and esteem of his fellowmen. 
Of a naturally affectionate disposition his love for children was marked; it was sel- 
dom his large wagon passed through our streets without containing a number of 
happy childish faces. By these and all others who knew hira this worthy man will 
be sadly missed." Mr. Wells married June 3, 1846, Sarah Watson (who died Decem- 
ber 15, 1898), daughter of David Watson of Hamilton. Five children were born to 
them: Silas Dwight and Mary V. , who died in infancy; D wight Watson, who died 
in 1887; Edward G., and Mrs. Alfred C. Stoddard of Camden, N. Y. The Wells 
family is of New England pioneer stock and had its origin in this country in the 
vicinity of New London, Conn. Records are in existence which show that members 
of the family served in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution. 



Weaver Bros., p. o. Valley Mills. — This firm is composed of Jacob J. and Haripon 
Weaver, sons of Jacob J., who was born in Albany county, N. Y., in 1801, and came 
to Stockbridge about 1840 and settled the farm the Weaver Bros, now own, and here 
died July 29, 1875. His wife was Louisa, daughter of Zachariah Weaver, an early 
settler of Vernon. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver had eleven children, of whom eight are 
now living. Jacob J. Weaver, jr., was born in Stockbridge, March 13, 1855, was 
educated in the common schools, and on February 8, 1888, married Ida Larapson, 
daughter of Ira M. and Julia A. (Miller) Lampson, who came from Utica to Oneida. 
N. Y. Harmon Weaver was born January 1, 1853, and was educated in the common 
schools. He married Maria Veeder and they have three children: Ella, Mary and 
Willie. The Weaver Bros, have 180 acres of land and follow hop growing and 
dairying. 



White, C. C , p. o. Stockbridge, one of the most successful business men of Stock- 
bridge, was born in that town, November 19, 1834, a son of Henry and Hettie (Ben- 
nett) While, natives of Oswego county, N. Y. In 1834 they came to Stockbridge, 
where he died in 1847, aged fifty-two years, and his wife died at the age of sixty-one. 
Mr. White's grandfather was Zadoc White, who lived and died in New York State. 
C. C. White was educated in the common schools and began life as a cabinet maker 
and undertaker, which business he followed very successfully thirty-nine years. He 
was very popular and his business extended over considerable territory. Not being 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 135 

able to endure the work he sold out in 1891 and in 1896 engaged in the hardware 
business. Mr. White is an ardent Democrat and has been assessor five years. He 
is a member of Prosperity Lodge No. 484, I. O. O. F. He has been twice married; 
first, to Eliza Cramer, by whom he had two children : Mary A. and Theodore. His 
second wife was Lucy C. Bishop, by whom one child has been born to them. Alma 
B. Mr. White owns a farm of 168 acres of land, besides his property in Stockbridge. 
He started in a poor boy, but by attending strictly to business has become one of 
the well-to-do men of his town. 



West, Gen. W. M. , p. o. Hamilton, was born at Hamilton, N. Y., November 13, 
1858, and was educated at the parish school of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, the 
public school and Colgate University. He entered the National Hamilton Bank as 
office boy and has filled all positions therein up to president, which office he has 
held since 1894; he was cashier previously for several years. General West's history 
forms a vital part of the recent history of Hamilton. He has always taken a hearty 
and intelligent interest in the welfare and progress of the place, and after the disas- 
trous fire no one was more active than he in building up the beautiful Hamilton of 
today. He has for some years baen treasurer of Colgate University and is naturally 
a strong friend of his alma mater. He has also served as president of the board of 
water and light commissioners since its organization. In politics General West is a 
Democrat and was quartermaster-general of the State of New York on the staff of 
Governor Flower. In 1883 General West married Alice Gray, and they have one 
son, David Belford West. Mr. West's parents were David Belford and Eliza (Mott) 
West. David Belford West was a prominent man in Hamilton, and was president 
of the National Hamilton Bank many years; he died in 1894. Few men of General 
West's age have attained such prominence and success in so many different lines; a 
banker of high standing, a distinctively successful quartermaster-general, an able 
business man, the treasurer of a great university, and a politician who has repre- 
sented his party at prominent conventions and presided at their counsels. 



Walrath, George, p. o. Chittenango, belonging to one of the most prominent and 
well-known families of Chittenango, and a son of the late Daniel Walrath, men- 
tioned elsewhere in this work, was born in this -village July 36, 1843, He has always 
lived in the town of his birth, except for a residence of two years at Bay City, Mich., 
where he was engaged in the grocery business; this was in 1869 and 1870. February 
2, 1869, he was united in marriage to Sarah Comstock, daughter of John Comstock. 
Mr. Walrath is a Democrat in politics, and was president of the village for six years. 
He is not now engaged in any business. For a number of years he was associated 
with his brother, Peter Walrath, in the foundry, and was at one time engaged in 
carriage building, etc. 



Woodbury, John N., merchant and farmer, living in the village of Peterboro, born 
in Peterboro November 5, 1838, son of Noah Woodbury. Noah Woodbury, father of 
our subject, was born in Leverett, Mass., in 1805 and came to the town of Sraithfield 
when a young man and settled in Peterboro where he died in 1880. His wife was 
Betsey Robertson who was born in Fenner, Madison county in 1810 and died in 



136 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Peterboro in 1874. They left four children: Mary J., wife of Charles H. 0.strander; 
John N., Margaret L., and Helen Place of Buffalo, N. Y. Jbhn N. was educated in 
the common schools and Peterboro Academy ; commenced business in Peterboro in 
1859 with William C. Ives and has continued in the business to the present time, ex- 
cepting three years while acting as county clerk. On June 14, 1864, Mr. Woodbury 
married Ann J. Morison, of the town of Lenox, Madison county, and they have three 
children: Will G., of Council Bluflfs, Iowa; Grace M., wife of H. W. Ingalls; Edith 
L. , wife of Harry Ingalls. Mrs. Woodbury's parents were Alexander and Margaret 
Robertson Morison. Her father was born on board vessel at Sandy Hook in 1806 
and died in the town of Lenox in 1852. Her mother born in Fenner, N. Y., in 1815, 
died in Lenox in 1880; all were of Scotch parentage. Mr. Woodbury has been a Re- 
publican since the organization of the party; was town clerk of his town four years, 
justice of the peace eight years, county clerk three years, and has been a trustee of 
Evans Academy twenty years. 



Wright, De Estin, p. o. Siloam, was born in Smithfield. May 18, 1845, a son of 
Isaac J., son of Gideon Wright, who came from Massachusetts to Madison county at 
an early day and here died; his wife was Lydia Shipman, who died in Smithfield. 
Isaac J. was born in Smithfield, May 28, 1813; died July 13, 1886. He was a car- 
penter by trade; his wife was Fannie Parks of Smithfield. born April 29, 1814, and 
died April 17, 1888. Her father, Barnabas Parks, was one of the first settlers of 
Smithfield. Mr. and Mrs. Wright had nine children, eight now living. De Estin 
Wright was educated in the common schools, is engaged in farming and is also a 
carpenter by trade. In 1893 he married Fannie E. Apker, born in Wisconsin, a 
daughter of Henry P., and Betsey E. Apker, and they have two children: Henry J., 
born February 10, 1894. and Harold D., born September 5, 1895. In politics Mr. 
Wright is a Republican and has been justice of the peace seven years, which office 
he now holds ; he has been notary public eight years. 



Wilson, John H., was born in Canastota, September 29, 1856.. His father, Theo- 
dore A. Wilson, was a native of Windsor, and came to Madison county in 1847, set- 
tling m the town of Lenox. He married Elvira F. , daughter of Capt. Daniel Lewis, 
who was superintendent for years on the Erie Canal, and superintendent of the 
Utica and Syracuse railroad. Theodore A. Wilson was identified with mercantile 
circles and m the later years of life in farming; he was prominent in the history of the 
M. E. church, of which he was trustee and treasurer, and was interested in its Sun- 
day suhool ; he died October 14, 1898. John H Wilson was educated in Canastota 
and Rochester. In 1883 he married Julia E., daughter of Cyrus Clark Williams, a 
native of Cooperstown ; they have one son, Clark. Mr. Wilson is one of the progres- 
sive men of his town, taking an active interest in school and church matters, and has 
served as trustee of the M. E. church. He has aimed to promote the best interests of 
his town and is a respected citizen. 



White, Charles M., M. D., p. o. Georgetown, a widely known citizen of George- 
town, held in much re.spect for professional skill and for the active interest he has 
taken in matters pertaining to the public good, is a son of Elijah and Betsey (Madi- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 137 

son) White, born in the town of Nelson, Madison county, N. Y. , September 15, 1829. 
While his remote ancestors were of German-English descent, his parents were born 
in Massachusetts. Dr. White's boyhood was spent in school and his father's black- 
smith shop, which trade he learned and followed for some time. On January 1, 1850, 
he married Wealthy L. , daughter of Leander Edgerton. Not long after his marriage 
he began to read medicine and later entered the office of Dr. John Heffron, and in 
1863 began the practice of his profession in company with Dr. Hiram Scranton, with 
whom he was associated eight years. In 1870 this copartnership was dissolved, since 
which time Dr. White has been engaged in practice alone. He is a member of the 
Central New York Medical Society: he is no aspirant for political office, finding in 
the delights of his home life and the duties of his practice more pleasure than in the 
turmoil of civic affairs. Mr. and Mrs. White have had four children; Charles R., 
Anna V. (deceased), Emma F. (Mrs. Simon Duell), and Eva (deceased). Dr. White 
has never been a professed member of any church, but is broad-minded, liberal, and 
just toward all creeds. He and his wife have had many friends and admirers and 
both occupy a place among the best society of Madison county. Mrs. White died 
March 19, 1899. 



Wood, Fred R., p. o. Sheds, a resident farmer of the town of De Ruyter, which 
has been his home for thirty-four years, was born in the town of Georgetown, N. Y. . 
October 19, 18B1, a son of Erastus and Seloria (Richardson) Wood. When he was 
three years of age his parents removed to Shed's Corners, where his father kept a 
hotel for fifteen years. Mr. Wood received his education in the public schools of De 
Ruyter, but learned more by actual contact with the world than from books. The 
habits formed in early life have remained with him and still influence his conduct. 
In January, 1883, he married Jennie, daughter of Levi and Marie (Wilson) Cook, and 
they have three children: Maud, Earl and Grace. In politics Mr. Wood uniformly 
supports the Republican party, which finds him a hard worker and firm in his adhe- 
rence to its principles. He has held the office of justice of the peace since 1888. 
Fraternally he is a member of De Ruyter Lodge, No. 692, F. and A. M. 



Wager, Philip H., p. o. Chittenango, was born on the homestead farm where he 
now resides, September 9, 1838. Alexander S. Wager, his father, of Holland-Dutch 
ancestry, came here among the pioneer settlers from Columbia county when a young 
man. The first American ancestor was Peter Wager, a wine merchant of Philadel- 
phia. Philip H. Wager is largely engaged in farming, having 200 acres of arable 
land about two miles from Chittenango. In politics he is not a partisan, _ but he 
always promoted the best public interests of the community. Nominally a staunch 
Republican, he represented the town of Sullivan on the board of supervisor? in 1893 
and 1894, commanding the respect of his political opponents and the strong fealty of 
his constituents. October 7, 1863, he married Emily M. Annas of Cazenovia, daughter 
of Alanson Annas, a pioneer farmer of that town: they have had three daughters: 
Susie A., Maria A., and Louise A., all of whom have become successful teachers of 
youth. 



Judson W. Warner, third son and fifth child of William and Electa (Harrington) 



138 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

Warner, was born in the town of Van Buren, Onondaga county, N. Y. , November 5, 
1837. His ancestry is traced through nine generations in this country to 1650. The 
family originated in Kent, Essex, and Leicester, England. The line to which the 
subject of this sketch belongs originated in this country in Woodbury, Conn., and is 
thus delineated: First, John; .second, John; third. John; fourth. Dr. Ebenezer ; 
fifth, Thomas; si.xth, Samuel; seventh, Seth ; eighth, William; and ninth, Judson 
W. The Seth of the seventh generation was first cousin of Col. Seth Warner, the 
famous Vermont hero of the Revolution, and was christened by him. Samuel of the 
sixth generation served and was wouuded in the Revolution. Seth of the seventh 
generation was a captain in the war of 1812. Dr. Ebenezer of the fourth generation 
was one of eight in his hue who won excellent repute in the practice of medicine. 
William of the eighth generation was born in Van Buren, Onondaga county, N. Y., 
in 1807, and Electa Harrington, his wife, was born in the same town. They married 
May 8, 1827. Electa Harrington was a lineal descendant in the fourth generation of 
Rev. Jones, a Baptist minister who came to this country soon after the arrival of the 
Mayflower. Her grandfather, Silas Brown, served with honor in the Revolutionary 
war, and her father, Dr. Lionel Harrington, won fame and an uutiraely death in the 
war of 1812. Judson W. Warner was educated in the district schools, and at the 
Union School in Jordan, N. Y. He learned surveying and engineering at the acad- 
emy of Dr. T. K. Wright at Elbridge, N. Y. In the spring of 1857 he went West 
and found a position as deputy county surveyor of Ramsey county, Minnesota, with 
headquarters at St. "Paul. Here he assisted in laying out three additions to the city 
of St. Paul, and in other work of like nature throughout the county. He also per- 
sonally laid out what is now the main highway from St. Paul to Minneapolis, which 
reaches the river opposite Fort Snelling. After relinquishing this position he went 
to the State of Illinois and engaged in teaching school one winter, taking a position 
the following spring with a firm of marble dealers at Peoria, 111., with whom he re- 
mained about eighteen months. In the fall of 1859 he returned East, and after 
looking about for some time engaged in a hardware business at Canastota in the 
spring of 1861, thus beginning his long and honorable business career in Madison 
county. He soon rented a store in Oneida and began a similar business, conducting 
both stores two years, at the end of this period selling the Canastota store and loca- 
ting permanently in Oneida (1863) Until January, 1868, he successfully conducted 
a hardware and house furnishing goods business, and also dealt extensively in coal, 
wood, and lumber in Oneida. In February, 1868, Mr. Warner purchased the lot on 
the corner of Main street and Vanderbilt avenue where the Warner block now stands, 
and began the erection of a business block. To further occupy his time while build- 
ing he purchased the old established hardware business of James A. Bennett which 
he conducted three years. In the fall of 1869, having completed the four story build- 
ing up to a point ready to receive the roof, a severe storm demolished the structure 
to such an extent that eventually every brick had to be replaced. The sympathy of 
the entire community was aroused in Mr. Warner's behalf, and while he was on top 
of- the building busily engaged in trying to secure it, a subscription of nearly $3,000 
was raised among the onlookers on the impulse of the moment. Upon learning the 
facts Mr. Warner requested that the matter should be dismissed at once, saying he 
could not afford to accept contributions, however great his loss. This affords a good 
illustration of the independence and self-reliance which have characterized Mr. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 139 

Warner during all of his business life. During the following summer he rebuilt the 
edifice on a much larger scale and with the addition to the opera house it is now one 
of the finest business blocks of Madison county. In May. 1871, Mr. Warner moved 
his business into the second store of the block, and in the following year he engaged 
in the safe business with his brother, H. H. Warner, under the firm name of Warner 
& Brother, taking the eastern portion of the United States, with branch stores at 
New York and Boston. He retained his home and interests in Oneida. When H. 
H Warner established his famous Safe remedy business at Rochester, N. Y. , the 
safe business was discontinued. In starting the proprietary medicine business Mr. 
Warner, although not a partner, gave valuable service in looking after various de- 
tails, including advertising, the purchase of material and the sale of goods, while 
his brother did the general planning of the great enterprise. In looking after these 
details Mr. Warner was called to all parts of the United States, and portions of Can- 
ada, and probably no man engaged in this line of business has covered more terri- 
tory, north, south, east, and west than he; on one of his trips he travelled 7,288 
miles. In the fall of 1883 Mr. Warner, wishing to escape such active life, gave up 
the busmess and returned to Oneida, soon afterward building his beautiful residence 
on Main street. In 1883, realizing the great need of a pure water supply for the vil- 
lage, he began the construction of a water works system, one of the best of his many 
contributions to the advancement of this village. The system was built after his 
own survey and under his management, and because of this the corporate name was 
adopted as the Warner Water Works. After years of trial the system has proven to 
be one of the best in the State; it was acquired by the village in 1895. Soon after 
the completion of the water works, a hose company composed of many leading citi- 
zens was organized and in his honor named the Warner Hose Company, which, on 
account of the prominence of its members, stimulated interest in the fire department. 
Mr. Warner, in order to occupy one of the vacant stores in his block, formed a co- 
partnership with S. Allen Clark, a practical dry goods dealer, and A. S. Whitman, 
under the firm name of Clark, Whitman & Warner for the conduct of a general dry 
goods business. This enterprise, now one of the largest of its kind in the county, is 
conducted under the firm name of S. Allen Clark & Co. In 1884 Mr. Warner rebuilt 
the three story brick building on Madison street known as the Sheppard Block, and 
after the destruction of the Oneida Mills by fire he purchased the site and rebuilt 
the mills which he operated about one year, selling to Rathburn & Sawyer, who 
formed the present Rathburn-Sawyer Co. In 1887 Mr. Warner engaged in another 
enterprise which gave to Oneida a place among the foremost villages of the State in 
point of modern improvements. At that time the use of electricity for lighting was 
not common, but after considerable investigation he decided to install an electric 
lighting system in Oneida, and built his plant on the site of his present building on 
Vanderbuilt avenue. In 1891 he erected the four story Warner industrial building, 
fronting fifty feet on Vanderbilt avenue, eighty-four feet on Central avenue, and 120 
feet deep, directly over and inclosing the first plant. This building is said to be one 
of the finest manufacturing buildings of New York State, and the plant is considered 
equal to many in the larger cities. In 1892 he began a business in plumbing sup- 
plies and heating apparatus and again demonstrated his native ability, for in his in- 
vestigation of different heating apparatus, he was led to invent many improvements 
on which he secured valuable patents. A company was formed under the title, The 



140 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Warner Safety Boiler Co., of which he is the principal owner, and the " Warner 
Safety Boilers" have attained a large sale. These boilers were exhibited at the 
World's Columbian Exposition and obtained the highest award granted. For years 
Mr. Warner agitated the building of the horse street railroad through the village, 
and that it was largely due to his persistence that a company was finally formed and 
the road constructed. The foregoing is but a brief synopsis of the active and useful 
life of one of the most prominent citizens of Oneida and Madison county. During 
his entire career Mr. Warner has been a man of large affairs, for the development 
of which he seems to have been eminently well fitted by nature and experience. A 
man of perfect habits, pos.sessed of excellent ability, keen foresight, and rugged 
honesty, it is not difficult to determine the causes of his success. Mr. Warner is the 
largest individual taxpayer of the village; he is a man of great public spirit v.'hich 
has been manifested not in words, but in deeds, and enjoys the respect and confi- 
dence of his fellow citizens. For many years he has been a member of the Oneida 
Baptist church. He married January 20, 1886, Mary E. Dodge, daughter of Morris 
E. Dodge, an old resident and respected citizen of the town of Vernon, Oneida 
county. Mrs. Warner enjoys much social popularity in Oneida, and has been active 
in church and charitable work. 



Witter, William E., .son of Russell G. and Sarah (Williams) Witter, was born at 
Adams, Jefferson county, N. Y., July 8, 1832. His father, a farmer, subsequently 
removed to Verona, Oneida county, N. Y. , where he died. Mr. Witter was educated 
in the district schools and assisted in the conduct of his father's farm. When still a 
youth he began work on the canal, and at the age of twenty purchased a boat, which 
he ran for one season and then sold, returning to the farm where he remained until 
18G9. In that year he removed to Durhamville where he resided upwards of seven- 
teen years, following the business of boat building, canal forwarding, and keeping a 
canal supply store. Mr. Witter has been engaged in the canal forwarding business 
nearly all his active life, and is well known to those having canal interests through- 
out the State. For many years he made his headquarters at Buffalo. In the fall of 
1886 he settled permanently in Oneida, where he has since resided. Mr. Witter mar- 
ried, in 1861, Louisa, daughter of Joseph Lawton, and eight children were born to 
them, five of whom survive: MrS; W. A. Brundage of Durhamville, Mrs. W. M. Price 
of St. Louis, Mrs. S. A. Campbell of Oneida, Mrs. E. H. Carpenter of Oneida, and 
Carrie B. Witter. 



Williams, William R., was born in the town of Trenton, Oneida county, N. Y. 
March 26, 1828, a son of Robert Z. and Eliza (Guthrie) Williams. His father was 
born in Wales and came to this country with his parents in 1802 when about two 
years old. They settled first in Philadelphia where they made the acquaintance of 
Barton Steuben, who induced them to remove to Oneida county, whither they went 
in 1816, traveling all the way by team. Robert Z.Williams was educated in Philadel- 
phia and afterward attended Hamilton Theological Seminary, He was ordained at 
the Baptist Church in Steuben, Oneida county, and was pastor at different places in 
that county, remaining in the ministry until his death at the age seventy-three years. 
William R. Williams attended a school known as Hobart Hall at Holland Patent, the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 141 

Oneida Castle Seminary and Whitestown Seminary. At eighteen he commenced 
teaching school and until he reached his twenty-fifth year taught each winter, em- 
ploying his spare time learning the carpenters' trade. In 1865 he located in Oneida 
and began business as a contractor and builder. Mr. Williams has built numerous 
public and private buildings in Oneida; he has always been an active man, and is 
considered one of the prominent and valuable citizens of this village. He has long 
been a staunch Republican, and is a member of long standing of the First Baptist 
Church. He married in September, 18!51, Mary L. Kingsbury, a native of Hartford, 
Conn., and daughter of Flavel Kingsbury. Four children have been born to them: 
Henry J., George S., Frank P. and Delia T., wife of Dr. Otto Pfaff of Oneida. 



Westcott, James H., son of John H. and Helen (Williams) Westcott, was born in 
Oneida, November 17, 1861. His father was a native of the village of Lafayette, 
near Syracuse, and learned the machinists' trade at Providence, R. I. He removed 
to Oneida and became foreman of the works of the Oneida Steam Engine Company, 
formed by Henry Wilson for the manufacture of steam engines. Here he perfected 
his invention of the " Westcott Chuck," which was manufactured for a time by that 
company. In 1885 the Westcott Chuck Company was incorporated for the manu- 
facture of this device, with a capital stock of §50,000. which was later increased to 
§150,000. Mr. Westcott died December 29, 1886. James H. Westcott was educated 
in the Oneida public schools and when fifteen years of age began to learn the ma- 
chinist's trade in the works of the company. He has spent his life m this plant, be- 
ing now superintendent of the Westcott Chuck Company. Mr. Westcott is a mem- 
ber of Oneida Lodge No. 370, F. & A. M. He married, in 1881, Nellie, daughter of 
Henry Burdick of South Bay. 



( Waterman, Stephen C. , son of Rehal and Susan (Colvin) Waterman, was born in 
the town of Lenox, this county, May 16, 1843. He was educated in the public schools, 
and Monroe county academy at East Henrietta. In 1862 he enlisted in Co. A., 11 1th 
N. Y. Volunteers, and served until the close of the war, participating in the Wilder- 
ness campaign, the engagements before Richmond and at Appomattox. He was 
honorably discharged June 13, 1865, and came to Oneida where for one year he was 
employed as a clerk in the grocery store of A. Hill & Son. Subsequently he worked 
as a clerk in D. C. Colvin'sshoe store five years, and following this period established 
a boot and shoe store in association with J. F. Cody (1871) forming the firm of Cody 
& Waterman. After six years Mr. Cody retired and for five years subsequent Mr. 
Waterman conducted the business alone. In 1883 he bought the clothing business of 
C. I. Walrath & Sons, in which enterprise he was associated with F. P. Klock, form- 
ing the firm of Waterman & Klock. In 1889 Mr. Klock was succeeded by Fred 
Hodges, forming the present firm of Waterman & Hodges. Mr. Waterman has been 
in business at his present location eighteen years. He has been active in Republican 
politics and has frequently held positions of public trust, serving as village clerk one 
year, town clerk one year, and as village trustee two years. In 1895 he was elected 
supervisor of the new town of Oneida, and still holds this office to which he has been 
elected three successive times. In April, 1899. he was appointed superintendent of 
canals for Section 5, extending from Canastota to Herkimer. Mr. Waterman is a 



143 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

member of Oneida Lodge, No. 270, F. & A. M. ; and a charter member John R. Ste- 
ward Post No. 174, G. A. R., which he has served as trustee for the past twelve 
years. He was one of the organizers and a continuous director of the Farmer's and 
Merchant's Bank ; is a stockholder of the Rathbun Sawyer Company, the Oneida 
Silver Plating Works, and the National Chuck Company. Mr. Waterman married 
in 1871, Maggie A. Walrath, daughter of C. I. Walrath of Oneida. Two children 
have been born to them: Flora A., and Charles I. Waterman. 



Wentz, George, who has been a resident farmer near Oneida Castle for many 
years, was b^rn in Binghamton, N. Y., May 19, 1840, a son of Peter Wentz. His 
father was engaged during the civil war in building military railroads, and in this 
sometimes exiting and dangerous work the son assisted. Mr. Wentz is of German 
descent. He was educated m the common schools of Binghamton, where he resided, 
with the exception of the war period, until 1881. In that year he removed to his 
present farm near the village of Oneida Castle where he has resided for a period of 
eighteen years; he is well known in this vicinity. Mr. Wentz married, in 1879, Helen 
Forbes Hopcraft. 

Hopcraft, Thomas, born October 31, 1844, and died April 2, 1875, was the first 
telegraph operator at the Ontario and Western depot in Oneida. He was born in Ox- 
fordshire, England, a son of George and Maria (Price) Hopcraft, and when he was 
an infant his parents removed to this country, settling in Oneida. Mr. Hopcraft at- 
tended the common schools of Oneida, and later the Syracuse Business College. 
When only eighteen years old he enlisted in Co. G., 82d N. Y. Volunteers, and after 
serving three years, was wounded and for eleven months was in the Elmira Hospital. 
He was the first ticket agent and operator at Oneida, Ontario and Western, at a sta- 
tion near Elmira, and later at Binghamton. where he died. Mr. Hopcraft married 
Helen Forbes, and of this union is one daughter. Miss Eva Hopcraft, an artist of 
Oneida and New York city. The father of Helen Forbes was George Forbes, born 
in Hartford, Conn., in June, 1811; married in 1830, Clarissa Webster. At eighteen 
years of age he became a glass blower at Redwood, N. Y. , continuing many years. 
Later he removed to Oneida, settled on a farm and also conducted a livery stable un- 
til his death, September 6. 1894. Clarissa, his wife, died at the age of forty-two 
years, January 15, 1856, leaving seven children ; one died in infancy. 



Brown, H. Clifft, M. D., was born in Brookfield, February 14, 1857, a son of 
Stephen, a son of Justice H., son of Elder Simeon Brown, a native of North Stoning- 
ton. Conn., and a son of Elder Simeon Brown, who was pastor of the Baptist church 
at North Stonington for fifty years. The family is of English descent and date back 
to one John Brown, who settled at Stonington. Elder Simeon Brown came to 
Brookfield in 1791 and was a licensed missionary from North Stonington, and in 1798 
founded the Baptist church of Brookfield, where he spent his days and died in 1836. 
This church was the second organized in the town of Brookfield, the first being the 
First Seventh Day Baptist church of Brookfield, organized at Leonardsville in 1797, 
by Elder Henry Clarke. Elder Brown located on land that has since remained in 
the family and Stephen Brown owns a part of said land. Justice H. Brown became 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 143 

heir to most of the homestead; his wife, Susanah Main, was a daughter of Deacon 
Daniel Main, an early settler of the town. Stephen Brown was born in Brooktield, 
November 37, 1824, and educated in the Brookfield Academy. He is a farmer by 
occupation, his farm of 100 acres which is a part of the Elder Simeon Brown home- 
stead. Mr. Brown and his family attend the Seventh Day Baptist church at Leon- 
ardsville. His wife was Lucinda A. Ellison, born May 30, 1832. a daughter of Stephen 
Ellison, who came from Brookfield, Mass., about 1840; they had three children; H. 
Clift, Cora J., wife of C. M. Bassett, who lives with her father on the homestead, and 
Addie, wife of Samuel Spring of Colorado. Mrs. Brown died November 30, 1897. 
Dr. H. C. Brown was reared in Brookfield on the old farm, and was educated in the 
common schools, Brookfield Academy and Alfred University. After pursuing his 
studies in Alfred University at Alfred. N. Y. , about two years, he began teaching in 
his native town. Although a very successful teacher, he decided to make medicine 
his life work, and began reading with Dr. A. L. Saunders of Brookfield, afid by hard 
work, teaching during the day and studying nights, he entered Syracuse University, 
from which he was graduated M. D. in 1881. He began his practice that same year 
at South Brookfield, and in 1885 removed to Brookfield, where he is now practicing. 
Dr. Brown is a man of strong character, yet retiring in disposition, believing that 
faithful, untiring work brings its sure reward. His large and lucrative practice built 
on such a foundation is unquestionable proof of its truth. The Madison County 
Medical Society has honored him by making him its president and vice-president. 
He is a close student and in order to keep abreast of the times takes as occasion per- 
mits post-graduate instruction in the New York Post-Graduate Schools. Politically, 
Dr. Brown is a lifelong Republican, well posted in political history and believing 
that the principles advocated by the Republican party, when honestly and faithfully 
carried out, will always bring national prosperity. In 1877 Dr. Brown married Car- 
oline Babcock, daughter of Gideon Babcock of Plainfield, N. Y. ; they have had four 
children: Hubert J. (deceased), Kearn B., Ruth L., and Elston S. (deceased). The 
Doctor and his wife are members of the Second Seventh Day Baptist church of Brook- 
field and are both are very active in church and charitable work. 



Langworthy, William F., A. M., p. o. Hamilton, was born at West Edmeston, 
Otsego county, N. Y., May 4, 1864, a son of Hollum and Rosina (Pope) Langworthy. 
His great grandfather, Nathan Langworthy, was one of the early settlers of Madi- 
son county, having come from Rhode Island to Brookfield in 1806. Prof. Lang- 
worthy was prepared for college at Brookfield Academy, and then entered Colgate 
University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1887. He then began his 
career as a teacher, his first position being in the Keystone Academy, Factoryville, 
Pa., where he remained three years. lu 1890 he accepted the position of professor 
of science in Colgate Academy, which position he still occupies. In 1890 Prof. Lang- 
worthy married Lois C. Babcock of Hamilton, and they have two daughters: Caro- 
line Pearl and Margaret B. 



Stone, Rev. Lewis B., who died in Cazenovia, August 17, 1866, in the sixtieth year 
of his age, was born in Massachusetts in 1806. In 1832 he removed to Schoharie 
county," N. Y. He had begun to interest himself in religious work in 1833, and in 



144 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

1842, after having served the church for some time as an exhorter, he was licensed 
as a local preacher, in virhich capacity he remained until his death. He served the 
church as a traveling preacher under the presiding elder within the rounds of the 
New York conference, for some time on the Delaware mission and for three years 
on the Cohocton circuit. He then retired from the itinerant work and opened a gen- 
eral store at Harpersfield, Delaware county, and while thus engaged lost an arm 
through a railroad accident. In 1855 he removed to Cazenovia, and while living 
here served with acceptability and profit the charges of Delphi, Bethel and Peck's 
Hill, where he labored three years. As a citizen he was honored with several public 
offices which he filled with fidelity and usefulness; as a business man he was char- 
acterized by promptitude and energy, and as a pastor loved the principles of the 
gospel and attempted to exemplify them in his life, At the time of his death he was 
president of the village. He married, in 1843, Samantha Hartwell, daughter of Sol- 
omon Hartwell of Schoharie county, N. Y. 



Mat.son, William E., p. o. Peterboro, was born in Cambridgeshire, England, No- 
vember 4, 1829, a son of William and Alice (Rowling) Matson, who lived and died in 
England, his mother in 1895, at the age of eighty-eight. Mr. Matson was reared in 
England and educated, with the exception of four winters, in the United States. 
January 12, 1854, he came to Peterboro, N. Y., where he has since resided and fol- 
lowed farming. October 11, 1865, he married Eliza Bayliss, born in England, a 
daughter of Benjamin B. and Mary (Skinner) Bayliss, natives of England and who 
came to the United States July 26, 1836. Mrs. Bayliss died in Smithfield September 
15, 1874, and Mr. Bayliss February 37, 1885. Mrs. Matson died May 3, 1895. Au- 
gust 22, 1862, Mr. Matson enlisted in Co. F, 157th N. Y. State Vols., and was dis- 
charged July 25, 1865. He was in the battles of Chancellorville, Gettysburg, Ha- 
gerstown. Honey Hill, siege of Morris Island, and several raids near Charleston. 
He is a member of O. H. Tillinger Post No. 548, G. A. R., of Morrisville. To Mr. 
and Mr. Bayliss were born two children; Eliza (as above), and Mary, wife of Virgil 
M. Armour, a son of Preston Armour, who is an uncle of P. D. Armour of Chicago. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Virgil M. Armour were born six children, two now living: William 
W., Eliza E., Isabel B., Adelphia J. (all deceased), Mary E., wife of Jay Curtis of 
West Winfield, and Minnie B., wife of Dr. W. J. Reeve. Mrs. Armour died Septem- 
ber 22, 1868. 



Frink, George W., a well known farmer, residing on his 200 acre farm in the town 
of De Ruyter, is a son of Ephraim and Luciuda (Ferguson) Frink, born in the town 
of Solon, Cortland county, N. Y., October 26, 1850. His father was also a native of 
this town, born in 1816, and is still living in his eighty-second year. He was a son 
of Charles and Jane Frink. His mother was born in Broome county, N. Y., in 1814. 
Her people came from Rhode Island and settled in Broome county at a very early 
date. George W. received his education in the public schools of De Ruyter, his pa- 
rents having removed to this town when he was three years of age. He remained 
at home on the farm until he was married, March 21, 1870, to Ann Eliza, daughter 
of Alfred and Waity (Sherman) Sweet. To them have been born one daughter. 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 145 

Blanche, wife of Clayton Davis of Syracuse. They have one daughter, Leah Clare, 
who is attending school in De Ruyter. George W. follows the example of his father 
and grandfather in politics, being a strong adherent of the Republican party, and 
earnest and hearty in the advocacy of its principles. He has held the office of jus- 
tice of the peace for two terms. He takes a prominent rank among the farmers of 
his county and with his estimable wife leads a happy and contented life. 



Stanley, C. M., was born in the town of Scott, Cortland county, N. Y. , in 1859, a 
son of Bowman H. and Elizabeth (Smith) Stanley. "When he was an infant the fam- 
ily removed to Cazenovia, where his father became a leading merchant and promi- 
nent citizen, holding several village offices. Before the days of railroads he ran an 
overland express to Syracuse. Mr. Stanley was educated in the village schools of 
Cazenovia, and at the seminary. He began biismess life in association with his 
father, with whom he continued for a number of years. In 1894 he engaged in the 
insurance business and now has probably the largest and strongest line of companies 
represented by any one man in Central New York. Some of the stronger companies 
of which he holds the agency for Cazenovia and vicinty are the Continental and 
Home of New York; Hartford of Hartford, Conn. ; Liverpool, London and Globe, of 
Liverpool and London ; North British and Mercantile of London ; and Fire Associa- 
tion of Philadelphia. Mr. Stanley has always been a Democrat. He is a member 
of Cazenovia Lodge No. 616, F. & A. M. In October, 1881, he married Harriet M. 
Smith, daughter of Phineas Smith of Brocketts Bridge, now Dolgeville, N. Y. 

Cook, Chauncey B., supervisor of the town of Cazenjvia si.K years, was born on the 
farm in Cazenovia which has always been his home. May 3, 1843, a son of Wolcott 
and Nancy A. (Gilbert) Cook. The family is of New England pioneer stock, and Mr. 
Cook's great-grandfather held the rank of captain in the Revolutionary army. His 
grandfather, Serad Cook, was also a Revolutionary soldier, and one of the first set- 
tlers of the town of Sullivan. He subsequently removed to Cazenovia and settled on 
the farm which Mrs. Robert Stewart now owns, and became a man of considerable 
prominence in the early history of the town. Wolcott Cook was born in Great Bar- 
rington, Mass., and was twelve years of age when his parents came to this region. 
He died in April, 1879, aged eighty years. Of his union with Nancy A. Gilbert 
were three children ; Gilbert, deceased ; Burr W. , of Brockport ; and Chauncey B. 
Cook. The latter was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, and has always been en- 
gaged in farming. He is also well known throughout this region as an auctioneer. 
In politics he is a Republican. He is a member and past master of the Madi,son 
County Grange, and a member of the A. O. U. W. He married in 1863, Agnes Mar- 
tin, and four children have been born to them- Leora A., who died in childhood; 
Edith May, wife of John Bennett of Cazenovia; Daniel C, who resides on the home 
farm ; and Theodotia, wife of G. Ray Nichols of Cazenovia. 



Maynard, Charles E., was born in the town of Fenner, November 5, 1846, a son of 
Joseph and Sarah A. (Sherman) Maynard. Joseph was born October 19, 1819, and 
died. January 36, 1892, and Sarah A., his wife, died on the 37th of April, 1881. 
Charles E. married, on October 8, 1867, Charlotte J., daughter of James A. and 



146 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Sarah M. Parmelee of Smithfield, and they have three children: Dexter P., born 
February 11, 1873, married Blanche E. English; Agnes E., born January 1, 1879; 
and Elsie De R. , born April 26, 1883. Agnes E. was graduated from the Cazenovia 
Seminary, class of 1898. Elsie De R. is a member of the class of 1900. Joseph and 
Sarah Maynard's children were Charles E., Henry S., Edward H., and Frank J. 
Joseph was a son of Nathan F. and Polly Putney Maynard. Nathan's children were 
Joseph, Theodosia, Everson P., Ezra T., and Nathan F. Sarah A. was a daughter 
of Richard Sherman, who was in the war of 1812, and was located at Sackets Har- 
bor. Charles E. was educated in the common schools of the town of Fenner and 
Cazenovia Seminary. His early life was spent with his parents. When about 
twenty-one years of age he started in the general merchandise business at Erievi'le, 
N. Y. , where he has continued to the present time. He is also owner of the cream- 
ery and cheese factory at that place, and which is one of the most complete of its 
kind in the country. He has always taken an active part in public affairs and rep- 
resented his district in the Assembly in 1888 and 1889. 

Wood, M. C, justice of the peace and miller in the town of New Woodstock, was 
born in the town of De Ruyter, October 80, 18'11, a son of Lewis and Esther A. 
(Merrill) Wood. His father, who died in 1881, in the seventy-second year of his age, 
was a native and life-long resident of De Ruyter, and a prominent farmer of the 
town. The family were early settlers in this vicinity, coming from Springfield, Mass. 
M. C. Wood was educated in the common schools and in early life worked on his 
father's farm. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted in Co. A, 157th N. Y. 
Volunteers, and served three years. On obtaining his discharge he returned to De 
Ruyter and engaged in farming until 1871, when he came to New Woodstock, and 
entered into partnership with James J. Randall, who conducted the New Woodstock 
mill. Their association continued under the firm name of Randall & Wood until the 
former's death, when Mr. Wood succeeded to the business and conducted it alone 
until the admission of his son, Charles M. Wood, forming the present firm of M. C. 
Wood & Son. In 1896 the old mill burned and although it was at once rebuilt they 
have not since been engaged in manufacturing, but deal quite extensively in flour, 
feed, salt, shingles, and poultry supplies. Mr. Wood has been a staunch Republican 
and has served as justice of the peace and member of the town board for .several 
years. He is a Chapter Mason, a member of the A. O. U. W. , and of Knowlton 
Post, No. 160, G. A. R. He married, in 1866, Ruth C. Randall, daughter of J. J. 
Randall. One son has been born to them, Charles M. Wood. 



Block. Fritz C, supervisor of the tovi-n of Sullivan, was born in Germany, Novem- 
ber 34, 1854, a son of Frederick and Sophia (Schrom) Block. When he was fourteen 
years old his parents came to this country, settling at Chittenango Station, whtre 
his father still lives at the advanced age of seventy-two years. Mr. Block was edu- 
cated in the common schools and began his bu.siness experience in the general, store 
of James T. Burton, for whom he worked some time. He subsequently went into 
business for himself, and conducted a general store at Chittenango several years. 
Mr. Block is now manager of the Madison County Celery Company, is extensively 
engaged in handling country produce, and also deals in coal. He is widely known 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 147 

in this section, and is considered one of the representative citizens of the county. 
His townsmen have frequently honored him with positions of public trust; he has 
served as collector, as highway commissioner several times, and as supervisor of 
Sullivan township, an office he still fills. Fraternally he is a member of the 
A. O. U. W. He married, in 1893, Margaret M. Smith, daughter of Patrick Smith 
of De Ruyter. Two sons have been born of this union: Frederick Carl and Burton 
Smith Block. 



Brooks, Nelson O. , M. D., who has practiced at Perry ville since Jime, 1894, was 
born three miles southwest of Peterboro. June 13, 1868, a son of William and Mary 
(Griffiths) Brooks. His grandfather, Orrin Brooks, was one of the early settlers of 
the town of Smithfield, where he cleared large tracts of land and became a man of 
considerable prominence. His father was one of the representative farmers of 
Smithfield. Dr. Brooks gained his preliminary education at Cazenovia Seminary 
and prepared for his profession at the University of Buffalo, Medical Department, 
taking the M. D. degree from that institution in May, 1894. In June of the same 
year he began his practice in Perryville. In politics he is a Republican ; he has 
served as health officer of the town of Fenner for five years. He is a member of 
Perryville Lodge of Odd Fellows. Mr. Brooks has been the architect of his own for- 
tunes, and gained his professional education entirely by his own efforts. He married 
in October, 1894, Aileen M. Campbell, daughter or Ambrose Campbell of Oneida. 
One son has been born to them : LeRoy Eugene. 



Stisser, William H., was born in Lenox (now Oneida), December 28, 1864, a son of 
Augustus and grandson of John Stisser. John Stisser was a farmer and died on the 
old homestead. Augustus Stisser was born in Lenox, educated in the common 
schools and is a well- to-do farmer; he married Aseyueth Clement of Stockbridge, 
and they had seven children, all living. William H. was educated in the common 
schools of Oneida and Cazenovia Seminary. He has a farm of 110 acres and follows 
general farming, October 16, 1893, he married Ora G. Miller, daughter of John and 
Julia (Wilkinson) Miller of Wampsville; they had four children : Pearl E., Mearl J. 
and Earl A, (twins), and Florence N. In politics Mr. Stisser is a Democrat. 



Adams, Edmund, a well known resident of the town of Sullivan, of which he is a 
native, was born July 24, 1840, a son of Vespesian and Calista (Dewev) Adams His 
paternal grandfather, John Adams, was a public surveyor appointed by Governor 
DeWitt Clinton. He came to Sullivan in 1802 on a hunting expedition, and being 
pleased with the country became a permanent settler in 1806. His father, Elisha 
Adams, had been deeded lot 55 for his services in the revolutionary war, and this, no 
doubt, influenced his decision. Edmund Adams was educated in the common schools 
of his native town ; at Cazenovia Seminary, where he was graduated in 1862; and at 
the University of Michigan, which he attended one year. In politics he is a staunch 
Republican. He has been principally engaged in farming, but served an apprentice- 
ship with both his grandfather, and his uncle, James, as a surveyor, and in this busi- 
ness has gained an enviable reputation. Almost a century covers the professional 
experience of these three men in Madison and Onondaga counties. Mr. Adams has 



148 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

recently been engaged in surveying for ditches in the great swamp. He married, in 
1865, Helen A. Wild, daughter of Allen Wild, who owned farms in Otsego and Dela- 
ware counties, and was a man of prominence in his day. Three children have 
been born of this union: Kate, wife of Rev. Charles Bassett; Robert B., and Caryl. 



Crayter, Lucian A., was born in Sullivan, February 26, 1851, a son of Conrad Cray- 
ter, born in 1801, and who came to Madison county when a young man, where he 
died in 1878 ; he married Mary Van Valkenburg, daughter of an early settler of Mad- 
ison county, and they had thirteen children. Lucian A. was reared a farmer and 
educated at Chittenango. In 1879 he bought the farm he now owns of 300 acres 
and follows general farming; he also has a milk route in Canastota which he has had 
for ten years. Mr. Crayter married Mary E. Deevendorf of Herkimer county and 
they had four children; Henry, Conrad, Jessie and Mable. Mr. Crayter is a Repub- 
lican in politics; he is a member of the Canastota Lodge, I. O. O. F. and of the 
A. O. U. W. 



Andrews, David, was born where he now resides, July 30, 1863, a son of Morris 
and Mary (Hughes) Andrews. Morris Andrews was born in Wales, where he worked 
in the slate mines; he came to this country and settled in Steuben, Oneida county, 
and also worked in the coal mines in Pennsylvania. After his mother's death in 
March, 1877, he purchased a farm in the eastern part of the town of Nelson, which 
he sold and afterward purchased the farm where David was born. David Andrews 
was educated in the town of Nelson in the Togg Hill district. On January 7, 1886, 
he married Mary, daughter of Mrs. Ann Parry; they have four children: Morris J., 
Evan D., Robert and Walter. Soon after his marriage he took charge of the farm 
which he has since carried on. Mr. Andrevifs is active in town and county affairs, 
and has been elected inspector two terms Is also active in educational and school 
work and a supporting and contributing member of the Welsh Congregational 
Church. He and his wife are members of the Nelson Grange No. 615. 



Angel, George F., son of George W. and Mary (Morse) Angel, was born in Little 
Falls, Herkimer county, N. Y. , Octobers, 1835. His paternal and maternal grand- 
fathers were both early settlers on the Mohawk River, the former coming from Prov- 
idence, R. I., and the latter from Windsor county, Vermont. Mr. Angel received a 
common school education and served an apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, at 
which he worked about three years. He then entered the employ of the New York 
Central and Hudson River Railroad Company, for which corporation he worked 
nearly half a century, retiring June 9, 1898. From 1865 until that time Mr. Angel 
was a road master, first from Utica to Little Falls, then extended to St. Johnsville, 
and subsequently from Utica to the Dewitt Tunnel. In politics he has been a Dem- 
ocrat; he is a member of Little Falls Lodge, F. & A. M. ; Little Falls Chapter, R. A. 
M. ; and Utica Commandery No. 3, K.T. Mr. Angel married first Hannah E. Loomis, 
daughter of Russell Loomis of Little Falls; si.\ children were born of this union: 
Willis C, an engineer on the New York Central; Mariam L., wife of Nathan Levy 
of Utica; Zenas C, an engineer on the New York Central; Henry S., of the New 
York Custom House; George R., for six years assistant road master under Mr. Angel 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 149 

and now on the Midland; and Margaret, wife of W. H. Jones of Clinton, N. Y. For 
his second wife he married Miss Mary Shaffer, daughter of George Shaffer of 
Herkimer, and of this union there is one daughter, Florence Laura Angel. 



York, Jared F., p. o. North Brookfield, was born in Brookfield, February 23, 1860, 
a son of Leland C. and Mary L. (Brown) York. His father was Leland C. York, 
born in Brookfield, January 31, 1815, a farmer and cheese maker, and died Septem- 
ber 16, 1897; the mother was born February 24, 1823. They had six children: Alonzo 
L., born February 13, 1846; Mary S. Burk, born December 12,1848; Flora E. Belden, 
born March 22, 1852; Mahlon D., born March 27, 1858; Jared F., born February 23, 
1860; Eva F. Hunt, born January 31, 1864. His grandfather was Yeomans York, a 
native of Stonington, Conn , who married for his first wife. Prudence Chapman, who 
died soon after he came to Brookfield, 1793; his second wife was Amy Rogers, who 
bore him one son ; his third wife was Catherine Collins (born January 24, 1789), who 
bore him eight children. Catherine was the daughter of Hezekiah, born January 15, 
1765, and Mary (Hoxie) Collins, horn December 8, 1767. They had ten children. 
Mary was the daughter of Stephen (born May 8, 1738, old time), who lived 101 years, 
4 months and 16 days, and Elizabeth (Tift) Hoxie, (born February 10, 1744.) Hezekiah 
was the son of Joseph (born April 29, 1738), and Bathsheba (Hoxie) Collins (born 
January 15. 1765). Bathsheba was the daughter of Solomon and Mary Hoxie. Joseph 
was the son of Hezekiah (born August 29, 1707), and Catherine (Gifford) Collins (born 
June 15, 1718) Hezekiah was the son of John and Susanna (Dagget) Collins. John 
was the son of John Collins (born 1632), and he the son of Henry Collins (born 1606), 
embarked from London in the ship Abigail on June 30, 1635. Mary L. (Brown) York 
was the daughter of Zebulon (born June 30, 1782), and Sarah (Lewis) Brown (born 
March 12, 1792). They had nine children; he was a native of Stonmgton, Conn., 
and she of Rensselaer county, N.Y. They were pioneers of Brookfield. Zebulon 
was the son of Zebulon and Theda (York) Brown ; she a sister of Yeomans York. 
Zebulon was the son of Zebulon Brown ; Sarah was the daughter of Zebulon and 
Mary (York) Lewis, and she a sister of Yeomans York. Jared F. York was educated 
at Brookfield Union School and commenced business in butter and cheese making, 
but he engaged in farmmg and operated a steam saw mill. On April 10, 1882, Mr. 
York was married to Anna D (born October 27, 1856), daughter of John (born August 
7, 1816), and Sarah J. (Hubbard) Smith (born April 15, 1822). Sarah was the 
daughter of David and Lucy (John.son) Hubbard. John was the son of Aaron and 
Sarah (Thetga) Smith. Aaron was the son of Samuel Smith. Jared F. York and 
Anna D. have four children: Frank D. , born January 21, 1883; Vern Bell, born 
October 30, 1888; Neta V. and Neva Lewis, born November 14, 1892. 

Snyder Brothers, merchantmillers, Bridgeport. — This important and widely known 
family dates locally to Philip Snyder, the grandfather of the two gentlemen compos- 
ing the present firm: W. J. and C. D. Snyder. Philip Snyder came from Holland 
and settled first near Sandlake, on the east shore of the Hudson. He was an ardent 
sportsman and not only delighted especially in the gentle art of fishing, but gained 
his livelihood in that way. After several years in that locality, during which time 
he married, he began to look still further toward the setting sun and with the hope. 



150 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

not ungratiKed, of finding still more prolific and lucrative fishing grounds. It was in 
the autumn of 1825 that he purchased an uncleared piece of land on the shore of 
Oneida Lake, near the mouth of Chittenango Creek, consisting of 108 acres. Here he 
began the erection of a log house, which he completed the next spring, bringing his 
family from the canal at Kirkville by the primitive ox team, but was stricken with 
fever and died in the ensuing autumn. At that epoch he bore the repute of having 
become the wealthiest man in town. He left a large family, of whom the eldest son 
was John (the father of W. J. and C. D. Snyder), and of whom the youngest was Jacob, 
now an honored resident of Bridgeport, and whose personal memories of those early 
times are of much interest John Snyder was about eleven years of age when his 
father settled here, and grew up to spend most of his life here, chiefly engaged in 
farming. In 1814 he married Elizabeth Hines. who bore him four children: \V. J. 
Snyder, Mrs. Henrietta S. Brown of Cicero; Mrs. Cora L. Sharpe of Syracuse, and 
C. DeWitt Snyder, junior member of the firm. Mr. Snyder died in 1874, at sixty 
years of age, having accumulated a large property and also bequeathing to his chil- 
dren the heritage of an unspotted name. W. J. Snyder was born August 24, 1848, on 
the old homestead by the lake. He has remained intimately identified with the 
Ijcality. Completing his education at Cazenovia, he first engaged in farming, and 
in 1879 became associated with C- D. Snyder in the purchase of the Bridgeport Flour 
Mills, itself a historic old structure, and which is still operated with success by the 
brothers. Their mill is eligibly situated on Chittenango Creek, and upon the oppo- 
site side in Onondaga county, they have a large sawmill. W. J. Snyder has long 
been identified with public affairs in the town of Cicero, where he resides, and where 
he also owns several farms. Always a Republican he served a term of four 
years as assessor, and before vacating that office in 1890, was elected supervisor, 
which office he filled with much credit for the years 1890, 1891 and 1892. He has 
been bereaved of two wives; the first, Anna E. Crownhart, to whom he was married 
September 10, 1879, and who died August 1, 1881; and the second, Anna L. John- 
son, married February 2, 1887, and died May 23, 1890. The younger member of the 
firm, Clinton De Witt Snyder, was born on the old homestead farm, October 17, 
1857, and like his brother received his education at Cazenovia Seminary. Since their 
purchase of their milling business in 1879, he has made that his vocation. He, too, 
is a staunch Republican in politics, but cherishes no desire for public life. Hospitable 
and domestic in his tastes, his elegant home on the Main street of the village, is 
presided over by a wife who may trace her own ancestry lineage to the oldest local 
records. Her father was the late Cornelius Rector of Bridgeport. She was before 
ma'riaaje Mary Jane Rector, and became Mrs. Snyder December 22, 1881. It seems 
eminently proper to conclude this sketch with the general statement that both the 
brothers have always been identified with the best interests of the community and 
are recognized in both counties as citizens of sterling worth. 



Tayntor, Joseph, the pioneer of one of the most substantial families of descendants 
in central New York, was six generations removed from Joseph Tayntor, the Ameri- 
can colonist, who came to this country in 1638, in the good ship Confidence, and set- 
tled in Massachusetts. Joseph, the pioneer, .settled in thispartof the State (probably 
in Lebanon) in 1808, and with him also came his father, Benjamin, and other mem- 



PKRSONAL REFERENCES. IT)! 

bers of the family. Joseph died December 22, 1847. His children were Abigail, 
Joseph, jr. (Deacon Tayntor), Patty, Orsamus, Lucy, Ira B., Erastus P., Cyrus K., 
and Rufu? H. Orsamus Tayntor was born February 2.5, 1808, and entered the Bap- 
tist ministry; he married first, Roxanna Daniels who born him five children: Sarah 
L, , Caroline M. , Emma, Ellen A. , and Lucy R. ; his second wife was Sophia Deramon ; 
their children were Flora S. and Albert O. Benjamin Tayntor, son of Benjamin and 
nephew of Joseph, was born in Worcester, N. Y. , and died in Eaton in 18.55. He 
married Eliza Foster; their children were Guilford, who died in Minnesota, aged 
seventy-one; Mary Ann, who died in Russia, N. Y., aged forty-seven; and Alanson. 
Alanson Tayntor is one of the oldest living members of the family, and is also one of 
the most substantial farmers of Eaton ; he was born February 12. 1829. In 1853 he mar- 
ried Mary L. Tayntor, who died January 25, 1892, by whom he had two children; 
Luella E. , and Clarence B. Lorenzo Tayntor was perhaps one of the most prosper- 
ous farmers of Eaton and one of the most highly respected men of the town ; he was 
born April 17, 1813, and died January 24, 1892. He was reared by Benjamin Tayn- 
tor and began his life as a farmer near Hatch's Lake, where he always afterward 
lived and developed one of the best farms in the county. On July 9, 1832. he mar- 
ried Louisa Foster, who died January 22. 1894; to them were born Mary L. , Ursula, 
Marshall L. , Emma L., Helen C. , Homer L.. Margaret E., Asa D., Irving and Mel- 
\-\n B. Asa D. was born October 17, 1852, and is now one of Eaton's best general 
farmers. On August 27, 1879, he married Elizabeth P. Brown, daughter of Healey 
and granddaughter of pioneer John Brown ; their children are Leon B , born Sep- 
tember 80, 1880; Ada E.. born June 14, 1882; Herbert A., born January 29, 1885; 
and Gerturde H , born December 14, 1893. Irving Tayntor was born October 26, 
1855, and lives an the homestead farm near the lake. On June 3, 1877, he married 
Flora S. , daughter of Rev. Orsamus Tayntor. Mr. Asa D. is erecting a fine farm 
house with all modern conveniences. Pioneer John Brown helped to clear the land 
where the Bradley Brook reservoir now stands; also to build the large cotton mill 
situated at Pierceville and a large stone woolen mill one-half mile above. 



Howard, F. H., A. M., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Syracuse, N. Y. , and was edu- 
cated in the Syracuse University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1881. 
with the degree of A. B. In 1896-97 he studied at the Universities of Gottingen and 
Leipsic. He taught for four years in the Methodist Seminary at Montpelier, Vt. , and 
one year in the Greylock Institute, South Williamstown, Mass. From 1886 to 1889 
he was classical instructor in the Syracuse High School, and from 1889 to 1893 he 
taught in the Friends' School at Providence, R. I. In 1893 he came to Colgate Acade- 
my, where he has charge of the Greek and German departments. In 1886 Mr. How- 
ard married Ella Boomer, and they have one son, Oscar Howard. Mr. Howard 
takes a deep interest in his profession and is a crontributor to various school journals. 



Stradling, Thomas, p. o. Hamilton, was born in England and came to America 
in 1863. He settled at Hamilton, N. Y., and worked and attended the academy for 
six terms. He then went to work at farming and worked by the day or month until 
1869, when he became associated with Deacon Charles Payne and his son and estab- 
lished the first creamery in this part of the country. Mr. Stradling continued in 



152 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the creamery business for twenty-four years, sometimes operating several factories. 
In 1876 he purchased property on Hamilton street and built a home there. In 1886 
he added to his creamery interests the old grist mill on Eaton street and fitted it up 
as a creamery, putting in the first cream separator used in this vicinity. This cream- 
ery he developed into an extensive business, running three separators and using the 
milk produced from sixty different farms. In 189-1 he disposed of his creamery in- 
terests and went into the clothing, furnishing and shoe business, which he still con- 
ducts. In 1866 Mr. Stradling married Ellen Thompson, a native of England. Their 
children are Ira T., William H., Jessie Elizabeth, wife of William W. Smith of North 
Norwich, N. Y., Samuel, Frank, Charles P. and George F. Mr. Stradling has been 
a member of the Baptist Church since he came to Hamilton. He has also been a 
member of the Board of Education and is a prominent member of the A. O. U. W. , 
of which he has been deputy grand master for the county. He is a thorough, enter- 
prising and successful business man, and has used his fine natural abilities with great 
success. He is descended from fighting English stock, his ancestors having fought 
under the Duke of Wellington, against Napoleon during the campaign that culmi- 
nated at Waterloo. His combativeness and pluck explain in a measure his success. 
It is said of him that he never knows when he is beaten, but for all that he has a 
fine sense of justice and is never otherwise than fair and liberal. He fully identified 
himself with his adopted country and became a citizen as a soon as the time limit 
allowed. 



Clarke, William Newton, D. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Cazenovia, Madison 
county, N. Y., December 2, 1841, and was educated at Colgate University and Ham- 
ilton Theological Seminary, graduating from the college with the degree of A. B. in 
1861, and from the seminary in 1863. He then entered the ministry, his first pas- 
torate being with the Baptist church of Keene, N. H., where he remained six years. 
He then accepted a call to Newton Centre, Mass., where he spent eleven years, after 
which he was pastor in Montreal for three years. He next went to McMaster Hall, 
Toronto. Canada, as professor of New Testament Interpretation, and then came to 
Hamilton, as pastor of the Baptist church. After three years of ministerial work 
here he was appointed, in 1890, to the chair of Christian Theology, which he has 
since occupied. Dr. Clarke has published "A Commentary on the Gospel of Mark" 
(Philadelphia, 1881); "An Outline of Christian Theology " (Charles Scribner's Sons, 
New York, 1898), "What shall we Think of Christianity?" and " Can I Believe in 
God the Father?" (the same publishers, both 1899). Dr. Clarke married Emily A. 
Smith in 1869. His parents were Rev. William and Urania (Miner) Clarke. Rev. 
William Clarke was a Baptist minister, and was pastor of the church at Cazenovia 
for twenty-five years in two pastorates, 1836-1851, and 1854-1864. He was born in 
Rhode Island, but came in his childhood to Brookfield, Madison county, of which 
town his wife was a native. 



Gifford, Dr. Barton R. , p. o. Madison. — Richard Hubbard Gifford came from Con- 
necticut and settled in Herkimer county, thence removed to Onondaga county and 
eventually located in Madison county, living in the towns of Madison, Smithfield, 
and Eaton. His wife was Nancy Barton, daughter of Hale Barton, the latter a 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 153 

brother of Gen, Joseph Barton, a hero of the war of 1812. The children of Rich- 
ard and Nancy GifiEord were Emeline, Mary Ann, Abel M., Rosalie and Joseph 
Orlando. The latter entered the ministry and served as such to the time of his death 
in 1883. His wife was Lucinda Root, by whom he had three children: Barton Root, 
Ehzabeth, and Lucian Orlando. Barton R. Gifford was born in Eaton, June 21, 
1856, and spent his young life with his father, the latter a clergyman of the M E. 
church. He was educated in the common schools and in Colgate Academy, after 
which he read medicine with Dr. George B. Palmer of East Hamilton. He attended 
lectures in the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College and was graduated February 
14, 1878. He practiced for a time with Dr. Palmer, and in February, 1880. located 
in Madison village, where he stands prominent in his profession. In 1889-91 he was 
one of the coroners of the county. In March, 1885, Dr. Gifford married Florence 
Bayliss, who died October 18, 1888. On December 38, 1893, he married Alice Lucas, 
by whom he has two children. Dr. Gifford is a member of the County and State 
Homeopathic Medical Societies. 



Griffith, William H., M. D., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Oneida county, N. Y. , 
May 3, 1853, a son of Thomas and Esther (Martin) Griffith. His father was a native 
of Wales and at the age of nineteen came to America, and in early life was an engi- 
neer on a boat on the Mississippi River. He married his wife in Brooklyn and for 
a few years was engaged in the milk business, then came to Utica, later to Nelson, 
and lived in Madison about twenty years. He died in Rome in 1884 and his wife 
died in 1888. Dr. Griffith was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, studied medicine 
with Dr. J. linger of Waterville, N. Y., and was graduated from the New York 
Medical College in 1874. He began his practice at Chittenango, where he remained 
four years, then had charge of a hospital in Albany one year and in Rome two years. 
In 1883 he settled in Munnsville, where he has since had a successful practice. Dr. 
Griffith is a member of Madison County Medical Society, Central New York Medical 
Society, and of Sullivan Lodge No. 148, F. & A. M., of Chittenango, N. Y. Novem- 
ber 23, 1883, he married Caroline Eastman of Stockbridge, and they have two chil- 
dren: Lulu J. and Edith W. The family attend the Congregational church, of 
which his wife is a member. In politics Dr. Griffith is a Republican and is now serv- 
ing his second term as coroner of Madison county; he has also served as president of 
Madison County Medical Society one year and four years as treasurer. 



Baker, J. S., was born in Oneida county, N. Y., October 1, 1843, a son of James 
and Sarah Baker, natives of England. His father came to America in 1839 and his 
mother in 1825; they were married in Vernon, Oneida county, and had six children, 
two now living. Mr. Baker died in 1882 and his wife in 1860. J. S. Baker was ed- 
ucated in Vernon academy and Rome business college He began life as a carriage 
trimmer and at twenty-five years of age engaged in milling and manufacturing at 
Stockbridge, and has had an extensive business. He also handles flour and feed and 
manufactures cheese boxes extensively. In 1872 Mr Baker married an adopted 
daughter of Charles L. Anderson of Stockbridge, N. Y. , by whom he had two chil- 
dren: Wilton L., born in January, 1873, and Jeannette A., born in 1875. married A. 
W. Sigmore and died in 1897, leaving one child, James A. In politics Mr. Baker was 



154 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE 

a Republican until the Greeley time, and since then has been a Gold Democrat or 
independent. He is a member of the Patrons of Industry of Stockbridge and liberal 
in religious views. His wife is a member of the M. E. church. 



Dunham, E. E., p. o. Munnsville, was born in Lincoln, N. Y., November 13, 1862, 
a son of Jerome B., son of Richard Dunham, one of the early settlers of Lenox. 
Jerome B. was born in Lenox in 1819, and there spent his days as a farmer. His 
wife was Elizabeth Archer and they had three sons. Mr. Dunham lives with his son, 
E. E. Dunham; his wife died November 33, 1888. E. E. Dunham was reared on a 
farm and educated in the common schools. In 1898 he came to Stockbridge and 
bought a farm of seventy five acres in the village of Munnsville, where he follows 
hop growing and dairying. In politics be is a Republican and has been inspector of 
election. February 4, 1885, Mr. Dunham married Etta M. Poland, born in Oneida 
Valley, October 5, 1868, a daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Adams) Poland, and they 
have three daughters: Stella M., Ina B., and Leta A. 



Coe, W. Emmett, p. o. Peterboro, was born in Peterboro, March 37, 1851, a sou of 
George W. , and grandson of David Coe, born in Connecticut, September 10, 1784, 
who came to Smith field in 1803. and there lived and died July 6, 1855; his wife was 
Ora Ellenwood, born in Clinton, N. Y., August 15, 1789, and died in Smithfield, Feb- 
ruary 4, 1869 George W. Coe was born in Peterboro, N. Y., April 18 1828, educated 
in the common schools and has always followed farming. He married Rosa P. Dorn, 
born in Smithfield in 1828, a daughter of John I. Dorn, who came to Smithfield about 
1830. Mr. Coe was first a Whig, and a Republican since the organization of the party. 
He has been justice of the peace sixteen years and assessor four years. He is a Free 
Mason, a member of Morrisville Lodge, F. & A. M. W. Emmett Coe was educated 
in the common schools and Evans Academy. In 1873 he engaged in the drug busi- 
ness at Earlville, and after two years moved to Peterboro, where he has since been 
engaged in the same business. He owns a farm in Fenner of seventy-five acres. In 
1875 Mr. Coe married Carrie E. Mudge, daughter of William Mudge, a druggist of 
Earlville. In politics Mr. Coe is a Republican and was town clerk about four years. 
In 1875 he was appointed postmaster and held the office until Cleveland's first ad- 
ministration and was reappointed again under Harrison and again under McKinley 
in 1898. He was supervisor of Smithfield nine years in succession previous to 1891 
and that year was elected county clerk and re-elected again in 1894. He is a mem- 
ber of Smithfield Lodge, No. 120, I. O. O. F. Mr. Coe has two sisters; Addie, ed- 
ucated at Evans Academy, has been recording clerk in the county clerk's office seven 
years; and Maud, educated at Evans Academy, at home. 



Bliss, Norton A., p. o. Peterboro, was born on the farm he owns, March 21, 1843, 
a son of Lyman Bliss. He was reared on the farm, educated in the common schools 
and Peterboro academy. He has 210 acres of land and follows general farming, 
keeping a dairy of twenty-five cows. In politics he is a Republican and has been 
excise commissioner for several years. He is a member of Peterboro Lodge, No. 
130, I. O. O, F. In 1864 Mr. Bliss married Sallie M., daughter of Philander Brown 
of Stockbridge, and they have had three children: Eli J., educated in Peterboro 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 155 

academy, a farmer, and followed teaching for two winters; married Augusta Butler 
and have three children: Fenton, Stanley and Lilla M. ; May, educated in Peterboro 
academy, married, in 1887, John L. Warner, a farmer of Lincoln ; and Nellie, de- 
ceased. 



Johnston Bros., p. o. Peterboro.— This firm is composed of W. and B. Johnston. 
Barton Johnston was born in Smithfield, on the homestead, in 1844, a son of Alex- 
ander, son of Samuel Johnston, whose sketch appears in this work. Alexander was 
born February 18, 1803. He was a farmer and a Republican ; he married Lois 
Matherson, born February 21, 1813, and he died August 21, 1850; his wife died August 
31, 188-5. They had eight children. Winchester Johnston was born March 1, 1840, 
and educated in the common schools and Peterboro academy. He is a farmer and 
he and his brother have 151 acres and a dairy of twenty cows. March 24, 1864. he 
married Nancy Davis, daughter of Daniel J. Davis of Peterboro. Barton Johnston 
was educated in Peterboro academy. Winchester is a Free Mason and attends and 
supports the M. E. church. Daniel J. Davis was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., 
August 25, 1815, a son of Daniel, and grandson of Jacob Davis, who lived 
and died in Herkimer county. Daniel Davis was born in Herkimer county and 
there lived and died. He was a farmer by occupation and a Democrat in politics. 
His wife was Catherine Ritter. daughter of Frederick Ritter, of Revolutionary fame. 
Daniel J. Davis came to Smithfield in 1847 and engaged in farming and dealing 
in real estate. He owns about 500 acres of land and now lives retired in Peterboro, 
where he has resided for twenty-seven years. In 1840 he married Catherine Hart, 
born in Herkimer county, September 27, 1821, a daugter of George and Nancy (Adle) 
Hart. Daniel J. Davis and wife had five children: Mary C, Ezra, Nancy, Reuben 
S., and Daniel F. 



Eisaman Bros. — The firm is composed of M. and J. Eisaman, sons of Jacob and 
Ann (Keller) Eisaman, natives of Herkimer county, who came to Smithfield in 1852. 
M. and J. Eisaman own 125;^ acres of land in Smithfield, came to Lincoln in 1895 and 
bought twenty-two acres at Lenox Furnace and" are engaged in raising small fruit 
and garden truck. They built a fine barn in 1898, one of the best in the town, 70x40 
feet in dimensions. Melcher Eisaman, the oldest member of the firm, was born 
March 20, 1844, in Herkimer county, and educated in the common schools. January 
26, 1867, he married Susanna Loucks, of Canada, by whom was birn one child, Leo 
F. , educated in Peterboro academy and Oneida academy. October 5, 1893, Leo F. 
married Lena Weaver, and they have one son, Derwood. John Eisaman, the 
younger member of the firm, was born in Herkimer county, August 9, 1840, educated 
in the common schools, and married in 1869, Lottie Siver, daughter of Robert and 
Betsey Siver of Madison county. The grandfather of the Eisaman brothers was 
Peter Eisaman, who lived and died in Herkimer county. 

Hathaway, Henry H., was born in Stockbridge, February 8, 1829. a son of Luther 
Hathaway, one of the early settlers of Augusta, Oneida county, N. Y , coming from 
Connecticut. The Hathaway family were the first smelters of iron ore in the United 
States. Three brothers came to New York State in 1790, settling in Albany county. 



156 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

and in 1793 Phineas Hathaway, father of Luther, came to Augusta with his family. 
He married Miss Stafford, and raised a family of ten children. Luther Hathaway 
came to Stockbridge in 1812, and was active in the formation of that town, where he 
was a large land-holder and farmer; he died in Augusta in 1885. His wife was Polly 
Harrington, daughter of Capt. Harrington of Onondaga county. Luther Hathaway 
married three times and was the father of twenty children. Henry H. Hathaway 
was reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools. He has a farm of 135 
acres in Lincoln. He rebuilt the grist mill in Clockville in 1859, and operated it 
twenty five years, doing a large business. He also engaged extensively in farming 
and hop growing, and built many buddings. He is at present engaged in operating 
a saw mill. He married Nancy Seeber, daughter of Judge Sylvanus Seeber, one of 
the first settlers of Lenox (now Lincoln); they had two daughters; Honora H., wife 
of Charles N. Tuttle of Clockville, N. Y., and Frances N., wife of Edward S. Brew- 
ster, of the International Seed Co. of Rochester, N. Y. Mrs. Nancy Hathaway died 
December 6, 1894. Mr. Hathaway is independent in politics, and is the man who 
created the town of Lincoln and named it; he was the first supervisor in 1896 and 
1897, also justice of the peace some years and justice of sessions. He is quite an m- 
ventor, making improvements on machinery and has patented four hay rakes; also a 
hay fork and a hop picking machine, manufacturing the same for a number of years 
successfully, besides a number of other useful articles. Mr. Hathaway is well known 
throughout Madison county as one of the most active business men and has quite a 
reputation throughout the United States as an inventor. 



Tuttle, Charles N. , was born in Lincoln, October 14, 1850. a son of William L. , son 
of Abraham Tuttle, mentioned in this work. William L. Tuttle was born m Lincoln, 
February 8, 1823; he was a farmer and at the time of his death owned 625 acres of 
land. In politics he was a Republican and was once assessor. He died May 30, 1895. 
His wife was Susan Rebecca McGregor, born in 18i2. a daughter of John McGregor. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle were born four sons and all are now living. Mrs. Tuttle 
died in 1893. Charles N. was reared on a farm, educated at Oneida Seminary and 
Cazenovia Seminary. He has always been a farmer and owns 150 acres of land. In 
politics he is a Republican and is now serving as town clerk. He is a member of 
Canastota Lodge, F. & A. M., and Clockville Lodge, No. 313, I.O. O. F. Mr.Tuttle 
was married October 20, 1880. He has one son, born April 3, 1883, William Henry 
Richard Tuttle, who is attending school in Rochester at the present date. 



Eaton, Henry E., p. o. Eaton. — Allen Nelson Wood, senior partner of the firm of 
Wood, Tabor & Morse, long manufacturers of portable and agricultural steam en- 
gines, was born in Smith Valley, August 14, 1818, and was the son of Captain Allen 
and Lucinda (Newcomb) Wood. Captain Wood was one of the early notable char- 
acters in this county, a prominent Mason and by trade a spinner in the mills at 
Smith Valley. A Masonic funeral was held on the occasion of his death in 1833. 
The Newcombs were descended from an honored English family, Captain Newcomb, 
father of Mrs. A. N. Wood, having been a man of considerable distinction. Allen N. 
Wood spent his early life in Smith Valley and when about eighteen years old went 
to Poolville and started a machine and repair shop in company with his uncle, Enos 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 157 

Wood. In 1843 they went to Pierceville and set up the machinery in the mill at that 
place, but in 1845 located permanently at Eaton village, where they began experi- 
mentmg and making in a small way portable engines, retaining, however, the ma- 
chine repair shops to maintain them in business. In 1857 the business was removed 
to Utica and continued until February, 1859, when Mr. Wood retur;.ed to Eaton and 
established the firm of A. N. Wood & Co., succeeded by Wood, Tabor & Morse, 
builders of portable and agricultural engines, which was one of the leading indus- 
tries of its time in the country, contributed greatly to the prosperity of the village 
and yielded a fortune to its proprietors. Jlr. Wood was the practical mechanic and 
manager of the business, the latter being perhaps his special field, for he could not 
only build engines, but could and did transact the outside business, selling the en- 
gines with remarkable success and was equally successful in getting pay for them 
when other similar industries were suffering losses through insolvent debtors. Alto- 
gether Mr. Wood was one of the best men in the business history of Eaton village, 
and his unfortunate death (September 32, 1892) together with the death of Mr. Tabor 
in the same year, resulted in closing the shops in 1893 by Walter Morse, the only 
surviving partner of the firm. In 1842, on January 11, Mr. Wood married Calista 
M. Eaton, by whom he had one daughter, Olivia C. , wife of Henry E. Eaton, a na- 
tive of Fayetteville, for sixteen years a druggist in Syracuse, a student in Hamilton 
College, who left his class and on September 5, 1864, enlisted as private in Co. H, 
2d N. Y. Vol. Cav. , promoted quartermaster-sergeant and was mustered out June 5, 
1865. 



Blair, Charles C, was born in the town of Nelson, May 16, 1832, a son of Jeremiah 
and Susan (Clark) Blair, who had eight children; Susan Jeanette, wife of Levi P. 
Greenwood; Jeremiah, jr., Henry C, Isaac A., Charles C. , Arvin H., Edmon F., 
and Addison D. Mr. Blair's early life was spent with his parents and when a young 
man he learned the carpenter's trade and followed contracting and building twenty- 
five years. October 6, 1863, he married Mary E., daughter of Harvey and Betsey 
(Norton) Everts. They have two children- Frances Carroll, wife of Frank O. Jack- 
son, and L. Greenwood Blair, who married Lydia, daughter of Lester and Jennie 
Slocum Mills; they have one daughter, Mary Camilla. In 1879 Mr. Blair purchased 
a farm near the village of Erieville, and carried on dairying and general farming 
until 1898, since which time he has lived retired. He has always been interested in 
town and county affairs and in educational work, having been school trustee many 
years. Jeremiah was a son of Enoch, who was a native of Blandsford, Conn. B\' 
trade he was a stone mason. Enoch's children were Jeremiah, Alvin, Orie, Jane, 
Isaac, and Philo. 



Blowers, Truman S., was born in the town of Fenner. December 25, 1836, son of 
Clark and Almira Fuller Blowers, who came from Vermont and settled in that town 
with their family, which consisted of Hiram, Phoebe Ann, Mercy, Daniel and John. 
After they carre to Fenner the following children were born: Truman S., Angelina, 
Emeline, William, Charles, Frances, Maria and Adelbert. Truman S. Blowers was 
educated in the schools of Fenner. He and his brothers Charles and John enlisted 
in Co. E, 81st Reg. N. Y. Volunteers, and he was wounded at the battle of Fair 



158 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Oaks and his brother John at the same battle. They were discharged in 1863, and 
he then married Ruth, daughter of Albert Wilcox; they have three children: Lizzie, 
wife of Chauncey Redfield ; Lottie, wife of Christian Tusch ; and Eva. Mr. Blowers 
followed farming until 1876, when he entered the employ of the N. Y. C. R. R. as car 
inspector and was employed by them sixteen years. In 1896 he returned to the town 
of Nelson and follows general farming. He is a public spirited man, interested in 
educational matters. His children were educated in the rchools at Syracuse, N. Y. 

Davis, John H., son of Joseph and Anna (Adele) Davis, was born in Manheim, 
Herkimer county, N. Y. , July 27, 1828. His great-grandfather was one of the earliest 
settlers of Herkimer county, coming from Manheim in Germany, which country he 
left on account of political trouble; he was a man of importance in his time, both in 
Germany and in Herkimer county where he often held positions of public trust. He 
was of good birth, and is said to have been a man of strong and interesting charac- 
ter. John H. Davis, the subject of this notice, was educated in the common schools, 
and has been engaged in farmmg all his life. He came to Madison county 
where he has since resided, and located on a farm of 147 acres near the village of 
Peterboro. He removed to his present farm one and one-half miles north of the vil- 
lage of Oneida in 1851, and has here 112 acres all under cultivation. By virtueof his 
long residence in this vicinity Mr. Davis is well known, and is esteemed by all with 
whom he has come in contact as a man of integrity and upright character. January 
1, 1851, he married Maria Stisser, daughter of John Stisser, an early resident, and 
prominent citizen of the town. Six children have been born of this union: Charles 
J., of Peterboro; William Harvey, who assists in the conduct of the home farm; 
John Andrew, who died in 1861; George Asa, who died in 1880; Anna D., wife of 
Charles Terrell of Stockbridge; and Nancy Jane, wife of Newton Porter of Oneida. 



Hubbard, Edward G., son of Seth and Anna (Tanner) Hubbard, was born in Steu- 
ben, Oneida county, January 16, 1858. His father, also a native of Steuben, born in 
1828, was for many years a resident farmer near the village of Oneida, whither he 
removed from Steuben in 1889. He was a man of genial nature and strict integrity, 
and made many friends in this vicinity, dying honored and respected, in the sixtieth 
year of his age in July, 1888. Jacob Hubbard, grandfather of Edward G. Hubbard, 
was one of the first settlers of the town of Steuben, whither he came from Middle- 
town, Connecticut. The family is of old New England pioneer stock, and of Eng- 
lish origin. Of the union of Seth Hubbard and Anna (Tanner) Hubbard five chil- 
dren were born, four of whom survive: Mrs. Charles Allen of Oneida; Ella; Horace, 
who lives at Victor, Colorado; and Edward G. Hubbard who conducts the home farm. 
The latter, who has resided in this vicinity since early boyhood, and in consequence 
is well known throughout the county, was educated in the schools of Oneida and at 
Cazenovia Seminary. He has always been engaged in farming in which he has been 
very successful. For some years he has served as highway commissioner of this 
town. He is unmarried. 



Marble, Fred, who has been a resident farmer near Oneida Castle since 1854, was 
born in Augusta, Oneida county, December 21, 1821. His father, a native of Con- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 159 

necticut, came to Oneida county among the earliest settlers, bringing his family and 
settling in Augusta. Fred Marble received the educational advantages afforded by 
the country schools of those days, and was reared on the farm. He purchased the 
farm on which he has since resided in 1854, containing about 120 acres, most of which 
is under fine cultivation. Mr. Marble has been engaged in farming all of his active 
life and was one of the first and largest hop growers in this section. He is well 
known and universally respected throughout the vicinity; in politics he has been a 
consistent Democrat, but has never sought public office. He married, March 17, 
1847, Emeline, a daughter of Walter Powers, of Augusta. Ojeida county, N.Y. Six 
children have been born to them: Eugene V., who died July 10, 1853; Hortense I., 
who died June 26, 1853; Ada Virginia, who died July 8, 1853; Jennie C, who died 
March 6, 1857; Hassan R. , who now resides in Kenwood, and Fred Marble, who now 
conducts the home farm. The latter married Lucy, daughter of Robert Wilson, an 
old and respected citizen of Vernon, Oneida county. 

Richmond, Asa N., son of Sylvester and Christina (Walter) Richmond, was born 
in Stockbridge, Septeml)er 8, 1836. His father, a lifelong farmer, was a native of 
Franklin county, Mass., and removed from Deerfield in that State to Troy in early 
life. He settled in the town of Stockbridge just south of the Five Chimneys in 1832, 
and cleared the farm where he lived and died. He was a man of importance in his 
time and was commissioned a captain in the old State militia by Governor Marcy. 
Of his union with Christina Walter two sons were born: Anthony Augustus, who 
removed to the State of Missouri, where he died, and Asa N., the subject of this 
notice. Asa N. Richmond was reared on his father's farm and received the educa- 
tional advantages afforded by the district schools of the neighborhood. He has been 
engaged in farming all his life. From the home farm in Stockbridge he removed to 
a farm of 200 acres two miles west of the village of Canastota, where he resided a 
period of si.'cteen years, and at the end of that time came to his present farm four 
and one-half miles south of the village of Oneida, where he has ever since resided. 
At his farm near Canastota Mr. Richmond was one of the fir.st to engage in hop 
growing. He is well known and universally respected in this region, and holds 
membership in Oneida Lodge. No. 270, F. & A. M. Mr. Richmond married, March 
22, 1859, Mary Virginia Nelson, a daughter of Elisha Nelson of Vernon. Of this 
union are two children: Gertrude Marion Richmond, and Leroy C. Richmond, who 
assists in the conduct of his father's farm. 



Tabor, Byron, was born on Quality Hill, town of Lenox, December 19, 1860. His 
father, George Tabor, was a native of Georgetown, and Jonathan Tabor came from 
the east to Madison before 1800. George Tabor married Alma, daughter of Dr. 
Asahel Pryor, who practiced medicine at Quality Hill in the early history of the 
county and who was the first man to erect a frame house at that place. George 
Tabor through life was a farmer and took an active interest in the growth and pro- 
gress of his town. He died in 1836. Byron Tabor was educated in the common 
schools. In 1890 he married Lucy, daughter of William T. Northrup. Mr. Tabor is 
one of the progressive business men of his town, has served as county committeeman, 
and is active and influential in all local affairs. 



160 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Ellis, Ferrand F.. machine foreman of the Oneida Community, was born in the 
town of Cambridge, Vt., October 22, 1852, a son of James and Auriella (Montague) 
Ellis. His father was for many years a resident of the town of Cambridge where he 
was a prominent citizen, serving as postmaster and in other local offices. He was a 
carpenter and joiner by trade and in 1808 removed to northern Wisconsin, where he 
still resides. F. F. Ellis descends from an old New England family of English and 
Welsh origin. On his mother's side he is a lineal descendant of Richard Montague, 
who was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1640, and was one of the earliest 
settlers of Boston. Mr. Ellis attended the common schools, but his education has 
been largely gained by observation and practical experience. He early learned the 
carpenter's trade under his father and followed that business about eight years. In 
June, 1868 he came to the Oneida Community, but left in September of the same year, 
and after a trip to his old home in Vermont, removed to northern Wisconsin where 
he remained until 1874. In that year he returned to the Oneida Community where 
he has ever since been engaged. He first took up iron work and for a time was an 
ordinary iron worker; later he engaged in pattern making, both wood and metal, 
and also learned the machinist's trade. In 189.5 he became machine foreman, but 
for some time prior to this he had been in entire charge of the machine building and 
the department of designing. Mr. Ellis has been a prolific inventor, and has built a 
number of valuable automatic machines for the community. He has taken out eight 
patents, comprising a chain swivel, cut instead of cast; a soldering device; an auto- 
matic adjustable mouthpiece for brass instruments; a correlative micrometer meas- 
uring tool; and a buffing machine for buffing table ware. He is a member of the 
Royal Arcanum. Mr. Ellis married, in June, 1882, Catherine Fahrenshone of Oneida, 
and three children have been born to them: Rosamond E., who died September 10, 
1883; Catherine A. ; and Clara Louise. 



Faulkner, Ephraim, was born in the town of Brookfield, January 21, 1835. His 
father, Sherman Faulkner, was also a native of that town, where his father, Friend 
L. , settled in 1795. Sherman married Armenia Higgins, and through life was a well 
known farmer; he died in 1873. Ephraim Faulkner was educated in the common 
schools. In 1863 he married Julia A Buyer; they had three children; Charles E., 
Edward H., and Mrs Louie A. Donnelly. Mr. Faulkner is one of the practical and 
successful farmers of Madison county, taking an intelligent interest in school and 
church matters, and is recognized as a man of sterling integrity. 



Bamber, Robert, was a native of Belfast, Ireland, born in 1816, and came to the 
United States in 1827, with his parents, Thomas and Letitia Bamber, who settled in 
Boonville, Oneida county. Robert Bamber was identified through life with the mer- 
cantile circles of Chicago and at Cairo, 111. He was an intimate friend of Potter 
Palmer, and one of the founders of the Wabash Avenue M. E. church of Chicago. 
He came to Knoxboro in 1870 and in 1876 to Canastota. In 1864 he married Isabella, 
daughter of William and Mary A. Stewart; they had two daughters: Isabella M. and 
Mary J., and an only sou, Oliver Stewart Bamber, a practicing physician in Roches- 
ter, where he died in 1896, in his thirty-first year. Mr. Bamber was one of the self- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 161 

made men of the country, and his death, which occurred in 1890, was a loss not only 
to his family, but to all who knew him. 



New, Jefferson, was born at Clockville, January 8, 1838. His father, Simon P. 
New, was a native of Columbia county and came to Madison county in 1835. He 
married Sarah, daughter of Zachariah and Sarah Link. He was one of the founders 
of the Presbyterian church in Oneida, and died in 1860. Jefferson New was edu- 
cated in the common schools and in 1861 he married Mary E. , daughter of Garrett 
and Regma Van Brocklin ; their children are Charles E., Herman V., Tilden G., and 
Sarah R. Mr. New is one of the practical and successful farmers of the county, has 
been collector and is influential in school and public affairs. He served as trustee of 
the Presbyterian church of Canastota for six years, and is recognized as a man of 
sterling integrity. 



Bitz, John, p. o. Bridgeport, the efficient and popular commissioner of highways 
of the town of Sullivan, was born at Cleveland, Oneida county, August 23, 1857. 
Elias Bitz, his father, was born in the city of Paris, France, and came to America 
when about twenty-four years of age. He lived many years in Bridgeport, engaged 
chiefly in farming and died there December 13. 1887. John Bitz completed his edu- 
tion at Fayetteville and became a farmer, locating near Bridgeport. Democratic in 
politics, he has filled many positions of responsibility at various times, such as school 
trustee, town collector, and overseer of the poor. He is now serving his second 
term as commissioner of roads. 



Haywood, Mrs. Isyphene, p. o. North Manlius. — John Haywood, late husband of 
Mrs. Haywood, was born in the town of Sullivan, March 26, 1826. He was for many 
years the sole survivor of the paternal line, down to the fourth generation. Thomas 
Haywood of England, located in the valley of the Mohawk about 1800 and had three 
sons; Thomas, William and James. William, born in 1798, was the father of John, 
and died in 1829. John Haywood was a diligent and successful farmer. He was 
born on the farm on which he died, which he had owned for more than forty years, 
and had improved and enlarged. In 1868 he built the elegant residence now the 
home of Mrs. Haywood; he died December 18. 1894. His success in business was 
the direct result of industry and wise management. His honor and integrity were 
beyond question. April 6, 18.54, he married Isyphene, daughter of John Hill of Perry- 
ville, who survives him with three children: J. W. Haywood, the coal merchant, 
Syracuse; Mrs. George H. Lewis of Jackson, Mich. ; and Mrs. D. C. Kinch of Port 
Huron, Mich. 



Campbell, John A., p. o. Mile Strip, was born at Avon, Livingston county, N. Y. , 
May 19, 1840, a son of John and Maria (Rich) Campbell. He was one of eight chil- 
dren as follows: Mary E. , wife of George M. Curtis; Arthur M., John A., James W., 
Florence A., wife of Nelson Beebe ; Marinette Ann (deceased), Daniel D., and 
Henry R., all born in Madison county, with the exception of John A. John, sr. , was 
born in Scotland and came to this county when about seven years of age, settling in 
the town of Smithfield, where he lived for about twenty years, then moved to Liv- 



162 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ingston county and worked as a clerk in a grocery store. After two years he re- 
turned to Madison county and settled in the town of Smithfield, where he lived until 
his death in 1888, at seventy-eight years of age. When he returned to Madison 
county he entered the general merchandise business at Peterboro and later in life 
followed farming. John A. Campbell was educated in the schools of the town of 
Smithfield and Cazenovia Seminary. When he was about seventeen years of age he 
started in life for himself as a clerk in a general merchandise store at Peterboro, 
which business he followed in Canastota and Oneida. On September 19, 1862, he 
enlisted in the 157th Regiment and was mustered out July 10, 1865. He was wound- 
ed in the left thigh at the battle of Gettysburgh. He enlisted as a private and for 
services and bravery was advanced through successive positions and returned to his 
home in 1865 as a first lieutenant. When he returned from the army he entered the 
general merchandise busmess at Canastota. In 1867 he married Emma J., daughter 
of Harry and Laurie Cotton and they have two sons: John Wendall, who is in the 
grocery and meat business at Peterboro, and Harry. Mr. Campbell is a member of 
Reese Post, G. A. R., N'o. 34, of Canastota. He has always been active in town 
affairs and has been justice of the peace, also takes an active part in school and edu- 
cational work, having been connected with the school most of the time since he has 
resided in the town. He purchased the farm where now lives at the time of his 
marriage, where he has resided and followed general farming to the present time. 



Keeler, Charles F., p. o. Chittenango Falls, was born in Truxton, Cortland county, 
N. Y., June 33, 1834, a son of Lansing and Fannie (Woodruff) Keeler, who had eleven 
children: Charles F., Girden, Leroy, James, Darwin, Bedette, Jane, Emma, Genette, 
and two deceased. By occupation Lansing followed farming. Charles F. was edu- 
cated in the schools of Truxton, and started for himself as a laborer when twelve 
years of age. When he was a young man he was one of the most active business 
men in the town of Fenner, and is strictly a self-made man. He has a farm of 350 
acres of land ; also owns a grist mill and carries on the cement and plaster manufac- 
ture. He has always been an active supporter of all worthy public enterprises. In 
1850 he married Polly, daughter of Joseph Twogood, and has four children: Ella, 
Addie, Ettie and Charles E., all born in the town of Fenner. 



Crumb, Joseph H., p. o. De Ruyter. — This memoir of one of the most prominent 
and respected citizens of De Ruyter has been furnished by his devoted wife. He 
was for many years closely identified with the industrial interests of De Ruyter, an 
earnest advocate of all measures conducive to its growth and prosperity, and his 
death was deemed a loss to the village and community, as well as to his immediate 
family. He was born in Brookfield, Madison county, N. Y., July 26, 1828. His 
parents were natives of New England and settled in Madison county about 1825. 
Joseph H. located in De Ruyter in 1848, and succeeded the firm of A. S. & H. A. 
Gardner, who were engaged in the carriage and cabinet manufacturing business in 
connection with a real estate and undertaking business. Mr. Crumb was thus suc- 
cessfully engaged until a short time prior to his death. He held the office of super- 
visor for five years, the duties of which he discharged with honesty and fidelity to 
his townsmen. He was a man of enterprise and sagacity, possessing excellent judg- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 163 

ment in financial affairs. He led a long and useful life, honorable in every respect, 
dying at his home in the village of De Ruyter. 



Baldwin, Walter M. , p. o. De Ruyter, who has just reopened the De Ruyter Hotel, 
is one of the most respected and successful business men of that place. He is the 
son of Joseph and Mary (Newell) Baldwin, and was born in the town of Lincklaen, 
Chenango county, N. Y., July 31, 1852. He was reared to farm life and labor, acquir- 
ing strength of body and habits of industry and economy, which have been of great 
use to him through life. He received a good education in the district schools of his 
native town and in a select school of South Otselic. He then engaged in teaching 
for a number of terms during the winter months and in the summer was employed 
on the farm and in making cheese. For a number of years subsequent to this he was 
engaged in the lumber business on his own account. In October, 1898, he removed to 
the village of De Ruyter and reopened the Hotel De Ruyter, where he has since re- 
sided. Mr. Baldwin prospered in his new venture, his genial, courteous manners and 
straightforward busmess methods serving not only to retain the old patrons, but 
winning him many new ones. He has accommodations for about one hundred guests. 
On November 5, 1876, he married Ella Parker, by whom he had two children: Ray 
and Ella. Mrs. Baldwin died August 11, 1885, and on November 11, 1887, Mr. Bald- 
wind married Agnes, daughter of Cornehus Steel of Cuyler, N. Y. They have one 
daughter, Rena. In politics Mr. Baldwin has always been a Republican, believing 
in that party's principles and taking pride in its history and achievements. Fratern- 
ally he is a member of Tioughinoga Lodge, I. O. O. F. 



Ingalls, B Frankhn, was born in Lincoln, December 13, 1843, a son of James and 
grandson of James Ingalls, born in Schoharie county, and who came to Lincoln 
about 1810, where he died in 1867 at the age of eighty-five ; his wife was Nancy Moot, 
daughter of Conrad Moot. They had seven children. James Ingalls, jr., was born 
June 23, 1810, and died in 1893. He was a Republican in politics and served as as- 
sessor in Lenox; his wife was Jennie Rice, and they have had seven children, six 
now living. B. Franklin Ingalls was educated in the common schools and is a farmer. 
He has a dairy of twenty cows and is a breeder of Holstein cattle. January 15, 1869, 
he married Mary A., daughter of William and Amelia Marshall, who came to Scho- 
harie county, N.Y., and to Lincoln about 1838. To Mr. and Mrs. Ingalls were born 
three children: HoUis, born in 1870, educated at Peterboro and Oneida, and married 
Grace Woodbury; James, born October 23, 1873, educated in Peterboro; and Harry, 
born May 5, 1878, educated at Canastota and Peterboro; he married Edith Wood- 
bury, daughter of John N. Woodbury, mentioned in this work. Mr. Ingalls is a Re- 
publican in politics. 



Kenyon, A. E., p. o. South Hamilton, was born in Brookfield, January 21, 1846, a 
son of Elijah and Eliza (Knowles) Kenyon, both born in Hopkmton, R. I., he a son 
of Gideon Kenyon, who came from Rhode Island to Brookfield about 1813, and here 
lived and died. Eliza Knowles, daughter of Rodman Knowles, also came from Rhode 
Island and settled in Plymouth, N. Y., and died in Brookfield in 1894. Elijah Ken- 
yon died in 1891 ; they had five children, but A. E. Kenyon was the only one who 



164 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

grew to manhood. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools 
and Brookfield Academy. He is a farmer and owns 440 acres, of land, keeps forty 
cows and considerable j'oung stock; he is also a hop grower. Mr. Kenyon is a Re- 
publican and has been inspector of election several years. In 1867 he married Sarah 
Beecher of Brookfield, and they have three children: Carrie (deceased), Clyde B., 
educated in the common schools and Brookfield Academy, Fairfield Seminary, at 
Baltimore, Md., and New York city, and is now salesman for Hull & Dalton of Cleve- 
land, Ohio. He worked two years in New York before going to Cleveland; his wife 
was Clara B. Livermore of Oneida county; and Algene, who was educated in the 
common schools and lived at home. Mrs. Kenyon is a member of the First Baptist 
church. Mr. Kenyon' s grandfather, Gideon Kenyon, was father of eighteen children 
who settled in Madison county. 



Brown, Enoch D., was born in Perry ville, August 7, 1833. His father, Walter 
Brown, was a native of Connecticut, and his grandfather was one of the first settlers 
in the town of Fenner. Walter Brown married a daughter of Enoch Dykeman and 
learned the cabinet maker's trade; he died in 1850. Enoch D. Brown was educated 
in the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary. He entered mercantile circles and 
in 1853 went to California, in 1854 to Missouri, and in 1857 settled in Canastota. In 
1854 Mr. Brown married Catherine, daughter of William Thompson, and their chil- 
dren are Norton, Charles and Mrs. E, M. Petrie. Mr. Brown is one of the progres- 
sive men of his town; takes an intelligent interest in public affairs and enjoys the re- 
spect of the community. 



Fearon, George T., p. o. Pratt's Hollow, who is known throughout this section of 
the State as one of the largest and most successful fruit growers of the region, was 
born in the vicinity of his present splendid residence, April 21, 1835, and was the 
grandson of George Fearon, the latter one of the respected early settlers of this part 
of Eaton : he is the son of Robert and Ann (Christian) Fearon, and lived at home 
with his parents until 1860, when he began work for himself by setting out a ten acre 
lot with apple and pear trees in Pratt's Hollow. Four years later he bought his 
father's 160-acre farm and began developing it as a fruit farm. As years passed the 
fruit acreage was increased and in 1876 Mr. Fearon discontinued hop growing and 
devoted his energies wholly to fruit growing and farming. The result of this busy 
life is now seen in a vast orchard and vineyard, of which fifty acres are devoted to 
berries and sixteen acres to grapes. On his land, and his son's adjoining, are 1,000 
cherry trees, 1,000 peach trees, 200 plum trees and several thousand apple trees, con- 
stituting one of the largest orchards in the State. Mr. Fearon is known as a pro- 
gressive and successful business man. He is a Prohibitionist from principle, inter- 
ested in all worthy causes, yet takes no active part in public affairs. He is a mem- 
ber of the Independent church at Kenwood. On June 25, 18(50, Mr. Fearon married 
Adella Thurston, and to her earnest co-operation has in good part been due his suc- 
cess in life. Of their three children, two are still living: David C, and Fred M., 
the latter of whom lives on the old Fearon homestead farm. 



Gostling, G. & E., p. o. Morrisville. — William Gostling came to this country from 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 165 

Norfolk, England, in 1867, and brought with him three sons and two daughters. 
The family first settled in Pratt's Hollow, but at the end of the year Mr. Gostling 
bought a forty-acre farm west of Morrisville, on which he afterward lived and died. 
In England he had been an extensive farmer, managing 900 acres of land, and he 
was well on in years when he came to the United States. He died in 1878, aged 
eighty-four years, and his wife in 1883. The children in this family were John, who 
lives in Fenner; Maria, who married R. T. Jones; Susanca, widow of Alva Cole; 
Mary, who married Charles T. Bicknell; and George and Edward Gostling, both of 
Eaton and among that town's most industrious and thrifty farmers. Their present 
farm was purchased about 1881, and is well located at Williams' Corners. It con- 
tains 140 acres; 



Coons, Charles A., p. o. Morrisville. — Darius Coons was born of sturdy Dutch 
stock in the Mohawk valley, and removed with his parents to Smithfield many years 
ago. The older generations of the family are now passed away, and distinct recol- 
lections of them are meagre. Darius was a farmer and lived in Smithfield until 
about a year before his death in 1879. His wife was Susan Perkins, by whom he 
had three children: Charles A., Samuel H., and Jane. Charles A. Coons was born 
in Smithfield in 1860, and spent much of his early life on a farm. In 1881 he came 
to Morrisville, and for the last thirteen years has been connected with the sheriff's 
office, having served under Sheriffs Burroughs, Manchester, Perry, and Carpenter. 
He is a strong Republican, and in whatever duties have fallen to his lot he has been 
an active and reliable official. In 1879 Mr. Coons married Margaret Caton. 



Kelloway, W. M., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Hamilton, Madison county, N. Y., 
a son of Isaac and Ann Maria (Elliot) Kelloway, natives of England. He was edu- 
cated in the old academy under Professor Campbell, and began his business career 
as a dry goods clerk for A. T. Slocum, and subsequently studied medicine for a time 
with Dr. Oakes; but the death of this physician terminated Mr. Kelloway's medical 
studies. He then opened a restaurant and became a prominent caterer. In 1882 he 
embarked in the grocery business, which he has since conducted successfully. Mr. 
Kelloway is one of the oldest Masons in Hamilton, having joined that order when 
twenty-one years of age. He is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Command- 
ery and is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason ; he is also a member of the 
order of Odd Fellows On June 28, 1872, Mr. Kelloway married Hattie M. Foster, 
and they have one daughter, Lyra C , who is a trained nurse in the Utica hospital. 

Coman. E. R., p. o. Hamilton, was born at Morrisville, N. Y., October 26, 1840, and 
reared on his father's farm. In 1872 he learned the carpenter's trade, which he has 
since pursued with such success that he is the leading man in that business in Ham- 
ilton to-day. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is an active Republi- 
can, having served as delegate to many conventions. In 1862 Mr. Coman married 
Maria, daughter of Sheriff W. F. Bonney. They have four children: Mary, Cath- 
erine, Harriet, and Grace. Catherine Coman is a teacher in the high school at East 
Orange, N. J. Mr. Coman's parents were Stephen and Dorothea (Phelps) Coman. 
His mother was a native of Connecticut, and some of her ancestors were Revolution- 



166 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ary soldiers. His father was a New York State man and his grandfather, Winsor 
Coman, was a native of Massachusetts. 



Tackabury, N. J., was born in the town of Eaton, May 28, 1831. His father, James 
Tackabury, was a native of Ireland and settled in the town of Eaton in 1805, with 
his parents, Nathaniel and Sarah Tackabury. James Tackabury married Ann Bel- 
ton and through life was a farmer. He was prominent m the growth and develop- 
ment of his town, in both school and church, and was trustee of the M. E. church 
for many years; he died in 1885. N. J. Tackabury was educated in the common 
schools and Cazenovia Seminary. In 1848 he married Ellen, daughter of Robert 
Bowers, and their children were John B., I. Newton, Julia I. Mofifet, Elizabeth G., 
and Anna A. Avery. Mr. Tackabury is one of the self-made men of Madison county, 
serving as assessor and taking an intelligent interest in school and church matters. 
He is a man of high character, and is respected and esteemed by the community. 

Tyler, W. I., p. o. Chittenango, the progressive and successful funeral director of 
Chittenango, has been a resident here but six years, but is already counted among 
tlie representative business men of the place. He has no competitor as undertaker, 
and carries a large and elegant stock of furniture. Of an old Connecticut family, 
his father, the late D. C. Tyler, was a clergyman of the Presbyterian church. Mr. 
Tyler was born in this town November 4, 1868. He is a Republican in politics, and 
when placed in nomination last year for the position of collector of taxes, was the 
only successful nominee of that party. Mr. Tyler recently graduated from the 
Champion School of Embalming. 



Green, A. W., p. o. Chittenango Station, for the last twenty-one years a merchant 
at Chittenango Station, was born at Lakeport, Madison county, March 1, 1840. His 
father, William L. Green, by trade a carpenter, came here from England, the land 
of his birth. Mr. Green had just attained his majority when the urgent call for vol- 
unteer soldiers came in 1862, and he at once enlisted, ranking as a corporal. After a 
little more than a year's service he was discharged by reason of serious illness. After 
the war he engaged in mercantile business at Lakeport for several years, then for 
about six years he conducted a farm in the same vicinity. On November 1, 1865, 
he married Gertrude E. Sayles, daughter of Brown Sayles, a contractor of Bridge- 
port. Mr. Green conducted a general store at Cicero two years and another at Can- 
aseraga about the same length of time, and in 1877 opened a store at Chittenango 
Station, at his present location. Here he deals in dry goods, groceries, hats and 
caps, boots and shoes, etc. Mr. Green is a stalwart Republican in politics and one 
of the representative men of his party. For fifteen years he has officiated as notary 
public and for nearly five years as justice of the peace. 



Knowles, James H., p. o. Chittenango, one of the old time residents of the town 
of Sullivan, was born in this town on the farm which he yet owns, November 1, 
1837. His father was James Knowles, a farmer, who was an early settler near 
Bridgeport, subsequently locating in the southern part of the town, where he died in 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 167 

1871. His paternal grandfather, John Knowles, was captain of a merchant ship. 
James H. Knowles learned the trade of wagon making when a young man ; also 
operating a farm until quite recently, when he removed to the village of Chittenango, 
having a wagon repair shop next Carl's Opera House. He is a Repuhlican, but not 
an active politician. Hi? wife was Olive C. Yorke of Cazenovia, and they have four 
children. 



Beckwith, Brevet Brigadier General Edward Griffin, son of Judge Barack Beck- 
with, and Polly (Kennedy) Beckwith, his wife, was born in Cazenovia, January S."), 
1818. His father came into Cazenovia in 1803, bringing his own family and also his 
father. Rev. Roswell Beckwith, a Presbyterian minister, who afterwards affiliated 
with the Baptists. Roswell was a son of Elisha, who was killed at the battle of 
White Plains, whereupon his four sons immediately enlisted, including the minister, 
an uncommon procedure. Judge Barack Beckwith took up a farm on the lake which is 
the only one adjoining the lake still owned in the name of the original settler. He 
became a man of prominence in this region, representing the district in the State 
Legislature and holding various local positions of public trust; he died in the prime 
of life, in 1844. General Beckwith obtained his preliminary education at Cazenovia 
Seminary and entering West Point in 1838, was graduated with the class of 1842. He 
was assigned to the 3d Artillery, a regiment which was officered by many men who, 
during the civil war, became conspicuouson both the Federal and Confederate sides. 
He served throughout the Mexican war; in 1849 commanded the escort to the first 
governor of California, and in 1853 was appointed to succeed Captain Gunnison, who 
had been killed by the Indians, as commander of the survey of the Union Pacific 
railroad. During the civil war he served as chief commissary on the staffs of Gen- 
erals Patterson, Pope and Banks and was three times breveted for meritorious services. 
After the close of the war he was brought to Washington to settle the claims held 
against the commissary department throughout the country. His record of fidelity 
and ability in the accomplishment of this arduous task is too well known to need 
comment. He was retired upon his own application in 1879 and died in Washington 
in 1881, in the sixty-third year of his age. General Beckwith married in June, IS.'iO, 
Cornelia Williamson, daughter of John P. Williamson of Savannah, Georgia. Two 
children were born to them: Madeline Beckwith and Nellie Beckwith. 



Mitchell, Thomas H., p. o. Chittenango, the enterprising and popular proprietor 
of the Mitchell & French market in Chittenango, was born in this vicinity November 
24, 1855. His father, the late Benjamin C. Mitchell, was of English birth and by 
trade a miller. He came to this country in 1854 and after leaving Chittenango in 
1866 operated custom and flouring mills at Little Falls and at Middleville, N. Y. 
Thomas H. Mitchell lived at Little Falls from 1866 to 1873, when he returned to this 
place and learned the machinist's trade with Hon. Peter Walrath, in whose employ 
he remained until 1880. At that date he went into the market then conducted and 
owned by Clement Cook and soon took charge of the business, Mr. Cook retiring re- 
cently by reason of increasing age. December 24, 1879, Mr. Mitchell married Nellie 
L., daughter of Mr. Cook. They have one daughter, Clara L. Mitchell, born June 
13, 1883. All are members of the Presbyterian Church of Chittenango. Mr. Mitch- 



168 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

ell is a Democrat in politics and has filled several minor offices with credit. He is 
recognized as a citizen of sterling worth, and commands a large proportion of busi- 
ness patronage. 



Van Valkenburgh, A. T., D. D. S., was born in Chatham, October 9, 1829. His 
father. Burger Van Valkenburgh, was a native of New York State, his ancestors com- 
ing from Holland. He was a tanner and currier. A. T. Van Valkenburgh was edu- 
cated in the public schools at Stittville and Holland Patent. He studied dentistry 
with Dr. D. W. Perkins of Rome. In 1881 he came to Canastota He has one son, J. 
G. Van Valkenburgh, a graduate from the Buffalo Dental College and now practicing 
in Canastota. Dr. Van Valkenburgh is one of the progressive men of Madison 
county, serving as president of his village and taking an active interest in the build- 
ing of the Canastota and Camden Railroad. He is a member of the Canastota Lodge 
No. S31, F. & A. M., the Camden Chapter and Rome Commandery No. 45. 



Fort, William M., Ph. B., p. o. Chittenango, the efficient principal of Yates High 
School. Chittenango, was born at Stamford, Conn., January 18, 1867. The nativity 
of the family is Norman-French, and his Huguenot ancestors accepted the hospitali- 
ty of American shores about 1735. Soon after this time Abram Fort, the progenitor 
of that branch of the family now found in the Mohawk and upper Hudson valleys, 
located near Troy, N. Y. , from whom the subject of our sketch is descended. Prof. 
Fort's father, Louis H. Fort, now resides near Schenectady. His boyhood was spent 
in Saratoga county, and his education, begun in the vicinity of Schenectady and con- 
tinued in Troy Conference Academy, was completed at the Albany Normal College 
and the Illinois .Wesleyan University, from which institution he took his degree. 
Meantime he had acquired invaluable experience in teaching in the district schools 
of Saratoga and Schenectady counties, which led him upon the completion of his 
education to choose the profession of teaching as his life work His first work after 
his graduation was as an instructor in the Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn. The year 
following this he took charge of the union school at Baldwin, L. I., and in 1895 came 
here as principal of Yates High School, where his success has been marked and sub- 
stantial October 20, 1896, he married Grace O. Denny of Cold Spring, Putnam 
county, N. Y. Prof. Fort hold high standing in the fraternity of Masons, the Knights 
of Pythias, the Independent Order of Good Templars, and of various educational 
societies, among the latter the Onondaga County Educational Council, and the As- 
sociation of Academic Principals of New York. He esteems it not the least among 
his honors to be president of the local chapter of the Theta Phi Fraternity, main- 
tained by the young men of Yates High School. 



Matterson, H. H., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Otsego county, N. Y., a son of Nel- 
son W. Matterson, a native of New York State, and Sophia Hall, his wife, a native 
of New England. Mr. Matterson was reared on a farm, and subsequently went into 
the mercantile business and in 1887 came to Hamilton, where he established the 
business of which he is now the head. In September, 1897, he associated with him 
Frank Tooke, under the firm name of Matterson & Tooke. They are dealers in all 
kinds of wagons, cutters and sleighs, harnesses of every kind, robes and blankets 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 169 

and are the only house of their kind in Hamilton. Mr. Matterson is a member of 
the Masonic fraternity, and is a Republican in politics. He married Harriet M. 
Prosser and they have one daughter, Florence S., now Mrs. F. B. Soden of Bain, 
bridge. 

Bushnell Addison, p. o. Lakeport, one of the oldest and most prominent citizens 
of I^akeport, was born in the vicinity of his present home, March 26, 1818. His fam- 
ily is one which has been identified with local history since the earliest settlement of 
northern Sullivan. His father was Reuben Bushnell, of Connecticut birth, and the 
family nativity is English. Mr. Bushnell has passed so much of a long and useful 
life in the immediate vicinity of Lakeport and owing to hereditary powers, as well 
as to pure and wholesome habits of life, carries his more than eighty years lightly. 
Always engaged in farming, he has prosecuted that avocation with the result of accu- 
mulating a large property and a cluster of choice farms aggregating over 400 acres. 
His lands have been, and still are, devoted largely to cattle and dairy products. 
When Reuben Bushnell first settled on the shores of Oneida Lake the primeval for- 
est was yet practically unbroken ; now it is a smiling expanse of arable fields. Mr. 
Bushnell's handsome home, built about thirty years ago and on a site which has 
been his home for nearly half a century, commands a delightful expanse of lake and 
shore from its verandas. Mr. Bushnell first married, in 1843, Amelia Keeler of 
Chatham, Columbia county; she died m 1877 One daughter was born to them, who 
died in 1861. The lady who since 1878 has dispensed the hospitalities of his home, 
was before her marriage, Mrs. Emma C. Harpham She yet mourns the loss of an 
only son by a former marriage, Herraon Harpham. Mr. Bushnell was formerly a 
Republican, but for nearly thirty years has been an active and consistent member of 
the Prohibition party. Despite his many years, those who count a full score less 
might well envy him his physical stamina and unclouded intellect. 



Shepardson, Frank Lucius, A. M., p. o. Hamilton, principal of Colgate Academy, 
was born at Princeton, Me., April 10, 1861, a son of Rev. L. F. Shepardson, a Bap- 
tist minister in New Hampshire, and Maria L. (Gage) Shepardson. Prof. Shepard- 
son was prepared for college at the high school in Providence, R. L, and after grad- 
uating from that institution in 1879 he entered Brown University, from which he 
was graduated with honors in the class of 1883. In his junior year he was made a 
member of the Phi Beta Kappa, an honor conferred for the highest scholarship. In 

1884 Mr. Shepardson taught in a private school at Cumberland, and in the fall of 

1885 he became instructor in Worcester Academy. In 1887 he was elected assistant 
principal. He remained in the Worcester Academy until 1896, and during 1894 and 
1895 he was acting principal and in that capacity demonstrated his high abilities as 
an executive as well as an educator. In 1806 Prof. Shepardson became principal of 
Colgate Academy, and the institution is expanding in every way under his able di- 
rection. 



Warrick, J. C, was born in Albany county, February 27, 1831. His father, Asa 
T. Warrick, was a native of the same county and the family trace their descent from 
Asa Warrick, who came from England about 1780. Capt. Asa T. Warrick married 



170 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Elnora, daughter of Ezra Champion, and was a prominent man in Albany county. 
J. C. Warrick was educated in the common schools and in 1851 went to Syracuse 
and worked with his brother Harvey in the wagon making business, learning the 
trade. In 1857 he came to Canastota and worked at his trade until 1861, when he 
enlisted in Co. C, 101st N. Y. Volunteers, served six months, when he resigned and 
returned to Canastota. Since that time he has been engaged as a furniture dealer 
and undertaker. He is now employing the most approved and scientific methods for 
the care and preservation of the dead ; he also carries a full line of carpets. In 1854 
Mr. Warrick married Sarah Lawrence, who died in 1885, and later he married Jennie 
Spencer. Mr. Warrick is one of the leading business men of his town, and has 
served as trustee and treasurer of his village. 



Rockwell, Hiram L. , son of Thomas B. and Lucy (Lindley) Rockwell, was born in 
the town of Stockbndge, this county, February 21, 1833. His father was an extensive 
farmer, known throughout a large section of Madison county as Captain Rockwell, 
having commanded a company of artillery in the State militia. His grandfather, 
Thomas Rockwell, came from Connecticut and was among the earliest settlers of the 
present town of Stockbridge. Mr. Rockwell was educated in the district schools, 
and at the Albany Normal School, from which he was graduated with the class of 
1855. For one year he taught a union school in the town of Dryden, Tompkins 
county, N. Y., and the following year taught in the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. 
In 1857 he entered the Albany Law School where he was graduated LL. B. in 1859. 
In the same year he was admitted to the bar and took up his residence in the village 
of MunnsviUe, where he continued in active practice until 1867. Subsequently he en- 
gaged in teaching and in fruit culture. In 1873 he moved to Oneida where he has 
since resided, and has given his attention to insurance and real estate. He has been 
prominent in support of many worthy public enterprises and at different periods has 
been honored with positions of public trust. He served six years as School Com- 
missioner of the second district of Madison county, embracing the towns of Stock- 
bridge, Smithfield, Cazenovia, Fenner, Sullivan and Lenox; in 1877 as supervisor of 
the town of Lenox ; for six years as a member of the Oneida Board of Education ; 
one term as village trustee; and was a member of the first sewer commisson four 
years, a position to which he has lately been reappointed. He is a member of the 
First Presbyterian church, and has officiated as one of its trustees. Mr. Rockwell 
married in 1861, Esther A. Hait, and four children have been born to them: Adeline 
Benson; Mrs. Mabel H. Schubert; Grace H. (deceased December 11, 1888); and 
Charles W. Rockwell. 



Eggleston, Jerome, who died in Cazenovia, February 23, 1898, in the seventy-fifth 
year of his age, was for many years a respected and useful citizen of Cazenovia. He 
was born in Morrisville in 1824, a son of Amos and Polly (Anderson) Eggleston. His 
father died when he was a youth, and his education was limited, for he early had to 
contribute to the support of his mother and the family, consisting of three younger 
children. At the early age of eight he worked on a farm and secured enough money 
to partially buy a team. He then moved with his mother and her children to Caze- 
novia, and found employment drawing ashes from the surrounding country to the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 171 

ashery in Cazenovia village. This occupation afforded him a livelihood, as well as 
enabling him to entirely support the family and he continued in it until the decline 
of the potash business. He was proprietor of the old Park House two years. He 
then removed to Morrisville, where he engaged in the livery business, having ob- 
tained enough capital to enable him to start on a small scale. He gradually enlarged 
his business as his means warranted and continued successfully for about fifteen 
years, when he sold out and removed to Peterboro to take the management of the 
Gerrit Smith Hotel which he conducted for over ten years. The State of Wisconsin 
was then largely undeveloped and with his characteristic enterprise he decided to 
locate there, settling at Oak Grove, in Dodge county, and taking up some 250 acres 
of land. Here he lived about ten years and then returned to the east, coming again 
to Cazenovia, the scene of his earlier struggles. For a time he had charge of the 
Ten Eyck farm, later conducted a restaurant for about four years, and still later en- 
gaged in the grocery business in company with a brother, Dwight W. Eggleston, 
under the name of Eggleston Brothers. In time they added a livery business and 
continued their association until 187.5, when the grocery and livery establishments 
were disposed of and they dissolved partnership. In the same year Mr. Eggleston 
took the stable in the rear of the Lincklaen House, which he conducted until 
his death, when it passed into the hands of his sons, A. L. and C. M. Eggleston, who 
conduct it under the name of Eggleston Brothers. Mr. Eggleston was a Republican 
in politics. He was an honorable and upright man and held to the strictest integrity 
in his business transactions. He was well known throughout Madison county and 
made many strong friends. He married Enieline Fitch, a daughter of Captain Der- 
rick Fitch, a veteran of the war of 1812. Of this union were born four children, 
three of whom survive: Adelbert L., Charles M., and Caroline J. 



Salsbury, Julius Eugene, M. D., son of Minzo W., and Lany (Bowman) Salsbury, 
was born in Theresa, Jefferson county, N. Y., September 28, 1855. His father was a 
farmer, and when Dr. Salsbury was thirteen years of age removed to Palermo, 
Oswego county, N. Y., where he resided until his death in 1873. Julius Eugene 
Salsbury, M. D., was educated at Mexico academy, and began his medical studies 
in the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was graduated 
M. D. in 1883. He also attended the Pulte Medical College (homeopathy), from 
which he received an ophthaloraological and otological certificate. Dr. Salsbury 
prepared himself for his profession entirely by his own efforts and during the time 
which elapsed between his graduation from Mexico academy and his entrance to the 
Eclectic Medical Institute engaged in teaching in the schools of Oswego county, and 
in clerical work, to obtain funds sufficient for his purpose. He began, at the age of 
eighteen, with a dollar, but by rigid economy succeeded in qualifying for his chosen 
profession. After obtaining his degree he settled in Cazenovia and at once began 
practice. He has served as coroner one term, and as a member of the school board 
three years, one term (1896-97) as president of the body. He was also a member of 
the first board of sewer commissioners. Dr. Salsbury married, in 1885, Nellie J. 
Chappel, daughter of Chester L. Chappel of Cazenovia. Three children have been 
born to them 1 Helen Viola, Marjorie Jiloise, and Howard Eugene Salsbury. 



172 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Blodgett, Ludrum, proprietor of the Brooklyn creamery in Cazenovia, was born in 
the town of Nelson, July 30, 1838, a son of Arba and Adeline D. (Wilbur) Blodgett. 
Arba Blodget was a native of the town of Eaton, and later resided in Nelson and 
Smithfield. He removed to Cazenovia m 1866 and engaged in farming and the 
manufacture of cheese. He was one of the first citizens of Cazenovia to receive 
summer residents into his home. It is also given upon reliable authority that he 
built and operated the first cheese factory in Madison county at ?eterboro. He died 
September 14, 1891, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Ludrum Blodgett, the sub- 
ject of the sketch, received a good common school education and was associated in 
the management of his father's business interests until 1876, when he purchased a 
farm on the west side of Cazenovia lake and conducted it for twelve years, during a 
greater part of the time operating a creamerv on the property. In 1888, he pur- 
chased the Hersey property, at the foot of Albany street in Cazenovia village, and 
established a creamery which he still continues, manufacturing cheese, butter and 
ice cream, and retailing pasteurized milk and cream. For some time he was engaged 
in the grocery business on the property. Mr. Blodgett married, in 1861, Celia A. 
Cloyes, a daughter of B. F. Cloyes, of Morrisville. It is an interesting fact that they 
were married in the first frame house built in the town of Eaton, by the Cloyes fam- 
ily, who were among the early settlers of that town. Five children have been born 
to them: Dollie E., wife of W. H Dodge, of Cazenovia; Arba D., Franklin C. , 
Mortimer L., and Harry G. 



Brown, Oliver T., of Unadilla Forks, N. Y., was born in Brookfield, March 16. 
1823. He was a son of Nathan and grandson of another Nathan Brown, who came 
from Stonington, Conn., about 1794, and lived and died in Brookfield. His wife was 
Marcy Kinney, daughter of Ezra Kmney, and was married to Oliver Babcock in 1767; 
they had one daughter who married Jabish Brown, the history of the families 
including eight generations. After the death of Oliver Babcock, Marcy (Kinney) 
Babcock married Nathan Brown, as before noted. The)' had five children, of whom 
Nathan Brown, 3d, was one. He was a respected and thorough farmer; was deacon 
of the Baptist church about sixty years and died at the age of ninety-two years. He 
came from Conneticut with his father when fifteen years old. He was a Democrat 
during his life. Oliver T Brown was an active farmer; was chosen supervisor of 
Brookfield in 1880, by a large majority, and was called upon to settle several estates, 
He was a deacon of the Baptist church at Unadilla Forks for many years, and a 
Democrat until about 1882, since which date he has been an active Prohibitionist. 
He married Armenia Beckwith, of E.-jeter, Otsego county, N. Y., in 1849; they had 
one daughter, Minnie B. , wife of F. A. Scnbner, who had one daughter, Marie. 
Oliver T. Brown now lives on the Mountain View Farm, Marcom's Mountain, 300 
feet above the pond. 



Edgerton, Frank L., son of Walter N. and Laura C. (Damon) Edgerton, was born 
in the town of Sullivan, June 18, 1858. The Edgerton family have always been 
among the representative residents of this section, and Ezekiel Edgerton (grand- 
father) was one of the first settlers. Mr. Edgerton's father was born at Sangerfield, 
and died at Minoa, Onondaga county, whither he had removed in 1896, January 8, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 173 

1898. He was well known to his fellow townsmen as a man of the strictest integrity, 
and his death was mourned by a wide circle of friends. Of his union with Laura C. 
Damon seven children were born: Charles E., of Bergen, Genesee county, N. Y. ; 
Frank L., Carrie M., wife of F. W. Balch of Utica; Clayton W., ct Solvay, N. Y. ; 
Lewis G. , of Syracuse; Alice, who died in infancy; and Bertha E., who resides' with 
her mother at Minoa. Frank L. Edgerteu was educated in the common schools, and 
has always been engaged in farming, now cultivating the home farm near Bridge- 
port. In politics he is a Republican. Mr. Edgertou married, in 189.5, Laura V. 
Scott, daughter of Thomas H. Scott of Cicero, Onondaga county, N. Y. One son 
has been born to them: Frank Howard Edgerton. 



Burt, Abram L., son of Jonathan and Lorinda(Lee) Burt, was born in Chittenango, 
January 17, 1833. His father was a mechanic, and a native of Long Meadow, Mas- 
sachusetts; he was one of the founders of the Oneida Community, owning the ground 
where the community first started. Mr. Burt was fourteen years of age when his 
parents removed to Kenwood, and he has ever since resided at that place. At an 
early age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, and he is also a skilled mechanic, 
a patternmaker and millwright. Mr. Burt has gained a wide reputation for the ex- 
cellence of the water wheels he has installed at different points. He has entire 
charge of the Oneida Community buildings. In 1850 he married Fidelia A. Dunn, 
daughter of Norman B. Dunn of Bakersfield, Vt. One son has been born of this 
union, Horatio T., of New York city. 



White, Samuel, and his brother, John, were pioneers in Madison, coming from 
Petersham, Mass., at a very early day. Samuel was a Revolutionary soldier, having 
entered the army at the age of sixteen and was stationed at West Point in 1779-80. 
He was there at the time of Arnold's treachery and was one of the guards at An- 
dre's execution. He married in 1786 and in 1798 came to Madison. His children 
were Hipzebeth, Ira, Clara, Mary, Abigail. Samuel, Grace and Anna, the latter of 
whom became the wife of Henry R. Barker. He died April 27, 1894. 



Curtis, Samuel, came from Stratford, Conn., about 1796, and settled in Madison. 
He was a farmer and carpenter. His children were Atlanta, who married William 
Lewis; Amanda, wife of Dr. Collister; Isaac, Abner, Uri, Joel, Ann, Homer, Allen 
and Samuel, jr. Allen Curtis was born September 13, 1811, and except ten years 
has spent his whole life in Madison. Since 1858 he has held the office of justice of 
the peace and when living in Erieville held the same office in Nelson. This record 
is seldom equalled. On January 8, 1834, Mr. Curtis married Arabella A. Richard- 
son. Their children were Martin V. B., Adelia L,, Abner, Marion, Rispha, Lucinda 
R. , vS. Allen, Herbert G., Josephine S., Ida D., Louis A., and Cora A. Mr. Curtis's 
wife died in August, 1898. Since 1834 he has been a member of the Baptist church. 



Cotton, Hamilton, p. o. Canastota, representing one of the pioneer local families, 
was born at Oak Hill, Lenox, Madison county, August 3, 1821. His father and 
grandfather bore the same name, Willard Cotton. The grandfather was a native of 



174 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Vermont, who in his early travels westward settled for a time in Chenango county, 
then came to New Boston and Oak Hill. He was a zealous churchman of the Univer- 
salist faith, and built a chapel for the promulgation of that doctrine near New Bos- 
ton. Hamilton Cotton's boyhood was spent in the vicinity of Oak Hill, now called 
"Cottons" in honor of his father, who was the first postmaster there. The family 
were originally from England and some of his parental ancestors who settled in Bos- 
ton, Mass., soon after Mayflower times, now lie buried in the historic churchyard in 
the heart of that city. In 1846 Mr. Cotton married Mary Adams of Canastota, who 
died in 1884, leaving two children: Charles H. Cotton, a merchant in Syracuse, and 
Mary E., wife of Adolph Schansenbach. a wholesale grocer in Ogden City, Utah. 
Hamilton Cotton's present wife was Sarah E. Simonds, of Herkimer county. 



Hubbard, John F. , a very e.Ktensive farmer and hop grower, and one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of Madison county, is a son of John and Harriett (Russell) Hub- 
bard. His father was born in England and in 1828 came with his parents to this 
country and settled in Waterville, where he resided until his marriage. He after- 
ward removed to Morrisville, where John F. was born, April 4, 1846. He remained 
at home until December 31, 1868, having in the meantime received a good education 
in the district schools and the Hamilton Union School. He then married Helena, 
daughter of Ephraim and Lucy (Perkins) Keeck, the former of whom was a success- 
ful farmer of Stockbridge. They have had four children: Charles (deceased), Fred 
(deceased), Hattie (Mrs. Charles Smith of De Ruyter), and Lewis. Politically Mr. 
Hubbard aflfiliates with the Democratic party, and while leading a quiet and un- 
eventful life enjoys the most independent and in many respects enviable station of a 
farmer, owning his own lands. By his own energy and industry Mr. Hubbard has 
established himself comfortably aud with pleasant surroundings. 



Chasmer, George W. , a resident of Sullivan for fifty years, or since 1838, was 
born at Athens, Greene county, N. Y., in 1838. His father, Thomas A. Chasraer, 
was of English birth and by trade a bnckmaker. He settled in the neighborhood of 
Lakeport in 1838. being twenty-seven years of age at that time, and engaged in 
farming and the manufacture of brick. George Chasmer is considered one of the 
representative men of his town and has filled many positions of trust and responsi- 
bility. His large farm of nearly 300 acres just east of Lakeport, is devoted chiefly to 
dairy products and is operated by his only son, Jerome Chasmer. Mr. Chasmer is a 
staunch supporter of Democratic doctrines and has served as town auditor since 1885. 
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Madison-Onondaga Mutual Fire In- 
surance Company. In 1853 he married Elizabeth Petrie of Vernon, N. Y. Both are 
members of the Presbyterian church. 



De Clercq, Gilbert C. , was born in Cazenovia, November 29, 1846, a son of Peter 
and Laura (Mason) de Clercq, and a lineal descendant in the ninth generation of (1) 
Pieter de Clercq, (2) Lucas, (8) Pieter, (4) Pieter, (5) Jacob, (6) Peter, (7) Hendrick, (8) 
Peter, (9) Gilbert C. Portraits of Lucas (3) de Clercq and Feryntze Steenkiste, his 
wife (1635), by Frans Hals, are found in the national gallerj' at Amsterdam. Hen- 
drick (7) de Clercq, born in Amsterdam, October 30, 1776, was one of the earliest 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 175 

settlers in the town of Cazenovia, locating on land just south of the farm now owned 
by Gilbert C. de Clercq. He was a large farmer and a man of prominence in his 
time. He married at Cazenovia, February 10. 1799, Mary Ledyard, a daughter of 
the brave Captain Ledyard, whose tragic death in defense of Fort Griswold during 
the Revolutionary war is indissolubly connected with the history of our country. 
Their children were Peter, Charles, Eliza. Youngs, Julia, Rebecca, Hendnck, Mary 
and Louisa. Peter (8) de Clercq, father of the subject of this notice, was all his life 
a farmer in Cazenovia. He was born July 19, 1800, and died June 16, 1873, honored 
and respected by all who had known him. March 21, 1826, he married Laura Mason 
of Whitestown, and ten children were born to them; Gysbert, Augustus Hervey, 
Sarah Louisa, Susah Rebecca, Isaac Ledyard, Arnold Mason, Julia Katherine, Car- 
oline Amelia, Mary Elizabeth and Gilbert Coman. The latter was educated in Caz- 
enovia Seminary and has always been a farmer. In polities he is a Republican. He 
married, November 17, 1869, Nancy Richmond, daughter of Wells Richmond of 
New Woodstock; six children have been born of this union; Laura Mason, Caroline 
B., Harriet May (who died in infancy), Nathan Ray of Lebanon, Wells Richmond 
and Clarence E., both of whom reside at home. 



Carpenter, Henry W. , M. D., is one of the oldest practitioners of medicine in Mad- 
ison county. He was born in Marcy, Oneida county, N.Y. , June 36, 1834, a son of 
Albert and Maria (Ashby) Carpenter. His great-grandfather, Deacon Stephen Car- 
penter was a Revolutionary soldier of English parentage, a native of Cheshire, 
Mass., where he died in 1827. George W. Carpenter, a son of Deacon Stephen Car- 
penter, was born in Cheshire, Mass., June 8, 1780. He married Mary Horton of 
Scituate, R. I., and with his young bride was one of the earliest settlers of Oneida 
county Albert Carpenter, their son, was the father of Dr. Carpenter. He was 
born and reared on a farm near Whitesboro and died in middle life. Of his union 
with Maria Ashby were four children; George W., a banker in Fargo, N.D. ; Henry 
W., Deloss A., who resides in Rome, N. Y. ; and Amy J., Mrs. Kirkland, living in 
Forest Port, N.Y. As a youth Dr. Carpenter attended the district schools and as- 
sisted in the farm work ; at the age of seventeen he began to teach school, and dur- 
ing his third term, while in Rome, began the study of medicine under Dr. Sturde- 
vant. In the fall of 18.53 he went to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he attended a course 
of lectures, and in the following spring went to Holland Patent in which place he 
continued his medical studies with Dr. Crane, later taking a course in medicine at 
Albany. In 1857-58 he attended the University of the City of New York, where he 
graduated, M. D., with the class of 1858. He began practice in Holland Patent the 
same year, forming an association with Dr. Crane which lasted four years. During 
the Civil war he served as assistant surgeon and surgeon of the 117th N. Y. Vols. ; he 
also served as acting brigade surgeon and was president of a medical examining 
board. When peace was declared he returned home, and in March, 1865, settled in 
Oneida, where he has enjoyed a lucrative practice ; he has achieved wide reputation 
as an expert in difficult cases of surgery and his practice extends over a considerable 
amount of territory. Dr. Carpenter is well known to the profession and has been a 
frequent contributor to medical publications, especially the American Medical Asso- 
ciation Journal and the New York Medical Record. He is a member of the Oneida 



17fi OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

County Medical Society, the Madison County Medical Society, of which he has been 
vice-president and president, the New York State Medical Association, Medical So- 
ciety of the State of New York, the American Medical Association, Central New 
York Medical Association (president in 1897), the Pan-American Medical Congress, 
and the International Medical Congress. As a citizen he has been prominent in pro- 
moting the prosperity of Oneida, and has held many positions of public trust, serv- 
ing as village trustee and president; for six years as coroner of the county, as pen- 
sion examiner on the Oneida board for fifteen years, and in 1874 as member of 
Assembly from this district. He has also served as president of the Oneida Business 
Mens' Club, as president of the Oneida Chamber of Commerce, (1890-94) as president 
of the Glenwood Cemetery Association, and in 1898 was elected president of the 
Madison County Historical Society. Fraternally he is a Mason of high degree, hold- 
ing membership in Doric Chapter of Oneida and Rome Commandery. He has also 
been prominent in the G. A. R. , served on the staff of State Commander General 
Harrison Clark, and in 1890 was elected medical director of the State of New York. 
He has done much to promote the welfare of the veterans. Dr. Carpenter first mar- 
ried Augusta La Moiue RoUo, who died leaving one daughter, the late Mrs. Freder- 
ick B. Cheney of Oneida. About two years after the death of his first wife he mar- 
ried her sister, Emma Louisa Rollo. 



Gorton, Ambrose E., p. o. Chittenango, leading merchant of the village of Chit- 
tenango, deals largely in a general line of goods, such as dry goods, groceries, boots 
and shoes, and clothing. He was born at Brookfield, Madison county, in 1833. His 
father was Benjamin Gorton, a manufacturer and merchant. Mr. Gorton completed 
a good business education at Cazenovia Seminary and soon embarked in business at 
this place, in fact, as early as 1856, and has been so engaged continuously since. In 
1853 he married Fanny E. Atwell, daughter of Rev. James Atwell, and also a gradu- 
ate of Cazenovia Seminary. Their daughter, Fanny E. Gorton, became the wife of 
I. B. A. Taylor of Middletown, N. Y., a prosperous merchant and holding the office 
of city clerk. Mr. Gorton coramnads a large measure of the esteem and confidence of 
his townspeople. A Republican in politics; has been a member of school board, is 
now corporation treasurer; he was postmaster at Chittenango for ten years. 



Newton, Alfred J., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Canada but was brought to the 
United States by his parents, Byron F. and Margaretha (Wahn) Newton, when an 
infant. Byron F. Newton was one of the first settlers of Hamilton and a son of one 
of the men who aided in throwing British tea into Boston harbor. Alfred J. Newton 
was educated here and then began the active duties of life as a clerk, in which capa- 
city he passed eleven years. On January 20, 1897, he opened his grocery store in 
Hamilton, which has been a successful business from the first. Mr. Newton's enter- 
prise and honorable business methods stamp him as one of the representative young 
business men of Madison county He is a member of the order of Odd Fellows, both 
subordinate lodge and Encampment, and also of the Masonic fraternity. 



Crandall, Franklin R., the well known music dealer of Oneida, was born near 
State Bridge, Oneida county, N. Y., July 5, 1851. He was the second sou in a family 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 



177 



of four children. His parents were both of New England ancestry. His father, 
William G. Crandall, was born in the vicinity of Utica N. Y., and married Miss Eliza 
Wright, of Edmeston, Otsego county, N. Y., soon after purchasing the farm in 
Verona township, where his children were born and reared and he himself resided 
uutil his death, which occurred in 1880. After attending the district school near his 




home, F. R. Crandall completed his education at the Oneida Seminary. He remained 
on his father's farm until he attained his majority, when he entered the employ of 
the Oneida firm of Benson &. Cree. Subsequently he went into business on his own 
account, traveling and selling watches, jewelry and silverware. He then decided to 
make the jewelry business his calling, and entered the employ of Leiter Brothers, 
extetensive dealers in pianos and other musical merchandise in Syracuse, where he 
learned the music business in its various branches. After this he established himself 
in the music trade in Oneida, continuing the same up to the present time. In 1885 
he married Miss Inez M. Cree, who was born in Vermont and whose ancestors were 
among the "Pilgrim Fathers" who came to America in the historic Mayflower m 
1620. Five children have been born of this union: Emma May, Charles Arthur, 



178 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Clayton Wells, Franklin R., and Florence B. In 1892, in association with his father- 
in-law, the late Charles B. Cree of Oneida, he built the handsome Cree-Crandall 
building on Main street, where he now has his music store. As a business man Mr. 
Crandall has been active and enterprising, having introduced new and original 
methods into the music trade. By his just and considerate dealing he has secured 
the friendship and good will of a wide circle of patrons, extending beyond his own 
community into many other cities and counties of the State. 



McGregory, J. F., A. M., F. C. S., p. o. Hamilton, was born at Wilbraham, Mass.. 
a son of Joseph and Emeline (Fuller) McGregory. He was prepared for college at 
the Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, and then entered Amherst College, from which 
he was graduated in the class of 1880. The years 1880 to 1881, and 1883 to 1884 he 
passed in Germany, taking post-graduate courses at Goettingen. He has since spent 
two semesters at Heidelberg, the winter of 1890-91 and the summer of 1896. From 
1881 to 1883 he taught chemistry in Amherst College. In 1884 he came to Colgate 
University as professor of chemistry and mineralogy and has since held that posi- 
tion. Prof. McGregory is a prominent Mason ; a member of the Blue Lodge and 
Chapter at Hamilton ; of the Utica Council ; of the Norwich Commandery and of the 
Order of Veiled Prophets. His college fraternity is the Delta Upsilon. He is a 
member of the American, the London and the German Chemical Societies, and of 
the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1883 he was married 
to Miss Emma Hodgkins of Amherst, Mass. 



Crawshaw, W. H., A. M., p. o. Hamilton, professor of English lilerature and dean 
of Colgate University, was born at Newburg, N. Y., and was educated at Colgate 
Academy and Colgate University, from which he was graduated with the degree of 
A. B. in 1887. In 1889 he received his degree of A. M. After graduating he began 
to teach in Colgate University as instructor in English and French. In 1889 he was 
made associate professor of English and in 1894 became professor of English litera- 
ture. He was elected dean of the faculty in 1897. Prof. Crawshaw is the author of 
an excellent work on the " Interpretation of Literature" (The Macmillan Co., 1896), 
and he has also edited a text of Dryden's Palamon and Arcite. In 1888 Prof. Craw- 
shaw married Jennie L. Broughton. His parents were Charles and Mary (Lodge) 
Crawshaw. His father was an Englishman by birth and came to America at thir- 
teen years of age with his parents. 



Smith, Sidney D. , p. o. Hamilton, was born October 5, 1849, at Hamilton, N. Y., 
and was educated at Colgate and Columbia College Grammar Schools and Cornell 
University, being one of the first students in the latter institution. After leaving 
college he went railroading for a time and then came back and started the first ex- 
press business running out of Hamilton to Midland Railroad at Randallsville, in 
1869. In 1873 he opened a general store at Randallsville, and also engaged in the 
produce business. In 1880 he went out of business for a time on account of his 
health and in 1881 went to Kansas City. In 1882 he returned to Hamilton and has 
since been largely engaged in the real estate business and building. In 1899 he as- 
sumed the management of the Hamilton Lumber and Manufacturing Companj'. Mr 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 179 

Smith is a prominent Mason and also a member of the Odd Fellows. He is grand 
secretary of the Veiled Prophets and has been since the organization of Mystic Order. 
Veiled Prophets in New York State. He is a member of the fire company and was 
on the original committee to establish the Hamilton water works. He has been a 
trustee of the village many years and is a member of the board of trade; a director 
of the Hamilton National Bank, and a trustee of the Congregational church. In 
1873 Mr. Smith married Mary M. Hopkins of Georgetown, South Carolina, and they 
have two children: Dayton F. , a law student, and George H., a student in Colgate 
University. Mr. Smith's parent's were J. D. F. and Martha (Snow) Smith. His 
grandfather, Adon Smith, resided in New York and was a business man there ; his 
wife was Louisa Fuller. Mr. Smith's maternal grandparents were Nathan and 
Hannah Snow. 



Knapp, Dr. James W., was born m Jamesville, N. Y., December 25, 18.53. His 
father. Dr. Edwin A. Knapp, was a native of Rome, where his father, Ezra Knapp, 
was one of the pioneer settlers. The latter bought a farm and cleared it up and was 
afterwards identified with the town of Westmoreland, Oneida county. Dr. Edwin 
A. Knapp was a physician in Jamesville for nearly forty years. He was appointed 
surgeon of the 133d N. Y. Vols., and was afterwards appointed president of the pen- 
sion board in Syracuse; he died November 8, 1890. James W. Knapp was graduated 
from Whitestown Seminary in 1873. He taught until 1878, in which year he entered 
the Syracuse Medical College, graduating in 1881. and began his practice in Canas- 
tota. In 1883 he married Mrs. Delia Benedict, of Jamesville. Dr. Knapp is one of 
the progressive men of his town, serving as president of the village in 1894, presi- 
dent of the board of auditors of the town of Lenox in 1897, and was elected coroner 
in the same year, which office he still holds; he is past master of Canastota Lodge, 
No. 231, F. & A. M., and member of the Odd Fellows. 



Dr. James W.' Smith, son of James and Susan Tackabury Smith, was born in Nel- 
son, August 18. 1841 ; he was a brother of John E. Smith, now of Morrisville and re- 
sided with him on their father's homestead, with his half brother, S. Perry Smith, of 
whom a sketch is given in the chapter on the bar in this work. Soon after attaining 
his majority he married Mary L. Boughton, of Parish, Oswego county, N. Y. , and 
began the study of medicine with Dr. L. P. Greenwood, then of Erieville. He at- 
tended the Medical Department of Michigan University and the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons in the city of New York, graduating from the latter. During several 
years he was in sucessful practice in Erieville, removing thence to Morrisville, where 
he enjoyed a large and successful practice until failing health compelled him to 
abandon business activity. He died of consumption, his widow and one son, Floyd 
B. Smith, who now reside in Chicago, surviving him Dr. Smith was not only a 
highly qualified member of his profession, but also a man of high character, admir- 
able social qualities, and enjoyed the friendship of all with whom he became ac- 
quainted. 



Allen, Spencer B., son of Eli Eastman and Sophrona E. (Parsons) Allen, was born 
in Lincklaen, Chenango county, N. Y., Octobers, 1836. He is a descendant of the 



180 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

old Puritan family of Aliens and numbers Ethan Allen among his ancestors. His 
father, Eli Eastman Allen, was born at Sackett's Harbor and later removed to Linck- 
laen. His grandfather, Jacob Allen, was born in Cape Cod, Barnstable county, 
Mass., and came to New York State with the early settlers. On the maternal side 
Mr. Allen descends from the old New England family of Parsons, representatives of 
which were early settlers of the town of Fenner. He was educated in Morrisville, 
whither the family had removed when he was an infant. After leaving school he 
engaged in the dry goods business; later in the drug business and in various other 
occupations. Several years of his life have been spent in Michigan; he was also a 
resident for a time of Canastota, this State. Mr. Allen came to Cazenovia in 1870, 
and for a year was employed in the lumber yard at the sash factory; later he was 
employed at the grist mill, and for three years was station agent at the Chenango 
Valley Railroad depot. In September, 1895. he established the news room in Albany 
street, which he now conducts. Mr. Allen's politics have always been Republican. 
He has never held public office, with the exception of several terms as inspector of 
elections. In 1868 he married Olivia L. Morgan, daughter of John Morgan of Brook- 
field. Two children have been born to them: Henry M. , and Shirley C. (deceased). 



Potter, Henry H., son of Merritt M. and Mary Ann (Root) Potter, was born in 
Cazenovia, March 25, 1849. His father, who died November 16, 1859, was born near 
Manlius, January 20, 1807, and for many years carried on farming in the south part 
of this town. Mr. Potter descends from old New England pioneer families. On the 
paternal side his grandfather, Benjamin Potter, was one of the earliest settlers of this 
region, coming from Massachusetts before March, 1793. and settling in Pompey. He 
was a native of Dartmouth, Mass., born September 26, 1764, and died in Cazenovia 
where he was buried October 30, 1851. In his early life be was a sea captain and a 
soldier in the Revolution. In his later life he was a prosperous farmer, where he 
lived respected and died regrett.ed. His grandfather, Moses Root, was one of the 
earliest settlers in this section, coming to Cazenovia from Massachusetts before June, 
1793. He was a native of Montague, Mass., born January 2, 1774, and died in Caze- 
novia. where he was buried, July 5, 1834. He was a man of considerable prominence 
in his time, a large farmer, and possessed of many fine traits of character. Of the 
union of Merritt M. and Mary Ann (Root) Potter, seven children were born: Mary 
A., deceased; Laura E., deceased; Benjamin, deceased; Amy Caroline, deceased ; 
Merritt Sidney of Syracuse; Charles M. of Colorado Springs, Col. ; and Henry H. 
Potter of Cazenovia. The latter was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and learned 
the carpenter's trade under Christopher Newton of Cazenovia. Mr. Potter has been 
an extensive building contractor and during the past twenty years has erected most 
of the finer residences of the village. He has served two years as a village trustee; 
is a member of Cazenovia Lodge, F. & A. M., and Manlius Chapter, R. A. M. ; and 
a member and clerk of the vestry of St. Peter's Episcopal church. He married, Sep- 
tember 14, 1872, Anna N. Burns, daughter of Henry Burns of Pitcher, Chenango 
county, N. Y. One daughter has been born to them : Ethel A. Potter. 



Hutchinson, Nathan Bailey, son of David and Amy (Bailey) Hutchinson, was born 
in the town of Fenner, this county, December 31, 1853. His father was a farmer and 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 181 

also conducted a saw mill in Fenner for many years. He was born in Fenner in 
1807 and died in November, 1889, aged eighty-two years. The Hutchinson family is 
of New England pioneer stock and its representatives were among the earliest set- 
tlers of Fenner. Loring Hutchinson, grandfather of Nathan B. Hutchinson, born 
July 30, 1788, was a colonel in the Continental array during the Revolutionary war 
and one of the foremost citizens of the town of Fenner, a man of unusual prominence 
in his time and especially devoted to church work. He married Nancy Woodworth, 
burn November 3, 1788, and reared a large family, thirteen in number, of whom only 
two survive: Myron L. Hutchinson of Cazenovia, and Alvah P. Hutchinson of Fen- 
ner. The other children were David, born October 13, 1807; Allen, born December 
10. 1809; Lydia Ann, born August 23, 1813; Charles, born October 15, 1815; Melissa, 
born September 3, 1817; Irene, born June 27, 1819; Harriet, born March 1, 1824. 
Four died in infancy. Nathan Bailey Hutchinson was reared on the farm and 
received his education in the common schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. He 
taught school seven winters in the schools of the township of Fenner. Mr. Hutchin- 
son came to Cazenovia to reside permanently in 1879, and for a period of twelve 
years has been foreman of the blind room of the Fern Dell mill. He married, in 
1876, Eudora Lame, and of their union are two children: Clarence F. and Nina 
Isabelle. 



Goff. I. Newton, M. D., who has practiced in Cazenovia over forty years, was born 
at Perryville, May 26, 1833, a son of Oliver and Elvira (Davis) Goff. He is a descend- 
ant of the old Rehoboth (Mass.) GofEs. Dr. Goff's father was a native of Rehoboth, 
but early in life removed to Windham county, Conn., and thence to Perryville, where 
he resided many years, and was known as a substantial farmer and useful citizen. 
Dr. Goff was educated in the common schools in the vicinity and worked on his 
father's farm. Later he attended Cazenovia Semi'hary, and in 1854 began his medi- 
cal studies at Syracuse under Drs. Hoyt and Mercfer. He was graduated with the 
degree of M. D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city in 
1858, and shortly after began practice in Cazenovia. During the Civil war Dr. Goff 
went out as assistant surgeon and was assigned to the 17th N. Y. Infantry. He 
served for some time in the hospital at Washington, and then went to the front, 
taking part in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. After the expira- 
tion of his enlistment he returned to his private practice, but shortly after again went 
to the front as a State agent, serving from the battle of the Wilderness until Sep- 
tember of that year. Dr. Goff is a member of the New York State Medical Society, 
Central New "York Medical Society, Madison County Medical Society, and the Syra- 
cuse Academy of Medicine. He is also a member of Cazenovia Lodge, No 616, 
F. and A. M., and medical examiner for several fraternal and insurance corpora- 
tions. He married, in 18G4, Delia M. Clarke, daughter of Rev. William Clarke of 
Cazenovia. Of their union are two children: Robert J. and Marian Ruth Goff. 



Faulkner, Alonzo, p. o. North Brookfield, was born in Brookfield, in 1823,- a son of 
Friend L., and grandson of Charles Faulkner, who died in Guilford, Conn. Friend 
L. Faulkner came to Brookfield about 1800 and took up a farm in the wilderness and 
here lived and died on "the farm Alonzo now owns. His wife was Zubie Fisk, 



183 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

daughter of John Fisk, one of the first settlers. Alonzo Faulkner was reared on the 
farm and educated in the common schools. He has made his own property and has 
about 600 acres of land; he has been one of the large hop growers and an extensive 
cattle dealer in connection with his brother Charles, under the firm name of Faulk- 
ner Brothers. Charles died in 1894. Mr. Faulkner married Rebecca Mattison in 
1848, and they had two children: Adaline, wife of Lyman Fitch of Brookfield, and 
Helen, at home. Mr. Faulkner died in 1887. In politics Mr. Faulkner is a Repub- 
lican, and is one of the well-to-do farmers who has made his own property. 



Warner, A. J., was born in Oneida county, February 6. 1837. His father, Austin 
Warner, was a native of Connecticut and was one of the pioneers of Oneida ; he 
married Pheobe Griswold. A. J. Warner was educated at Oneida and Whitesboro. 
He entered mercantile business in Utica, and from there went to Louisville, Ky. , 
where he remained until he came to Canastota, and is now engaged in raising onions 
and celery. In 1878 Mr. Warner married Jennie K. Fowler; their children are John 
I. and Jennie. Mr. Warner is one of the progressive business men of his town, tak- 
ing an intelligent interest in school and church matters, and has ever advanced the 
best interests of his town and town's people. 



Brown, C. P., was born in Dolgeville, Herkimer county, October 5, 1858. His 
father, H. C. Brown, was a native of the same place, where James Brown was one 
of the pioneers; he married Sophia, daughter of Zepha Brockett. H. C. Brown 
married Cornelia, daughter of John Van Valkenburg, and came to Madison county 
in 1868, and was identified in the mercantile circles; he died in 1889. C. F. Brown 
was educated in the Canastota school and entered mercantile life in Williamston and 
Syracuse, and for three years was engaged in public works in New York as time 
keeper. In 1889 Mr. Brown came to Canastota and organized the firm of H. C. & 
Edgar Brown, succeeding and continuing his father's business. In 1886 Mr. Brown 
married Sophia, daughter of Antoine Kinney; their children are Le Roy, Helena, 
Louise and Jennie. Mr. Brown is one of the progressive men of Madison county, 
serving as collector and taking an active part in school and church matters. 



Lee, Charles A., was born in Boonville, Oneida county, June 20, 1860. His father, 
Albert Lee, was a native of Utica, where the family were among the pioneers; he 
married Sarah Hurlburt, and through life was identified m the storage and forward- 
ing business with Alden Lee, running a Ime of packet boats from Albany to Bufiialo. 
Later he engaged in the lumber business in Boonville, dealing mostly in spruce and 
hemlock; he was also prominent in the milling business. Charles A. Lee was edu- 
cated in the common schools and at twelve years of age entered a planing mill and 
also learned the cheese making business. In 1885 he went to Herkimer and in 1886 
established his chair business, securing a patent on the Lee reclining chair. In 1893 
he came to Canastota and at the present time is employing 160 men. He has added to 
and rebuilt the plant and has a capacity of 50,000 reclining chairs per year. In 1884 
Mr. Lee married Julia E., daughter of I. S. Weller. Mr. Lee is one of the progress- 
ive business men of Madison county, taking an intelligent interest in educational 
and religious institutions and has ever received and merited the respect of his asso- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 183 

ciates. He is a member of the Smith-Lee Co., manufacturers of the health cap for 
milk bottles. 



Harris, Frederick D., son of Jason L. and Sarah A. (Bentley) Harris, was born in 
Pulaski, Oswego county, N. Y., August 20, 1853. His father was a shoe dealer in 
Pulaski before the Civil war in which he was killed at the battle of Fredricksburg. 
Mr. Harris was educated in the common schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. He 
came to Oneida in October, 1876, and began an apprenticeship to the tinsmithing 
trade under C. D. Cree with whom he remained some time, finally becoming a part- 
ner under the firm name of Cree Sz Harris. Mr. Harris established his present busi- 
ness as a tin roofer and furnacer in 1892 and in 1895 took into partnership his brother, 
Edward Harris, forming the present firm of Hams Brothers. He married in 1883, 
Olive, daughter of C. B. Cree of Oneida, and of this union is one daughter. Al- 
berta M. 



Sherman, Edgar D., son of Isaac C, and Catharine E. (HoUister) Sherman, was 
born in the village of Oneida, October 7, 1842. His father, a native of Massachusetts, 
died in Oneida June 1, 1896, in the eighty-second year of his age; he had been a res- 
ident of the village of Oneida for a period of fifty-four years, and was well known 
and universally esteemed throughout Madison county, serving frequently in posi- 
tions of public trusts. Mr. Sherman was educated at Theodore Camp's school in 
Oneida, and when twenty-two years of age engaged in business as a dairy farmer in 
Sherrill, Oneida county, where he had a farm of 100 acres. He settled in Oneida 
where he now re.sides in the fall of 1897. In politics Mr Sherman has been a Demo- 
crat; he has never held public office of any kind. He first married in 1868, Augusta, 
daughter of John Sturtevant, of Augusta, Oneida county, N. Y., and of this union 
are three children: Clarence E., of Rochester; Harry A., of Oneida; and Edna M. 
For his second wife he married Miss Mary Weaver, a daughter of Jacob Weaver of 
Utica, N. Y. 



Spaulding, Philander, son of John and Margaret (Peterson) Spaulding, was born in 
Chenango county, N. Y., February 9, 1818. His father, a lifelong farmer, was a 
native of the State of Vermont, and an early settler in Chenango county. Mr. 
Spaulding was reared on the farm and received his education in the district schools. 
During the greater part of his active life he has been engaged in farming. He was 
for a period engaged in the manufacture of cheese boxes at Pratt's Hollow, and in 
company with Milton Barnard, J. D. Kilburn, and Walter E. Northrup, was one of 
the founders of the Central Bank of Oneida; he withdrew from this firm in the year 
1897. Mr. Spaulding bought his present farm, then containing 108 acres and now by 
addition 160 acres, in 1863. He has been a large farmer and owns considerable land 
in this vicinity. Mr. Spaulding is one of the oldest resident farmers of this region, 
and is well known throughout the county ; he has often held positions of public trust, 
serving as constable, deputy sheriff, collector, and deputy revenue collector of this 
district. In politics he has been a staunch Republican. He first married Miranda 
Parker, and of this union are four children: Rosalia, wife of David L. Davis of 
Munnsville; Adelia, wife of Herman Cooper of Oneida; Sarah V., wife of Reuben 



184 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Hoklridge; and Mrs. Emeline Vedder of Munnsville. For his secoud wife he mar- 
ried Sarah, daughter of John Marshall of Eaton, and of this union are two sons; 
William P., and Judd Spaulding. 



Keating, Daniel, has been one of the leading educators of Madison county for many 
years. He was born about two miles north of the village of Cazenovia, November 
21, 1854. His father, Maurice Keating, was a native of County Kerry, Ireland, 
where he was born August 1, 1820. In 1849 he came to this country in a sailing ves- 
sel and on his arrival found himself with little more than enough money to pay his 
expenses to Troy, where he soon found employment by the month. He worked some 
years for wages, and was married in 1853 to Mary Bagley, who was born in his na- 
tive county, and came over in 1843. They soon started for themselves, and by in- 
dustry and frugality secured a pleasant home about one mile west of Chitteuango 
Falls. Daniel Keating, their eldest son, was reared to habits of industry and until 
he reached his twentieth year assisted in the conduct of his father's farm. He re- 
ceived his primary education in the public schools and later attended Cazenovia 
seminary, beginning his chosen profession of teaching when in his twenty third 
year. Since then he has made school work his business. He was first elected to the 
office of School Commissioner in 1888, in a hotly contested triangular fight, he, a 
Democrat in a Republican district, receiving a handsome majority over the Republi- 
can and Prohibition nominees. His second term was secured by astill larger major- 
ity — some 800 votes. Mr. Keating has made a most efficient commissioner and has 
proved the possession of unquestioned ability in educational work. He married, 
November 25, 1891, Ida L. Griffin, daughter of Henry L. and Lovina (Oilman) Grif- 
fin, of Jefferson county. Until her marriage Mrs. Keating was also engaged in 
teaching, and enjoys the distinction of being the first lady school commissioner elected 
in the State of New York. 



Stewart, Robert A , son of James and C. Elizabeth (Clark) Stewart, was born in 
the town of Lenox, this county, October 10, 1843. His father v.-asa native of Fenner, 
this county, and was always a farmer; his grandfather, Robert Stewart, came from 
Scotland to this country in early life and was one of the first settlers of the town of 
Fenner; he had come with his father, and both lie buried m Peterboro Cemetery. 
Mr. Stewart was educated m the old Oneida Seminary and remained upon the farm 
until 1873. In that year he removed to Mohawk, Herkimer county, N. Y., and was 
engaged in a malting business there about two years. In the fall of 1875 he began 
a similar business in Oneida in company with A. C. Stewart and W.W.Warr, under 
the firm name of R. A. Stewart & Co. Later this was changed to Stewart, Tibbits 
& Warr, and upon the death of A. C. Stewart to Stewart & Barton. The firm took 
its present name of Stewart, Barton & Co. on the admission of Thomas O'Brien. 
The business comprises malting, dealing in grain, etc. Mr. Stewart has served four 
years as village trustee, and is a valued citizen of Oneida. He married in Novem- 
ber, 1868, Anna Eliza Merrill, and one daughter has been born to them, Mrs. Wal- 
ter S. Ryan of Oneida. 



Ratnour, Barney, president of the village of Oneida, was born in the town of 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 185 

Lenox, June 1, 1830, a son of Abram and Barbara (Pease) Ratnour. His father, a 
farmer, was of Mohawk Dutch descent, and an early settler of the town of Lenox; 
he gained considerable reputation on account of his ability as a drummer in the old 
State militia. Barney Ratnour was educated in the common schools and has always 
been a farmer: he has also dealt to a considerable extent in real estate. He settled 
permanently in Oneida village in 1867. Mr. Ratnour is a well-known and valued 
citizen of Oneida, and has frequently served in positions of public trust. He has 
held the office of excise commissioner, was member of the town board of the old town 
of Lenox, and for the past two years has been president of the village of Oneida. 
He married in May, 1870, Harriet E. Davis, a daughter of George Davis of the town 
of Vernom, Oneida county. Of this union are two children; Fred B. and Florence 
May. 



Bliss, Russell Joseph, was born in Smithfield, May 28, 1863, a son of Joseph Hunt- 
ington, son of Lyman, who was bora in Smithfield in 1802, a son of Ephraim Bliss, 
who was one of the party of ventursome pioneers who came to Smithfield in 1799 and 
1800. Ephraim Bliss, like nearly all the early settlers, cleared some land and made 
farming his occupation. The land he then cleared is now, after one century of occu- 
pancy, still owned in the Bliss family. In 1801 Ephraim Bliss went to Massachu- 
setts and brought back a bride. Lyman, the eldest son, was born in 1802. Upon 
reaching manhood Lyman married Ann Chaffee of Smithfield and purchased the 
homestead; to them were born seven sons and two daughters, who reached maturity 
and married. Lyman Bliss was commissioned by Governor Clinton captain in State 
militia; he died in 1875. His wife died in 1876. Joseph H., the fourth child, was 
born April 8, 1831, educated in the local schools and Peterboro Academy. He 
taught school a few terms then married and purchased a farm in Smithfield. To 
them were born two children, one now living, a daughter. In 1857 he married for 
h;s second wife, Clarissa M. Brown of Stockbridge, N.Y., a great-granddaughter of 
Keziah Cushman Brown of Vermont, who, while her husband was away serving in 
the American army under Gen. Stark in 1777, was visited by a foraging party from 
Col. Baum's Hessian regiment and threatened with execution by the bayonet unless 
she disclosed the hiding place of stores and ammunition known to have been saved 
by her husband. She refused, though the bayonet pricked her chest. Her bravery 
so won the admiration of the officer of the party that he ordered them to molest her 
no further. By this second marriage Mr. Bliss had four children, three now living; 
the oldest, Russell Joseph, graduated from Cornell University in 1885 with the de- 
gree of Ph. B. For two years following he read law in an office in Saginaw, Mich. 
After taking one year of lectures at the law school of Columbia University, he was 
admitted in 1888 to the Michigan bar. The year 1889 was spent in traveling and 
studying natural resources of Pacific coast States. In 1890-91 he practiced his pro- 
fession in Chicago, 111., after which he returned to his native town and has since 
been associated with his father in caring for their large farms, making the breeding 
of Jersey cattle their leading industry. The farm occupied by them was once the 
site of the first glass factory in the State. The building with its massive timbers is 
yet preserved and with suitable alterations is serving as the main barn of the farm. 
This building is supposed to have been erected about 1806. The late John R. Berry 



186 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

often told Mr. Bliss that, when a small boy, he was allowed to attend the " raising" 
of this massive frame. The work occupied a week and called together large num- 
bers of persons from this and neighboring settlements, who made merry as was the 
custom in those days at such " bees," with plenty of whiskey and games of skill and 
strength. Joseph Bliss has long been one of the trustees of the Evans Endowment, 
given for the maintenance of Evans Academy. In 1895 Russell Bliss married Agnes 
Alden Hamilton of Kenwood, N. Y. 



Allen, Orlando, son of John M. and Betsey (May) Allen, was born in the town of 
Fenner, this county, October 6, 1824. His father was a native of Otsego county, 
born in 1789, and located at Fenner Corners in 1833. Here he conducted a black- 
smith shop for many years and latter engaged in farming, being widely known in 
the vicinity as a man of strict integrity and holding various minor town offices. He 
died at Ferryville, May 26, 1892, honored and respected by all who had known him. 
His grandfather, Jared Allen, served through the Revolutionary war, died in 1827, 
over ninety years old, and is buried in the cemetery at Cooperstown, N. Y. Orlando 
Allen was educated in the common schools and has always followed the occupation 
of farming, principally in the town of Fenner. He retired in 1893 and located in 
Cazenovia village. Mr. Allen has served as assessor three years ; is a member of 
long standing of the Presbyterian church. He married in 1850 Louisa M. Whipple, 
daughter of Elisha Whipple of Fenner. 



Smith, Alonzo D., M. D., who has practiced medicine in the village of New Wood- 
stock for a third of a century, was born in the extreme southeast corner of the town 
of Cazenovia, June 2, 1841, a son of Willard Moss and Lucinda (Harrington) Smith. 
His father was a farmer and owned a farm which was so peculiarly located as to be 
in the towns of De Ruyter, Cazenovia and Nelson. He was a native of Plainfield, 
Otsego county, but spent most of his life in this vicinity, where he was held to be a 
man of strict integrity and estimable character. He died in 1893, having reached 
the advanced age of eighryfour years. Dr. Smith was educated in the district 
schools and at Cazenovia Seminary. He began his medical studies in 1861 under 
Drs. Greenwood and Carpenter of Erieville; later he attended a course of lectures at 
the University of Michigan, and two courses in the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons in New York city, from which institution he received the degree of M. D. in 
1867. He at once began practice in Nelson Flats, but soon removed to New Wood- 
stock, where he bought the practice of Dr. McClellan. Two years later he also 
bought Dr. C. W. Adam's property. In 1877 he went to Cazenovia Seminary and for 
seven terms taught anatomy, physiology and hygiene, building up the department 
with faithful energy. In the fall of 1898 he returned to his New Woodstock practice 
and in addition established a pharmacy, which he still conducts. Dr. Smith has not 
only built up a large and lucrative practice in his native town, but in the year 1886 
he received letters patent on a spring truss, and also in 1890 on an improvement, 
than which there is probably no truss ever worn by the human family which is less 
open to criticism, or more practical in its application. The doctor has also received 
letters patent on a mechanical cash book which for simplicity and accuracy has never 
been excelled. Within the present year, 1899, a local paper, called the Local Ga- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 187 

zette, has been started in the village of New Woodstock and Dr. Smith made its 
editor. It is a thriving publication and compares favorably with its class. It is soon 
to be enlarged and otherwise improved. The doctor has been offered political pref- 
erment, but has chosen to attend to his personal affairs, prefering rather to be a 
success in his profession and private concerns than to seek doubtful honors. Dr. 
Smith has been a staunch Republican, and with the exception of his service of eight 
years as coroner he has never held public office. He is a member of Cazenovia 
Lodge, No. 616, F. & A. M. In 1859 he married Martha M. Smith, daughter of 
Moses D. C. Smith of Cazenovia. One son has been born to them, T. Galen Smith 
of Los Angeles, Cal. 

Munroe, Loring, for many years a valued citizen of Oneida, was born in Ashburn- 
ham, Mass., June 12, 182fi, a son of Charles and Lydia (Conn) Munroe. On both the 
paternal and maternal sides he descends from the old New England stock. His 
grandfather, Ebenezer Munroe, was a prominent patriot of the Revolution, and one 
of the first to be wounded at the Battle of Lexington. His father was a veteran of 
the War of 1813, while his maternal grandfather was a member of an old New Eng- 
land family who were a hardy, long line of pioneers. While he was yet a boy, Mr. 
Munroe's parents died and he was left with no money to make his way as best he 
could. He secured a place on a farm where he worked three years, managing mean- 
time to take every opportunity to attend school, and finally finishing at the academy 
at A.shby, Mass. However his real business education was mostly obtained by actual 
experience and observation. He taught school for a time, thus securing a little 
money, and when twenty years of age went to Cleveland, Oswego county, N. Y., 
where h'e became interested in the manufacture of glass, subsequently owning an 
interest in the factory of the American Glass Company at Bernhard's Bay, N. Y. In 
1861 he purchased the Dunbarton glass plant at Verona, N. Y., which he managed 
successfully for sixteen years, meanwhile being interested in organizing a private 
bank at Oneida under the firm name of Barnes, Stark & Munroe; he withdrew about 
five years after the organization. It was at this time that Mr. Munroe, then living 
in Oneida county, was elected a trustee of the Oneida Savings Bank and he held that 
office many years. He settled in Oneida in 1877 and has since resided in this vilage. 
Mr. Munroe built and owns the building occupied by the Farmers' and Merchants' 
State Bank of which he is president ; and owns considerable real estate in the village, 
including the Munroe Opera House. While politically a staunch Republican, he has 
never sought office, but has represented the town of Lenox as supervisor, and has been a 
member of the village board of trustees. He vsras one of the original stockholders of 
the First National Bank of Oneida, and being possessed of excellent judgment, his 
opinion and advice have been of great value in the business community. Although 
he began life without a dollar, Mr. Munx-oe has accumulated a considerable fortune. 
He has always been broad minded and liberal, and has contributed largely to many 
worthy public enterprises. During the last year he built what is called Munroe 
Memorial Chapel, which is a gift from him to the Glenwood Cemetery Association of 
Oneida. Mr. Munroe married June 17, 1849, Miss Jane Corwarden, a native of Jack- 
son, N. J. Six children have been born of this union: three daughters, all now de- 
ceased; and three sons, George L. of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y. ; and Charles I. 
and Anthony B., both of Oneida. 



188 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Walrath, Hon. Peter, p. o. Chittenango, of Chittenango, was born in that place, 
November 12, 1833. His ancestors were from Holland and settled in the valley of 
the lower Mohawk. His father, the late Daniel Walrath, settled in Chittenango 
about the beginning of the century and died in 1856, aged sixty-two years. Mr. Wal- 
rath has spent his whole life here, but has become known and honored far outside of 
his native town. His substantial success in life is due to his own efforts and his 
marked personal characteristics His first independent business venture was the 
establishment about 1856 of a machine shop here, having been for a time occupied as 
salesman in a general store. His business interests have been and yet are, many 
and varied, but in each instance are dominated by the same active personal attention 
and uncompromising honesty. A representative Republican almost since the forma- 
tion of the party, he has filled many positions of public trust which have come to him 
unasked and often without reward. At present he is a member of the State Board of 
Charities, having been appointed to that position originally in 1886, and his reappoint- 
ment from Governor Black dates until 1906. In local finance Mr. Walrath has taken 
an active part. He was one of the organizers of the First National Bank of Chitte- 
nango; was for ten years its vice-president and then its president until its charter 
expired in 1883. At about this period he became largely interested in the production 
of lumber, operating both water-power and steam saw-mills. Of these enterprises in 
which he has been so closely identified with the growth and prosperity of his native 
place, and of the Chittenango Pottery Company, of which he is a member of the 
board of directors, much of general interest will be found elsewhere in this volume. 
Mr. Walrath's deceased wife was Sarah M. Kellogg, daughter of the late Warren 
Kellogg, of whose large estate he has been executor for twenty years. One daughter 
was born to them: Beatrice, whose untimely death is yet a recent grief, but whose 
infant child has become the sunshine of Mr. Walrath's stately home. 



Donnelly, P. H., president of Cazenovia village, and mercliant of thirty years' 
establishment, was born in Cazenovia, July 9, 1846, a son of William and Ann 
(Flanagan) Donnelly. His father was a well-known resident of this village for over 
fifty years. During his boyhood Mr. Donnelly attended the common schools of the 
village for a time, but at an early age began to work. His first employment was in 
Jeremiah Wormuth's tannery, where he remained five years, gaining a good knowl- 
edge of the tanner's trade. After leaving the tannery he began work in the sash 
and blind factory of Sage & Ames, remaining in their employ until 1869, when he 
established himself in the grocery business, which he still continues. During the 
first two years he was associated with Charles Potter under the firn name of Potter 
& Donnelly, and in the succeeding five years with his brother, William H. Donnelly, 
who purchased Mr. Potter's interest. The firm of Donnelly Brothers was dissolved 
in 1876, and since that year Mr. Donnelly has conducted the business alone, having 
now completed three decades as a dealer in groceries in Cazenovia village. In 
politics he has always been a staunch Democrat and is a leading spirit in party cir- 
cles in this section. It is proper to state that Mr. Donnelly has accomplished much 
valuable work in the cause of education. He worked unceasingly to secure a union 
school in Cazenovia, and has been a member of the school board for over twenty 
years. In village politics Mr. Donnelly has for some years been prominent, having 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 189 

served as treasurer of the village, in which office he has made his administration a 
credit to himself and to the corporation. He was an active worker for the installa- 
tion of water and sewer systems in Cazenovia, and has been a loyal supporter of 
every movement tending towards the development of the village. Mr. Donnelly 
married, in 1873, Mary HuUer, a daughter of Casper HuUer of Cazenovia. Their 
children are four: Helena M., Walter H., Anna C, and Mary Elizabeth. 



Burnham, Sylvester, D. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, 
February 1, 1843, and was prepared for college at the high school at Newburyport, 
Mass. He was graduated from Bowdoin College in the class of 1863, with the degree 
of A.B. ; he took his A.M. in 1865 and received his D.D. in 1885. In 1863 Dr. Burn- 
ham began his active career as a teacher of classics in the Schenectady union school. 
In 1864 he became professor of mathematics in the Western University at Pittsburg, 
Pa., and in 1865 became connected with the theological commission service. In 
1866 he became principal of Newburyport high school, where he remained until 
1869, when he entered the Newton theological institution to study for the ministry. 
Here he spent four years, including one year of study in Europe. He was gradu- 
ated from Newton in 1873 and then accepted the pastorate of the Amherst Baptist 
church, where he remained a year; in 1874 and 1875 he was assistant principal of 
Worcester academy. In 1875 he came to Colgate University to fill the chair of Old 
Testament Interpretation. He has produced a manual of Old Testament interpreta- 
tion and also a Syriac Grammar. Dr. Burnham was elected dean of the theological 
faculty in 1893. On June 38, 1876, Dr. Burnham married Miriam M. Tucker, and 
they have one daughter, Alice M. Dr. Burnham's parents were Rev. Edwin and 
Alice (Dennett) Burnham. His father was a Baptist minister, who gave most of his 
time to evangelical work. The progenitor of the Burnham family in America was 
Thomas Burnham, who came over from England and settled at Ipswich, Mass., in 
163.5. He took part in the Pequot expedition in 1636, was a lieutenant of militia at 
Ipswich m 1683, and subsequently served as deputy to the general court for several 
years. His son, John, was the father of David, whose son, also David, was the father 
of Benjamin, father of Abner Burnham, and grandfather of Dr. Burnham This 
family had several members in the revolutionary war, who served with distinction 
and held military commissions. Dr. Burnham's brother, Capt. Burnham, served in 
the war of the rebellion. He held the rank of lieutenant and was breveted captain 
for bravery at the battle of Scambia Bridge, over which he led the regiment after the 
colonel was disabled. 



Taylor, James Morford, LL. D., p. o. Hamilton, Professor of mathematics in Col- 
gate University, was born in 1843, at Holmdel, N. J., and is a son of James J. and 
Lucy (Morford) Taylor. His remote ancestors came from England, Scotland and 
Holland. He was prepared for college at Dr. Fitch's school, South Windham, 
Conn., and at the Grammar School of Madison University. He became a 
student at Madison, now Colgate University, in the spring of 1863 and grad- 
uated with the degree of A. B. in the class of 1867 with the highest honors. He 
then became an instructor in mathematics in the college. In 1869, Dr. Taylor 
was appointed Principal of the Grammar school and in the same year was made 



190 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Professor of Mathematics m the University. In 1893, he made a journey to 
Europe and visited many parts of the old world. As a mathematician, Dr. Taylor 
stands among the foremost of the country. He is a member of the Mathematical 
Society of New York State, and of the American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science. In 1891, he received the degree of LL. D. Dr. Taylor has 
been a prolific writer, chiefly on mathematical subjects. His first literary pro- 
duction of importance was published in 1884, and is entitled Elements of the Calcu- 
lus. His College Algebra was issued in 1889, and his Academic Algebra in 1893. 
He has also contributed largely to some of the leading mathematical text books of 
this country. His Elements of the Differential and Integral Calculus, above referred 
to, presents in a simple and concise way the fundamental problems of the Calculus 
with their solution and more common applications. The method of both rates and 
limits is used in proving many of the theorems. The chapter on direct integration 
and its more important applications follows that on differentiation. Many practical 
problems in geometry and mechanics appear throughout the book. The work has 
been received as an authority, and is now used in over eighty different colleges. It 
was written with great care and a vast amount of matter has been condensed into a 
comparatively few pages. At the same the examples are full and each step of rea- 
soning is clearly demonstrated. His Academic Algebra has received the warm 
endorsement of instructors. The method of solving and using the simpler forms of 
equation, the fundamental laws of number and the literal notation are made clear to 
the student, before the conception of algebraic number is introduced. The theory 
of equivalent equations and systems of equations is clearly presented. Factoring is 
made prominent in the study and solution of equations. The treatment of fractions, 
ratios and exponents is thoroughly scientific. The presentation of the theory of 
limits is clear and concise. This treatise of Algebra brings out the living principles 
of the science and as the book is adapted to beginners and covers sufficient matter 
for admission to any American University, it is a text book of the highest value. 
Both the Calculus and the Algebras were developed from the experience and needs 
of the class room, and display an independence, both in style and methods of reason- 
ing. Dr. Taylor is a public spirited citizen of Hamilton, has served on the school 
board and in other local offices. He has been a member of the water and light com- 
mission since its organization. In 1871 Dr. Taylor married Mary Paddock; they 
have four children; James P., Florence E., Henry W., and Mary J. 



Andrews, Newton Lloyd, Ph. D., LL. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Fabius, On- 
ondaga county, N. Y., August 14, 1841. He was educated at the Newark (N. J.) 
High School and at Colgate University, from which he was graduated in 1863, with 
the degree of A. B. He received his degree of A. M. in 1864, and from 1863 to 1864 
studied in Hamilton Theological Seminary. Immediately upon graduating from the 
seminary he became principal of the preparatory school connected with the univer- 
sity, and in 1866 was elected professor of Latin in the university. In 1868 he was 
transferred to the chair of Greek language and literature. On September 6, 186.5, 
Prof. Andrews married Cynthia S. Burchard of Hamilton. In 1878 he received the 
degree of Ph. D. from Hamilton College, and he spent the year 1879-80 in study and 
travel in Europe. In 1880 he was appointed dean of the university, continuing to be the 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 191 

head of the Greek department. In 1888 he received the degree of LL.D. from the 
University of Chicago. After the death of his wife in 1886, he married in 1888 Char- 
lotte P. Harbach of Newton Center, Mass. In January, 1890, upon the death of 
President Dodge, Dr. Andrews exercised in his capacity as dean the duties of ad- 
ministration in the college until June, 1895, at which time he resigned the office of 
dean and spent the year 1895-96 in travel and study in Europe and Egypt. In Sep- 
tember, 1896, he returned to his duties at the university, in which he holds the posi- 
tion of professor of the Greek language and literature and lecturer on the history of 
art. Dr. Andrews has contributed frequently to scholarly periodicals and has taken 
part in many educational conventions, both in papers and on the platform. In 1872 
he edited " The First Half Century of Madison University." In politics Prof. An- 
drews was originally a Republican, but for the last twenty years has been classed 
among the independents; of late, however, he has been associated chiefly with the 
Republican party. 



Fitch, S. A., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Broookfield, Madison county, N. Y., and 
after receiving a good public school education embarked in the mercantile business 
at North Brookfield, which he carried on from 1868 to 1888. He had been in the 
quartermaster's department at Washington three years, from 1863 to 1866. He 
came to Hamilton in 1886 and established his present business, including real estate, 
insurance, and mvestments. Mr. Fitch was deputy county clerk of Madison county 
from July, 1866, to January, 1868, and was justice of the peace in Brookfield twelve 
years; also supervisor of the town two years. He has always been a staunch Re- 
publican and has served as a delegate to county and State Conventions. In 1866 
Mr. Fitch married Sarah M. Van Wagner of Kingston, N. Y. Mr. Fitch's parents 
were Elliot G. and Sabrina (Brown) Fitch. His grandfather. Patten Fitch, was a 
native of Connecticut, and his great-grandfather. Dr. Lemuel Fitch, v?as a promi- 
nent physician in that State. The first member of the Fitch family in America was 
Rev. James Fitch, who came over from England and settled in Massachusetts in 
1620. 



Thomas, Prof. Ralph W., p. o. Hamilton, was born in Nova Scotia, but came to 
the United States in his youth and was educated at Colgate Academy and Colgate 
University, from which he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1883. He 
soon afterward went to the Albany Academy as teacher of English, at the same time 
studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1885. He remained at the Albany Acad- 
emy five years, and was then appointed examiner in English in the Regents' office. 
He subsequently became chief examiner of the University of the State of New York, 
and had charge of all the examinations, both academic and professional. In 1891 Mr. 
Thomas married Effie Southwick, daughter of Henry C. Southwick of Albany, N. Y. 
They have one daughter, Margaret Julia Thomas. In September, 1892, Mr. Thomas 
was appointed professor of rhetoric and public speaking in Colgate University, and he 
occupies this position at the present time. 



Lloyd, Frederick O., M. D., p. o. Hamilton, was born in the town of Salisbury, 



192 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Herkimer county, and was educated at the Hamilton Academy, from wliicVi he was 
graduated in 1881, and the University of New York, from which he was graduated 
m 1885 with the degree of M. D., and was valedictorian of his class. The Colgate 
University conferred upon him the degree of A. M. in 1894. In 1886 he took a course 
in the New York City Hospital and practiced in that city until 1891. He came to 
Hamilton in 1893 and has built up a large practice. Dr. Lloyd is a member of the 
New York County Medical Society, of the Lenox Medical and Surgical Society of 
New York, and of the Madison County Medical Society. While in New York city Dr. 
Lloyd was lecturer on diseases of women at the Post Graduate Medical College, and 
was also attending physician to the Presbyterian Hospital and to the Baptist Home 
in New York city. Dr. Lloyd married Miss Decker of Newburg, daughter of Colonel 
Decker, who commanded a regiment in the Civil war. They have one son, Fred- 
erick O. Lloyd, jr. Dr. Lloyd s parents were H. S. and Eliza M. (Carr) Lloyd. Some 
of Mrs. Lloyd's direct ancestors were Revolutionary soldiers. 

Gardiner, Dr. J. L. , p. o. Hamilton, was born at Hamilton, Madison county, N. Y. , 
and received his literary education in the schools of his native place. He studied 
dentistry with Dr. A. V. Bardeen, and has been engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession since 1877, always in Hamilton. On October 8, 1884, Dr. Gardiner married 
Susan Cole, daughter of Isaac Cole of Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Gardiner's parents were 
Sandford and Sarah E. (Brownell) Gardiner. Sandford Gardiner was born at 
Smyrna, N. Y., in 1811, and died March 16, 1896. He lived eighty-five years on his 
farm adjoining the village of Hamilton, and was many years the leading man in this 
place. He carried on a large produce business, shipping to New York, and was the 
first man to bring a boat load of coal to Hamilton. He owned his own boats and did 
an extensive carrying trade. He also ran a line of stages from Utica through to 
Binghamton thirty-five years. Mr. Gardiner's mother was born August 20, 1820, and 
died in 1896. 

Sisson, Eugene P., p. o. Hamilton, was born at Georgetown, N.Y., January 28, 1845, 
and educated at the State Normal School at Oswego, N. Y. In 1868 he began bis 
long career as a teacher in Hamilton. The first five years he was principal of the 
public school, and in 18T4 he accepted a position in Colgate Academy, with which insti- 
tution he has since been continuously connected. Professor Sisson is a Master Mason 
and has for many years been deacon of the Baptist Church and president of the vil- 
lage for ten years. In 1870 he married Mary A. Wickwire, who died, leaving one 
son, Louis E. Sisson, now of Minneapolis. In 1880 Professor Sisson married Jennie 
A. Buell, and they have five children: Grace, Samuel B. , Warren R., Irving A , and 
E. P. Sisson, jr. Professor Sisson's parents were Alexander and Abigail Sisson; his 
father was a native of Rhode Island. Professor Sisson has the department of 
mathematics in Colgate Academy and is assistant principal. 



Maynard,,W. H., D. D. , p. o. Hamilton, was born at Waterville, Oneida county 
N. Y.. in September, 1835, and was prepared for college at Waterville, Augusta, and 
Clinton Grammar School. He then entered Hamilton College and was graduated 
from that institution in 1854. The two following years he was assistant teacher 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 193 

at Westfield Academy, and then took a theological course at Madison University, 
after which he was pastor of the Baptist church at Cohoes for six years. The next 
two years he was pastor of the church at Fort Covington, after which he was an 
incumbent of the church at Malone, N. Y., for two years. He next went to the First 
Baptist church at Auburn and occupied that pulpit seven years. In 1875 he accepted 
the chair of political economy and church history and so contmued until 1895, since 
which time he has given his entire attention to the chair of church history. Dr. 
Maynard married Sarah Jane Pavne, and they have one daughter living, Adelaide; 
their son, William L., a teacher in Louisville, Ky. , deceased. Dr. Maynard is an 
eloquent, earnest and popular preacher, as well as a profound scholar. 



Tondeur, Cleon H., was born in Belgium, February 5, 1847. His father was a 
glass cutter and foreman of a large glass works in Belgium ; he married Arritta 
L'Espagne, who was killed in a railroad accident in Belgium, May 3, 1860; he died 
in 1879 in his eighty-ninth year. Cleon H. Tondeur learned the glass cutter's trade 
with his father, and in 1865 went to Sunderland, England, where he remained until 
1880, and then came to the United States, settling in Lasalle, 111. In 1881 he went 
to Ithaca, where he invented his process for cementing glass, and in 1883 came to 
Canastota. In 1870 Mr. Tondeur married Mary Jane Cunningham, and their chil- 
dren are Felix Cleon and Barbara Hanora. Mr. Tondeur is one of the self-made 
men of Madison county, a progressive business man, serving his town as trustee, a 
member of the board of water commissioners, excise board and president of his vil- 
lageand of the fire commissioners in 1898. ' 

Fuller, Miss May, p. o. Chittenango. — No more cherished names appear among the 
earlier annals of Sullivan than that of Fuller. The surviving representative of the 
honored name is Miss May Fuller of Chittenango, residing in the home made beau- 
tiful by the provident care and taste of her late father, Dr. Edward Fuller. A highly 
educated and estimable lady, a devoted communicant of the Episcopal church, she 
exercises a gracious hospitality. Dr. Edward Fuller was a native of Schenectady 
and graduated from the University of New York in 1828. Soon afterward he began 
the practice of medicine at Chittenango, being associated with his brother. Dr. Sam- 
uel Fuller, and spent the remamder of his life here. In 1840 he married Octavia 
Lee, and to them were born one son and two daughters. Dr. Fuller was a success- 
ful practitioner from the first and became one of the most prominent men of the lo- 
cality in affairs of state and church. He brought into his practice of the healing art 
a large benevolence which, no less than his professional skill, made his death in 1877 
greatly lamented. 



Walrath, Elgin Daniel, p. o. Chittenango, is the only living son of the late Daniel 
D. Walrath, who was one of the most eminent lawyers of Madison county. He .spent 
his whole life in this immediate vicinity, with a large local clientage, practicing also 
in the United States Courts at Washington, D.C, and died here in 1886. His wife, 
who survives him, was Maria Louisa Cady, daughter of Nathan Stanton Cady, a 
merchant of Rome, N.Y. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Maria L. Walrath was 
Judge Sylvester Beecher, a name of celebrity in the early annals of county juris- 



194 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

prudence. Judge Beecher was the first county judge of Madison county and at the 
time of his decease in 1849, was reputed the wealthiest man in the county. Three 
sons were born to Daniel and Maria Walrath Beecher Cady, who died in 1894; 
Eugene Daniel, who died in 1873, and Elgin Daniel, born in 1864, and who has 
already come to be considered one of the representative men of his village and town. 
Democratic in politics, he was first elected justice of the peace in 1889, and has held 
that office without interruption since. He married, in September, 1893, Lulu Gar- 
lock of Chittenango. 



Deuel, Walter Estus, M.D., p. o. Chittenango, a popular and successful specialist 
at Chittenango, was born at Galen, near Clyde, N.Y., in 1852, son of Walter Deuel, 
a farmer at that place. The family is of French origin and the family name was 
spelled in the original, De Voile. The first American ancestor of Doctor Deuel was 
a Huguenot missionary, who found a fertile field for his redeeming labors in Con- 
necticut about 1620. Doctor Deuel's boyhood was spent in Clyde, N.Y. In 1861, 
when his father went to the front with the Union army as one of the famous old 
"Ninth Heavy Artillery," where he served until the war closed, he lived with his 
mother's people at Frankfort, N.V., and then attended Whitestown seminary several 
years. Four years were then spent assisting his father at Frankfort, in the retail 
hardware trade. In 1872 he began the study of medicine at Ilion, N.Y., thence 
went to the New York Homeopathic College, graduating from the latter institution 
in 1876. Since graduation the Doctor has taken several post-graduate courses, beside 
special personal research, graduating from the New York Ophthalmic Hospital in 1877. 
In that year he opened an office at Chittenango, where his success has been marked. 
He retains membership in the American Institute of Homeopathy: the National 
Electro-Therapeutical Society, beside the various and several State and county .so- 
cieties. Dr. Deuel married, first in 1878, Alice Hager of Watertown, N.Y.. who is 
deceased, and in 1885 he married Frances Bettinger of Chittenango. He has four 
sons and one daughter, the eldest son, W. Estus Deuel, jr., now nineteen years of 
age, and a student at the Yates institute, contemplates the study of the healing art. 
In 1896 Dr. Deuel attended the International Homeopathic Congress at London, 
Eng. . to which he was a delegate. 



Webb, Frank L., p. o. Chittenango Station, the popular proprietor of the leading 
hotel at Chittenango Station, has been a resident of this town since 1840. At that 
time he was less than eight years of age, and his mother having died during his in- 
fancy, in Otsego county, he was brought up by an aunt, whose home was at Bridge- 
port. His father was Charles L. Webb of Otsego county, where the son was born 
July 12, 1832. When a boy at Bridgeport he was apprenticed to the cooper trade. In 
1861 he opened a general store at Durhamville. which he sold out in 1865. Soon after 
he purchased a stage route from Bridgeport to Manlius Station, which he conducted 
five years. After a brief business venture at Marathon, N.Y., he leased a hotel in 
Broome county, his first experience as a landlord, in which line he has been so suc- 
cessful. In April, 1874, he opened a hotel at Chittenango Station, and after the dis- 
astrous fire of 1885 built the commodious modern hotel, with livery barns, etc., which 
he now conducts, and which is known as one of the best houses of its class in central 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 195 

New York. Mr. Webb is one of the staunchest of Republicans and was appointed 
postmaster in 1883. 



Cooper, Charles H., p. o. Perry ville, born September 26, 1844, is the second son of 
John I. Cooper. The latter was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., April 19, 1806, and mar- 
ried February 2, 1833, Ann Huyck of the same place. To them were born si.\ chil- 
dren, of whom two are now dead. Those living are Charles and Frank Cooper of 
Perryville; James P., a miller at Canastota; and Harrison of the Solvay Process 
Company at Syracuse. These boys were thrown upon their own resources at an 
early age by the death of their father, John I Cooper, in 1850. Charles Cooper has 
always been engaged in farming and now works a farm of 120 acres near the village 
of Perryville, which has been his home for thirty-three years. He is recognized 
through all that locality as a citizen of sterling character and broad views of men 
and public affairs. A staunch Republican, he has filled many local positions of re- 
sponsibility and trust. He was deputy sheriff from 1873 to 1881 and has been sev- 
eral years notary public. Himself and family are members of the Methodist Church, 
of which he is a steward and trustee. As a member of the school board he took a 
prominent part in the organization and erection of a union free school at Perryville. 
In the Masonic fraternity he also holds high rank. He is also a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and now holds the honorable office of chaplain of 
the order. December 20, 1865, he married Nan L. Hamblin, daughter of O. B. 
Harablin of Perryville. They have one daughter, Daisy A. Cooper, now eighteen 
years of age; an only son, Earl, died in infancy in the autumn of 1881. On the 
lawn adjoining Mr. Cooper's home may be seen an interesting relic of aboriginal 
times, consisting of a mass of porphyry, very nearly spherical, eighteen inches in 
diameter and probably weighing nearly 200 pounds. It is surmised that this was 
used by the Indian women to crush maize by rolling it to and fro in a stone channel. 



Bushnell. Holton A., p. o. Bridgeport, the genial and popular proprietor of the 
Servis Hotel at Bridgeport, is descended from one of the oldest local families. His 
father is James A. Bushnell, whose large farms are situated on the lake road near 
Lakeport. James Bushnell is a staunch Republican and has for years been a prom- 
inent factor in town politics, besides filling various offices of responsibility, such as 
assessor and town auditor. Holton Bushnell was born at the homestead farm. March 
8, 1869, and began his education at Yates Polytechnic Institute at Chittenango, tak- 
ing the full course of three years. Returning to the farm for a year he decided to 
prepare for a life of business activity and took a course of study at the Wells Busi- 
ness College, Syracuse, during the winters of 1887 and 1888. Then, after an ex- 
tended tour of the West, he accepted a situation as freight clerk with the N.Y. C. R. 
R. at Canastota, N. Y., remaining there a year. After a few months in the office of 
Hill & Co., wholesale jewelers of Chicago, he became a traveling salesman for Grove- 
ham & Co., Chicago jobbers in grocer's specialties, having the State of Michigan for 
his field of operations. The year following was spent still further west, traveling 
through Minnesota and Wisconsin for a Syracuse manufacturer of silverware and 
novelties. Mr. Bushnell's wanderings were cut short May 3, 1896, by his marriage 
to Nellie Grace Nichols, daughter of J. H. Nichols, a prominent merchant of this 
■ place. Soon after marriage he leased the somewhat venerable hotel then known as 



196 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

the Nichols House at Bridgeport, operating it with success until November of 1897, 
when he secured a lease of the Servis Hotel, which he now conducts as a first-cla.ss 
hotel. 



Conkhn, Lucius Edwin, p. o. Bridgeport, the leading merchant of Bridgeport, is a 
conspicuous instance of the sub.stantial man of business, who by his unaided exer- 
tions has risen from an humble beginning. Mr. Conklin, in 1893, purchased the 
general store owned by the Dunham estate. For a few months he was in partner- 
ship with W. W. Billington, but since July, 1893, has himself conducted the business. 
During the last four years of the Cleveland administration he officiated as postmaster 
of Bridgeport. He is in politics a Democrat and an active political leader locally. 
His personal characteristics are such as to render him a popular citizen. His earlier 
life was one of some toil and privation, having been thrown upon his own resources 
when a boy. His ancestors were of Irish nativity, his grandfather being David 
Conklin of Utica, and his father, Timothy Conklin, a boatman of Mohawk. Mr. 
Conklin was born in Cicero, Onondaga county, April 7, 1859 ; his facilities for get- 
ting an education were limited to winters in the common schools, working on farms 
during the summer. When twenty years of age he married Lillian E. Hayes of 
Bridgeport, a daughter of William H Hayes. They have two children: Bertha 
Augusta, born April 13, 1885, and Theresa Ella, born June 3, 1896. Mr. Conklin is a 
practical mechanic and for three years was in the Remington armory, making a resi- 
dence at Ilion during 1889, and later bought a place at Mohawk. 



Nichols, Omar A., p. o. Bridgeport, was born at PerryviUe, April 23, 1841. His 
family dates from the American revolution, after participating in which, the three 
brothers who founded the family settled in the east, one in Ontario, one near Norfolk, 
and one at Great Barrington, Mass., the latter being the first American ancestor of 
the subject. His father was the late Ira Ross Nichols, an old-time resident of the 
town of Fenner. He was by trade a carpenter and spent most of his life in the vicinity 
of PerryviUe and Cazenovia. Omar Nichols was educated at the common schools, 
supplemented by reading and personal study. He was for some years a successful 
teacher, first at Stockbridge, Mich., and later at his birthplace, PerryviUe. In 1870 
and 1871, he was manager for the Howe sewing machine company, in Clinton 
county. His mature years have been devoted to the building trade, and many hand- 
some residences at Bridgeport and elsewhere testify to his skill in construction. 
November 10, 1864, he married Mary A. Burrows, of Stockbridge, Mich. They have 
two sons: Ira J. Nichols, of this place, born November 8, 1865, and Claude A. 
Nichols, born September 8, 1875. Mr. Nichols is a Free Mason of high degree and 
a past master. Both himself and wife are members of the Episcopal church. He 
possesses the esteem and confidence of all who know him. 



Brown, David H., p. o. Bridgeport, first saw the light at New Hartford, Oneida 
county, March 17, 1838. He is yet an active man of business and carries his sixty 
years very lightly. Richard Brown, his father, vcho died in 1897, at Syracuse, had 
been a large farmer and speculated in lumber and produce. Atone time he operated 
a match factory here. Mr. Brown after completing a regular course at Yates poly- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 197 

technic institute at Chittenengo, began life by selling stoves, pumps and agricultural 
implements from a wagon, then for twelve years made and repaired wagons, etc., 
doing in that line a large business. About 1875, he sold out and turned his shop 
into a general store, at the same location as now. Since that time he has been in 
general mercantile business, besides shipping grain, hay and produce, having 
various farming interests. In 1866, he married Blendelia Campbell, daughter of 
Col. Alonzo Campbell, then of Canastota, but now a resident of Bridgeport. Their 
children are Charlotte, wife of Henry Fox, of Bridgeport ; Agnes, wife of Frederic 
T. Kirkland, of Pocatello, Idaho, he being general secretary of the Y. M. C. A. ; 
Richard C. Brown, now twenty-five years of age, associated with Mr. Brown in his 
store and appointed postmaster of Bridgeport in 1898; David, a son of twenty years; 
and Leah, a student at Cazenovia. Mr. Brown's grandfather, Benjamin, was a cap- 
tain in the Revolution, a native of Schoharie county. 



Damon, Loren N., p. o. Bridgeport. — Jason Damon, his paternal grandfather, was 
one of the first settlers on the lake shore of Sullivan. The date is not readily deter- 
minable, but it is certain that Jason Damon hewed out a home amid the primeval 
forest. He left nine sons, one of whom, Norton Jason Damon, was the father of 
Loren. Norton lived at Verona, Oneida county, during the sixties, but returned to 
Sullivan when Loren was a boy of six, and the farm which he afterwards cleared 
with his own hands is now owned by Loren Damon. This consists of nearly 100 
acres and the elder Damon was thereon engaged largely in the breeding of horses 
for the market, chiefly of the Sampson and Messenger types. Here Norton died 
aged seventy-seven years, in 1881. Loren has always been engaged in farming, 
and is one of the progressive men of the town ; he also owns a pleasant home in 
the village, which he purchased in 1890. He is highly esteemed in Bridgeport 
and wherever known as a citizen of sterling worth. He is a Republican, and takes 
an active interest in the events of the time, but has no ambition for office. He 
married. May 7, 1884, Mary Jane Hogan, of Bridgeport, daughter of Isaac Hogan, 
then a farmer of Cicero, and has two sons: Raymond H., born July 14, 1888, 
and Ceylon N., born October 21, 1891. 



Coleman, Carlos J., was born in Catharine, Schuyler county, N. Y., January 28, 
1866, and was the eldest of four children in the family of John and Catharine Cole- 
man. In 1869 the family removed to Eaton, but soon afterward went to Seneca 
county, remaining until 1879, when the again returned to Eaton. At the age of ten 
years Carlos began working with his father, who was a mason, and so continued un- 
til he was twenty, by which time he had saved a little money. He determined to 
acquire an education, for which purpose he walked to Clinton, where he worked for 
his board and and attended school. In December, 1885, he went to Cazenovia, where 
he continued his studies in the .seminary, maintaining himself by work in a family, 
caring for a horse, several cows and calves and the children of the household. After 
a year he returned to his trade of mason and during the summer saved enough money 
to carry him through the nest year's course in school. However, before the end of 
his third year in school the young student fell sick and was obliged to discontinue 
his studies. He then went to Cortland and spent three summers working at his 



198 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

trade, during the time being foreman over fifty-seven men, and also acting as fore- 
man in the erection of the Miller block. In 1891 he went to Aurora and worked on 
the Wells College buildings and after nine months returned to Cortland and entered 
the Normal School, remaining until he was graduated in 1893; during this time he 
was proprietor of the Cortland steam laundry and so increased the work of that con- 
cern that twenty-one employees were required for its operation, instead of three as 
previously. But in this enterprise Mr. Coleman had the misfortune to suffer from 
the loss of his plant by fire and with it was also destroyed $6,000 worth of goods. 
He re-established himself, however, and soon had a large and successful business; 
at the same time he diligently prosecuted his studies until his graduation in 1893, he 
then holding the enviable position of president of his class. Mr. Coleman then 
came to Madison and for three years and one term was principal of the union school 
of the village. On August 11, 1896, he was nominated for the office of commissioner 
in the first school district of the county, and was elected in November following. 
Carlos J. Coleman is known throughout the region as one of the most energetic and 
capable school organizers and constantly aims to advance the .standard of education, 
the advantages of which were denied him when a youth. In this effort he has been 
successful and the people of the district have come to appreciate his work and en- 
dorse his plans. On August 13, 1896, Mr. Coleman married Cora E., daughter of 
John and Caroline Peck of Cortland, and they have one child. 



Howson, John W., was born in Cazenovia, April 7, 1847, and boasts a substantial 
ancestry, his father, Robert Howson, having been born and bred in England, while 
his motheri Elizabeth Mitchell, was a native of Scotland. Mr. Howson was educated 
in the common schools of Cazenovia and at the Seminary. In 1864 he became a 
clerk in the post-office (Captain Seneca Lake, postmaster), and remained in that 
capacity until appointed postmaster in 1871. From that date until 1883 he served 
continuously. He was again appointed postmaster July 25, 1891, and served until 
July 1, 1896, exceeding his term nearly a year. Mr. Howson was a charter member 
of the Board of Education of Union Free School District No. 10, Cazenovia, organ- 
ized November 26, 1875, and served upwards of twenty years, being president of the 
board from September 1, 1885, to August 5, 1896. He was also president of the 
Board of Sewer Commissioners, having charge of the construction of the excellent 
system of sewers built in Cazenovia in 1894-5, and it is due to his and their eflforts 
that the village is in possession of one of the finest sewerage systems in the State. 
In politics he has been a lifelong Republican and an active worker in the party. In 
1873 he was clerk of the village, and was elected president of the village in 1897, 
serving one term. When the Western Union Telegraph office was established in 
Cazenevia in 1866, Mr. Howson was put in charge, and has acted as operator and 
manager ever since, still retaining it in his business office as a " Mascot," at the 
present date, January 1, 1900. He is a member of Cazenovia Lodge, No. 616, F. & 
A. M. , a trustee of the Presbyterian church, and vice-president of the Cazenovia 
Public Library Society. 



Dexter, C. W., p. o. Munnsville, of the firm of De.xter & Davis, who are among 
the leading merchants of Madison county, N. Y., was born in Stockbridge, April 23, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 199 

1848, a son of William and Fannie (Harrington) Dexter, who spent the greater part ' 
of their lives in Stockbridge. His father was a cabinet maker, a Republican, and he 
and his wife were members of the M. E. church. C. W. Dexter was educated in the 
common schools and at the age of sixteen began business for himself as an egg 
dealer; later he was engaged in buying rags for a paper mill and at the age of 
twenty-two engaged in the mercantile business in which he has been very successful. 
He was in partnership with his brother, E. N. Dexter, four years and in 1859 formed 
a partnership with C. W. Davis, since which time the firm has been known as Dex- 
ter & Davis. They also own a large store at East Syracuse and one at Valley mills. 
Mr. De.xter was for five years a member of Munnsville Plow Company; and he is in- 
terested in a store in Elbridge, under the name of Hazelton & Co. ; at Valley Mills 
he owns the roller mills, consisting of flour and feed mill, also cider mill. Mr. Dex- 
ter has been one of the directors and vice-president of the Farmers and Mechanics 
State Bank of Oneida since its organization. He is also interested in agricultural 
pursuits and has a farm of ninety acres near the village of Munnsville, where he 
carries on dairying. In 1870 Mr. Dexter married Emma Jobesof Onondaga county, 
and they have one daughter, Ethel C, born July 25, 1882. Mr. Dexter is a Repub- 
lican in politics, has been postmaster (except through Cleveland's administration) 
since 1870. In 1892 and 1893 he was a member of assembly. He is a member of 
Prosperity Lodge Lodge No. 484, I. O. O. F. Mrs. Dexter is a member of the Con- 
gregational church, but Mr. Dexter is liberal in his religious views. 



Davis, Clark W., p o. Munnsville, of the firm of Dexter & Davis, who are among 
the leading merchants of Madison county, also conducting an extensive business in 
East Syracuse, was born in the town of Stockbridge, March 20, 1865. He was 
reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. For a short time he was col- 
lector for the Oneida Dispatch Company, and later bought a half interest in the store 
at Munnsville and was a partner of James Giles, under the firm name of Giles & 
Davis. This firm continued two and one-half years when the present firm of Dexter 
& Davis was established. On January 6, 1893, Mr. Davis married Jeannette E. Da- 
vidson of Onondaga county; both attend and support the Congregational church, of 
which Mr. Davis has been trustee six years. He is also a member of the board of 
education ; in politics he is an ardent Republican and has held the office of town clerk 
one term. He is strictly a business man and has been remarkably successful. He 
is a son of David L. Davis, who was born in Eaton, Madison county, N. Y.. May 19, 
1836, a son of Deacon David E. Davis and Mary Williams, both born in Wales, he 
in 1813 and she in 1814. They were married in Wales in 1832 and at once started 
to the United States, settling in Philadelphia and in 1835 removed to the town of 
Hamilton, where they remained for a .short time then settled in Eaton, where he was 
engaged in milling. He then went to Lebanon, where he had charge of a grist mill, 
then came to Nelson and went on a farm where he died in 1894 ; his wife died in 
189G. They had a family of seven sons and three daughters. David L. Lewis was 
reared on a farm and educated in the common schools and Cazenovia Seminary. He 
has spent most of his life in Stockbridge. February 24, 1864, he married Rosalia A. 
Spaulding, born in 1843, a daughter of Philander Spaulding, and granddaughter of 
John Spaulding, who was one of the early settlers of Stockbridge; his wife was 



200 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Margaret Peterson, who also died in Stoclibridge. Philander Spaulding was born in 
1819; his wife was Miranda Parker, by whom he had four children. His wife died 
in 1855 and he is now living, aged eighty-one years. To Mr. and Mrs. Davis were 
born four children: Clark W., the subject, Frank E. , Henry B. and Lena M. Frank 
E. married Charlotte Rich of Morrisville; and Lena F., married Warren J. Stisser. 

Root, Alfred E., p. o. Chittenango, the popular druggist of Chittenango, is a native 
of Brooklyn, N. Y., where he was born in 1863. His father, now deceased, was Ed- 
ward Root, who came to this place in 1878, at that time a shoe dealer, etc. Mr. 
Root's genealogy is traceable on both sides to the American Revolution. He was 
about ten years of age when the family came to Chittenango and completed his ed- 
ucation at the Polytechnic Institute here. He embarked in business as a dispensing 
druggist in 1889, building up a large and growing trade. In 1887 J. R. Costello be- 
came a partner. The firm carry a large general stock of goods and their commodi- 
ous store is the center of commercial activity. The department of pharmacy, still 
an important feature of their trade, is presided over by Mr. Root. In 1886 he mar- 
ried Beatrice Kellogg Walrath, daughter of Hon. Peter Walrath of this place, who 
died September 26, 1896. A daughter. Beatrice, born September 26, 1896, was born 
of that union. Not alone in business circles, but in church and society, Mr. Root 
takes a prominent place. Republican in politics, he has been one of the school 
board four years, and superintendent of the Sunday school of the Presbyterian 
church ten years. 



Rice, Baxter, came from Massachusetts and was an early settler on the farm now 
owned by A. W. Head. Most of his later life was spent in Madison, but he died in 
Oriskany Falls. He was a successful farmer. His children were Catharine, Oliver 
B., Harriet, Baxter, Harmony, Adeline, and Henry B. Oliver B. was also a farmer 
and accumulated a fair property. He was highway commissioner twenty-one years 
and assessor three years. His wife was Mary Hazard, by whom he had two chil- 
dren: William H., and Oliver H., both of Madison village. Oliver B. died February 
21, 1885, and his wife died April 19, 1887. Oliver H. Rice was born October 28, 
1849, and spent his early life on the farm. He came to the village in 1884, and has 
worked as a carpenter since 1873. His large shop and cider mill building was erected 
in 1893. He is an energetic and industrious business man and has enjoyed a fair 
measure of success. On December 14, 1877, Mr. Rice married Mary Welling, by 
whom he had one son, Ray W. Rice. Mr. Rice is a Republican, but not active in 
local politics. He is a member of the Congregational church and has been trustee 
about sixteen vears. 



Gardiner, Frank D. , is a general merchant and postmaster at Sheds, in the town 
of De Ruyter, Madison county, N.Y., where he was born May 9, 1865, the only son 
of D. Foster and Clarissa A. (Smith) Gardiner. His grandfather was Dwight Gardi- 
ner, who was born May 18, 1797, and died July 21, 1876: he married Cynthia White, 
who was born July 25, 1803, and died June 18, 1881. His great-grandfather came 
from Irelapd to this country in 1810 and settled in De Ruyter. Frank D. spent his 
boyhood on the farm and in the public schools of De Ruyter and Cazenovia Semi- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 201 

nary. He then engaged in general merchandising on his own account at Delphi for 
one year, when he removed to Sheds Corners and succeeded his brother-in-law, F. 
J. Wescott, in that place, where he has since conducted a large and growing busi- 
ness. Mr. Gardiner is postmaster at Sheds, being appointed June 25, 1893, and has 
held the position continuously since. In politics he is a Republican, and has served 
live years as a town committeeman and has held the office of tax collector. On April 
9, 1887, he married Inez I., daughter of Albert and Harriet (Hopkins) Dewey. To 
them was born one daughter, Doris, November 10, 1890. Fraternally Mr. Gardiner 
is a member of De Ruyter Lodge, No. 692, F. & A. M. 



Lum, William Tappan, M.D., p. o. Bridgeport, was born at Montpelier, Vt., 
August 15, 1869. His father was the late well-known and talented writer on eco- 
nomics and kindred topics, Daniel Dyer Lum, who was also noted for his political 
activity, having been several years national secretary of the Greenback party and in 
1876 the candidate of that party for lieutenant-givernor of Massachusetts. Dr. 
Lum"s boyhood was spent chiefly at Northampton, Mass., until in 1879, when he re- 
ceived an appointment as page in the National House of Representatives, in which 
capacity he remained two years. Later he engaged in newspaper work, beginning 
as office boy for the Northampton Herald; then to Brooklyn and New York, being 
at various times compositor, job printer and proof reader. During his leisure hours 
he took up the study of dentistry and made considerable strides toward efficiency in 
that profession in the metropolis. In 189 i he became associated with Dr. C. S. 
Roberts of Syracuse, and about the same time began a course of study in the Syra- 
cuse College of Medicine, graduating from that institution with honors three years 
later, and beginning practice at Bridgeport. Dr. Lum is a member of Madison 
County Medical Society; of the Central New York Medical Society and others. He 
admits a special predilection for operative surgery, in which branch he has already 
attained a considerable degree of local fame. Personally the doctor is a delightful 
companion, while professionally his skill is widely recognized He enjoys a large 
practice. June IG, 1897, he married Grace M. Sweeting of Cicero, N.Y., daughter of 
Lewis Sweeting, a retired farmer, and they have one son, Donald Dyer Lum, born 
September 15, 1898. 

Bruce, Major Thaddeus, was born in Massachusetts, and the family trace their 
descent from Robert Bruce of Scotland. He married Nancy Dana. Joseph Bruce 
came to the town of Canastota in 1800, and married Maria, daughter of John D. 
Nellis. He was a prominent merchant and farmer of his town; was appointed 
major in 1812, and went to Sackett's Harbor. He took an active interest in school 
and church matters, and died in 1872. Joseph W. Bruce was educated in the common 
schools and Cazenovia Seminary. In 1856 he married Caroline, daughter of Seth 
Starr, and they have one daughter, Mrs. Alfred E. Dew. Mr. Bruce is one of the 
leading men of his town, a practical and successful farmer, and is interested in all 
public matters. He received the nomination for governor of the State of New York 
from the Prohibition party in 1895. He is recognized as a man of con.servative char- 
acter who has ever received and merited the respect of his associates. 



Pennock, Charles F., p. o. Chittenango, only surviving son of the late Ebenezer 



203 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Pennock, was born at Chittenango in 1854, where he still resides. His father w^ 
born in 1831, in Washington county, son of Samuel Pennock of German nativity, who 
at an early date settled in the vicinity of Perryville when twenty years of age. 
Ebenezer Pennock purchased a small farm near Chittenango, which became a 
nucleus for the really vast domain of which he was possessed at his decease in 1896, 
at seventy-five years of age. His operations in the acquisition and management of 
large pieces of adjacent realty were almost marvelous. An indefatigable worker, he 
was yet a kind and charitable citizen and left a cherished name in the community. 
One of the promoters and organizers of the Chittenango Cotton Company, once a 
large and flourishing concern, he was for many years its president. It is of interest 
to note that his estates hereabout comprised no less than 4,600 acres. Prior to the 
use of coal as fuel by the New York Central Railread he furni-shed it with large 
quantities of suitable wood ; in one single season 36,000 cords. Miss Annie Coats, 
now deceased, became his wife, at Fayetteville, in 1851. Mr. Pennock found little 
time for political activity. An unswerving Democrat, he served several terms as 
supervisor of his town. 

Blair, Alvan, was born of a Scottish family January 20, 1798, in Blandford, Mass. 
He came with his parents to the town of Nelson in 1810, when but a youth. In the 
war of 1812, when sixteen years of age, he went as a substitute for his uncle, John 
Knox, of the town of Nelson, who was drafted to defend our northern frontier. He 
went to Sacketts' Harbor and remained in the service until relieved by General 
Brown's army from Fort Niagara, when the drafted men were discharged. Some 
years after he married Vernera Brooks, daughter of Roger Brooks, of the town of 
Nelson. There were born to them thirteen children, twelve living to maturity, one 
dying at birth unnamed. The eldest child, Ezra K., died in 1898 through a very sad 
railroad accident; Oran A. died in 1896; Sarah died in 1890; William C. owns and 
lives on the old homestead in the town of Cazenovia, one mile south of the village; 
Harriet A. resides in the village; Ellen A. married J. M. Lyman, and resides in 
Toledo, Ohio; Rollin K. lives at the homestead; M. Lewis, married, resides in Scran- 
ton Pa., was a soldier in the war of the rebellion, going from Luzerne county. Pa., 
as captain of a company he raised. He participated in the battles of Gettysburg 
and the Wilderness, and others. He was promoted to major of volunteers in the 
national guard of Pennsylvania. Marcia V. Blair married J. J. Darrow of West 
Eaton, N. Y. She died in 1880, leaving five daughters, one following her in less than 
two weeks. The eldest, Laura, is wife of E. C. Palmer, a leading merchant in Cort- 
land, N. Y. Carrie B. is the wife of Prof. Ernest Merritt, of Southington, Conn. 
Elizabeth V. is a student in Syracuse University. Deigracia B. is a student in Mid- 
dleton University, Conn. The two latter graduated with honors m Cazenovia Sem- 
inary. M. Sophia Blair resides in Toledo, Ohio. Frances O. and O. Jennie reside 
at the homestead, where they were born. Alvan Blair held many minor offices in 
the town of Nelson, besides was a noted school teacher, having taught twenty suc- 
cessive terms of school in Nelson town, and one at Erieville in what is called the 
Temple district. He often had 100 names on his school roll. He was a successful 
business man and died at his home in Cazenovia, where he had lived since 1844. 
His death occurred on the morning of his wife's funeral. He was eighty-iive years 
lacking a few days. His wife was eighty years. They were buried in a double 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 203 

grave, not separated even in death. He was much respected for his integrity and 
honor and his magnaminity; he had no egotism. 



Root, Samuel, who died in Cazenovia, August 23, 1891. in the seventy-first year of 
his age, was for many years a substantial farmer and leading business man of the 
town of Cazenovia. He was born in 1820 in the town of Fenner, a son of Edward 
and Hannah (Turner) Root. He was a member of an old New England family, rep- 
resentatives of which were among the first settlers of this region. His grandmother, 
Nancy Turner, was the second white woman to come to Cazenovia Mr. Root was 
educated in the schools of Fenner and at Cazenovia Seminary. He was engaged in 
farming all his life, but also interested in other business enterprises and was one of 
the pioneer cheese manufacturers in the county. In politics he was a strong Repub- 
lican, but could never be induced to accept public office. He married Miss Sarah 
Comstock, daughter of Zephaniah Comstock, and four children were born to them : 
Charles Z. (deceased), Anna Averill, wife of Dr. J. F. Place of Binghamton, N. Y. ; 
Martha of Cazenovia, and Sarah Grace (deceased). 

Lowe, C. H. S., was born in Amber Settlement, Chenango county, N. Y. , March 0, 
1860, a son of James and Hannah R. Lowe, who were both born in England. James 
was born in Norfolk county, January 26, 1838. Hannah R. was born April 9, 1836. He 
came to America with his parents, Thomas and Martha, at the age of twelve years. 
Thomas Lowe was for many years a shepherd in his own country. James Lowe 
began work at the age of thirteen years for a Mr. Hazeltine, a tanner and currier. 
He afterwards went to Chenango county and secured a position in the tannery of 
Hiram Smith of Norwich, N. Y., afterwards bought a tannery in a place called Grey 
Brooks, N. Y. , and in 1860 he became agent for a publishing house and traveled on 
the road selling books for three years. He then signed a contract to furnish the 
Auburn States Prison with wood for the manufacture of planes. At the expiration 
of that time he came to Munnsville, N. Y., and the following three years was en- 
gaged as a butcher, where his son, C. H. S., helped him. Later he and C. H. S. 
Lowe entered the furniture and undertaking business, C. H. S. Lowe doing the un- 
dertaking business. Dropping the former business, they substituted hardware and 
jewelry. C. H. S. Lowe, then at the age of fifteen, began learning the jeweler's trade; 
they remained partners for twelve years, then C. H. S. Lowe entered into the gen- 
eral mercantile business with his father and brother-in-law (Henry Freeman), under 
the firm name of Lowe, Freeman & Co. One year later C. H. S. Lowe entered into 
the jewelry business for himself in the Cook block, remaining there one year, then 
moved to Holly, Mich., with his wife and family of three children, two boys and one 
girl (George S. Lowe, born October 29, 1882; Harry C, born August 12, 1885; Ena S., 
born September 2S, 1888), where C. H. S. Lowe remained for five years, after which 
he returned to Munnsville and remained with his father until his death, which oc- 
curred February 28, 1898, after which C. H. S. Lowe succeeded his father in a gen- 
eral mercantile business and in connection with the same did repairing of watches, 
bicycles and guns; being a natural mechanic he could turn his hand to all kinds of 
repairing. December 8, 1898, Mr. Lowe married Winnifred M. Lowe for his second 
wife. Mr. Lowe's maternal grandfather, E. J. Hostler, was born in England in 1817 ; 



204 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

at one time Mr. Hostler was owner and manager of the flour and saw mill at Stock- 
bridge, N. Y. He moved to Oquawka, 111., and owned a large farm; he died at the 
home of his daughter, Mrs. D. D. Devore, May 17, 1899. C. H. S. Lowe is a Repub- 
lican in politics; is a member of Prosperity Lodge, No. 484, Adieno Encampment, 
No. 11.5, and Canton Oneida, No. 34, P. M. 



Coley, Joseph the great-grandfather of Franklin R., Judson O., and Charles H. 
Perkins, was born 1765 in London, England, where his father was a jeweler. In 
1773, when Joseph was about eight years old, his father moved from London and 
settled in Johnstown, New York. Here he cleared a farm and resided for some time. 
Joseph Coley, married Mary Willess and moved to Saratoga county, where they oc- 
cupied a farm for a few years. Soon after they moved to the town of De Ruyter, 
Madison county, and purchased a farm which included the spot since known as the 
" De Ruyter Springs." The family resided here until 1806, when they moved to 
New Woodstock in the town of Cazenovia. Here he purchased and cleared a valu- 
able farm. On the 15th of August, 1810, Joseph Coley was ordained as a minister in 
the Baptist denomination and became quiet prominent as a preacher and pastor. 
After one revival in the town of Eaton he baptized forty converts. Here he organ- 
ized a church in 1816, and was its first pastor. The old records show that he did e.\- 
cellent work m several churches of Madison county. His wife Mary died September 
30, 1845. at the age of 77. After the death of his wife, Rev. Joseph Coley lived with 
his son William at New Woodstock, until his death, September 35, 1856, at the age 
of ninety-one. Ten children were born to Joseph and Mary Willess Coley. One an 
infant in the cradle, perished when the log house was burned, during their residence 
in De Ruyter. The remaining nine children, viz. : Willess, Betsey, Polly, Nancy, 
Laura, Clarissa, William, J. Madison with his wife composed the family of Joseph 
Coley while he resided in New Woodstock. Nancy Coley the mother of Willess C. 
and Wilson L. Perkins was born May 9, 1795. 

Abiezer Perkins, another great-grandfather of Franklin R., Judson 0.,and Charles 
H. Perkins was born near Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1754, and in 1781, he was 
married to Irene Loomis, and in 1803 he came through the woods with his family to 
the town of Cazenovia, and settled on a farm which he had previously purchased, 
about two and one-half miles south of Cazenovia village. The .school district is still 
known as the " Perkins District." At that time the farm was thickly covered with 
heavy timber, and a line of marked trees indicated the pathway leading past his new 
home. He cleared the land and resided upon this farm until his death, which oc- 
curred September 20, 1835, at the age of seventy-one; his wife, Irene Loomis, lived 
eleven years after his death, and died September 6, 1836. They were both members 
of the Baptist church. Abiezer Perkins was a deacon in the baptist church for many 
years. " Near him the well remembered Perkins School House was built, in which 
the early religious meetings of the Baptist church of Cazenovia village were held." 
One of his sons taught school in this log school house. Seven children were born to 
Abiezer and Irene Loomis Perkins, viz. : Byram, Jeduthun, Eliab, Polly, Sally, 
Elemander and Stillman. 

Elemander, the fourth son, was born September 13, 1792, and on the 9th of May, 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 205 

1813, at the age of twenty-one, he married Nancy Coley, before mentioned, who was 
at the time of their marriage eighteen years of age. After their marriage they re- 
sided several years in the family of Deacon Abiezer Perkins, where on the 5th of De- 
cember, 1814, Willess C. was born and on the 8th of October, 1816, Wilson L. was 
born. Elemander Perkins, with his wife and two sons, moved to the farm then re' 
cently purchased by his father-in-law, the Rev. Joseph Coley, about one-half mile 
farther south on the De Ruyter road, which he carried on for several years, occupy- 
ing the same house with his father-in-law. In the autumn of 18i4 Elemander pur- 
chased a farm of about seventy acres, located on the hill about one and one-half 
miles from Cazenovia, on the road leading from Rippleton to Delphi. He moved 
with his family on to this place in the spring of 1825. The scenery of this place is 
delightful; beautiful for situation. The stately elms are now standing which were 
set out by Elemander and his two sons many years ago. Here was born on the 26th 
of April, 1830, the only daughter, Mary Irene. She was married, December 20, 1847, 
at the age of seventeen, to Charles J. Halliday, and died the following year, October 
10, 1848. Elemander continued to reside here until his death on the 10th of April, 
1854, in his sixty-second year of his age. His widow, Nancy Coley, survived him 
many years in vigorous activity, but after a short illness died December 21, 1876, 
aged eighty-one years. The two brothers, Willess C. and Wilson L., lived and 
worked together, with the e.xception of a brief period, until Willess C. died March 
17, 1890, nearly seventy-si.x years of age. By continued industry and faithful atten- 
tion to business they added from time to time to the origmal farm until they owned 
and cultivated about 500 acres, which they held in common. Willess C. was never 
married; he was a very genial, social man, His close attention to farm work and 
the vigor of his life have been rarely equalled. Wilson L. , at the age of twenty-four, 
on March 11, 1840, was married to Lucretia Rice, daughter of Isaac and Anna Rice of 
Cazenovia. At the time of her marriage she was in the twenty-second year of her age. 
They lived on the hill in the family of Elemander Perkins, before mentioned, where on 
May 6, 1841, Franklin R. was born. On the 17th of the same month the young wife 
and mother passed on to the better land. On May 1, 1843, Wilson L. was married 
to Sarah M., daughter of Mason and Rhoda Salisbury, of Cortland, N. Y. She was 
twenty-two years of age at the time of her marriage. They lived in Lyons, Wayne 
county, N. Y., for a short time, but returned to the town of Cazenovia and lived on 
the farm which the brothers, Willess C. and Wilson L. had then recently purchased 
from the David Billings estate, situated on the De Ruyter road and adjoining on the 
south the farm owned by their father, Elemander. Here on the 10th of October, 
1847, was born to them a son, Judson O., and on the 31st of March, 1850, was born 
another son, Charles H. On August 1st 1853, the husband was again left a widower 
and his children left without a mother and another faithful christian life was closed 
to this world forever. Shortly after this sad event, Wilson L., with his three sons 
returned to the old home on the hill, where, with his mother and brother, all lived 
as one family. On the 38th of October, 1856, Wilson L. was married to Sophia E. 
May, of Akron, Ohio, granddaughter of Luke and Patience May, of Cazenovia, in 
the twenty- first year of her age. Wilson L. , died July 10, 1896, nearly eighty years 
of age. He had great integrity of character, strong conviction and remarkable busi- 
ness sagacity. The eldest son of the family, Franklin R. , graduated at Cazenovia 
Seminary in 1860. He soon began the study of law in the ofRce of Charles Stebbins 



206 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

Jr., Cazenovia. and was admitted to practice as an attorney in 1864. In the same 
year he was commissioned as captain of Company E, in the Twenty-second regi- 
ment of N. Y. V. Cavalry and served in that regiment in the war of the Rebellion 
until January, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. He returned to the study 
of law and in August, 1866, he commenced the practice of law in Buffalo, N. Y. He 
served two successive terms, from January 1. 1873 to Janunry 1, 1876, as city attorney 
of that place. Besides his extensive practice, he has been the attorney for the A. L. 
Barber Asphalt Paving Company, of New York, for several years. On the 10th of 
May, 1876. he was married to S. Louise Wright, daughter of William W., and 
Eleanor Wright, of Buffalo, N. Y. Six children were born to these parents. Three 
daughters died in childhood, Irene when quite young; Lulu at twelve years of age; 
and Doris, the last two within two weeks of each other. Three daughters 
are living, Marion, Eleanor and Rachel. The second son of this family, 
Judson O., was a student for some time at Cazenovia Semmary, entered Madi- 
son (now Colgate) University in the fall of 1888 and graduated with the class 
of 1873. He took the first prize in oratory in his junior year, and on account 
of excellent scholarship became a member of the famous old Phi Beta Kappa 
Society, when a chapter was instituted at Madison University in 1878. He graduated 
from the Hamilton Theological Seminary in 1874. He was ordained as a Baptist 
minister at North Bay, Oneida county, N.Y. , while a .student, December 30, 1873. 
He was pastor of the Baptist church in Copenhagen, Lewis county, for eleven years 
and during six years of this time, in addition to his church work, was principal of 
" Perkins Academy." He has been pastor in Chittenango, N.Y., for over eight years 
and during this time took a post-graduate course in Syracuse University, receiving 
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1889. He has been pastor of a large church in 
the town of Adams, N.Y., and was there president of the public school board for 
four years. He has assisted a large number of students in their work and awakened 
many young people to a higher idea of life. He was married to Ella M., daughter 
of Christopher and Mary Newton, of Cazenovia, NY. Three children were born into 
their home Copenhagen, N.Y., viz.: May L., April 13, 1876; Wilson N., June 2.5, 
1879; WillessC. September 17, 1888. Willess C. died in Copenhagen, N.Y., February 
10, 1885. May L. graduated from the Adams Collegiate Institute, June, 1896, and 
has since taught three years in the home of Hon. F. H. Gates. She is at present 
attending Cazenovia Seminary. Wilson N. graduated from Colgate Academy in 
June, 1898, and entered Colgate University in September of the same year. The 
third son, Charles H., after attending school for some time in Cazenovia, remained 
at home assisting in the business of the farm. He was married to Alice C, daughter 
of A. Z. and Polh' Kingsley of Hamilton, October 16, 1873. She was twenty-two 
years of age at the time of her marriage. They began housekeeping on the farm 
in the ' Horace Williams " house. Here on the 15th of July, 1874, Alice C. was 
born, and on the 38th of September of the same year the young mother died, leaving 
the new home sad and desolate. Alice C. lived with her grandparents, Wilson L. and 
Sophia E. Perkins and grew to womanhood on the hill. She graduated from Cazenovia 
Seminary in June, 1893. On December 3, 1879, Charles H. married his second wife, 
Charlotte A. , only daughter of B. W. and Amanda Taber of Cazenovia. After this mar- 
riage two sons were born into this home. Wellington Taber was born November 30, 
1880, and died August 18, 1881. Charles W. Taber was born August 16, 1883. He is at 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 207 

present a student of Cazenovia Seminary. Charles H. and his wife are both active 
members of the Presbyterian church and are very prominent in temperance work. 
Wilson L. made a request that the three sons meet at the old home on the hill Janu- 
ary 9, 1893, and on that day gave Franklin R. the Hendrick de Clercq farm of nearly 
ninety acres. He also gave to Judson O. the farm at Rippleton Junction of nearly 
ninety acres and at the same time gave Charles H. the Billings farm of about one 
hundred and fifty acres and other valuable real estate. Charles H. has a large brick 
house and commodious barns on his farm. Franklin R. has fitted up the old historic 
de Clereq house for a summer residence. At his death Wilson L. left the homestead 
and one hundred and thirty acres of land to his wife, Sophia E. She moved to Caz- 
enovia in October, 1896, having lived just forty years in the old house. She now re- 
sides in the village with Alice C, daughter of Charles H. Perkins. Having resigned 
his pastorate in Adams, N. Y. , Judson O. is at present occupying his home on the 
hill, overseeing his farm at the Junction and doing some literary work. 



Hyatt, Hon. Francis A., p. o. Perryville, was born in Ridgefield, Fairfield county. 
Conn., August 5, 1828, a sm of Aaron S. and Electa (Keeler) Hyatt. His father 
settled in Madison county in 1832. The first of the Hyatt family to come to this country 
from England, was Thomas Hyatt, who settled in Stamford Conn., in 1641, and was 
founder of this branch of the family in America. Francis A. Hyatt began business 
on the farm in 18.50, and has since resided in the town of Fenner. He was elected 
town clerk in 1856 serving several terms; justiceof the peace in 1859 and held that office 
eight years; was elected road commissioner, but declined to serve; was member of 
Assembly in 1861 aud again represented the di-trict in the Legislature in 1872; was 
a delegate to the Republican State conventions of 1861, 1872, 1881. 1882, and 1895, 
and for many years was a notary public and often employed in the settlement of 
estates. He is a member of Sullivan Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 148. Mr. Hyatt is 
one of the best known men in Madison county, a representative citizen and although 
in a measure retired from active public duty, is still interested in everything pertain- 
ing to the general welfare of the county. While courteous and liberal in his attitude 
towards the opinion of others, he holds firmly his own views, and acts upon them in 
a conscientious manner. 



Higinbotham, Niles, who died in Oneida, March 17, 1890, in the seventy-seventh 
year of his age, was for years one of the foremost citizens of that village and a man 
who bore the respect and unqualified esteem of the entire community. He was a son 
of Sands Higinbotham and was born in Vernon, Oneida county, March 9, 1813. In 
1827 he was sent by his father to the well known school of Mr. Morse in Hamilton, 
and at the age of nineteen entered the store of Alexander Seymour at Utica, where 
he remained about one year. In March, 1834, at the age of twenty-one he entered 
the store of his uncle, Isaac Carpenter of Ithaca, with whom he later formed a part- 
nership. When twenty-four years old he severed his connection, and taking his 
little fortune went West with his close friend, Samuel Breese. They spent about two 
years buying large tracts of land which in after years became quite valuable. In 
the spring of 1840 Mr. Higinbotham and J. P. Manrow took a contract on the old 
Erie railroad from Oswego to Corning ; the railroad company failed in less than two 
years, owing the young contractors about $100,000, of which they only received 



308 OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE. 

about §30,000. In the spring of 1849 they received their balance and paid their men 
in full with interest; Mr. Higinbotham often said that he never Icnew a prouder 
day than when these waiting men were paid, Mr. Sands Higinbotham, havmg 
bought from the State a large tract of unimproved land where Oneida now stands, 
had removed thither from Vernon as early as 1834. giving to the village its first im- 
petus by presenting to the railroad (now the New York Central) lands and right of 
way, on condition that it should stop all passenger trains at Oneida, a contract ob- 
served until late in the Fifties. Some years later Niles Higinbotham bought large 
portions of land here from his father, and in 1844 built and commenced business in 
the old Goodwin store on Madison street. There he remained as silent partner with 
his brother-in-law, Mr. Goodwin, for some years. In December, 18.51, he organized 
the Oneida Valley Bank with Sands Higinbotham and Samuel Breese. This was 
the first bank opened in Oneida, and was incorporated as a State bank in 1852, and 
as a National bank in 1865. Mr. Higinbotham was elected first president and re- 
tained that position until the day of his death There were some traits of character 
very strongly marked in Mr. Higinbotham even as a young man. To the most trans- 
parent honesty and uprightness in small, as well as great transactions, he added an 
independence which made him courageous in striking out for himself in any line of 
action where his judgment was once convinced as to the duty or reasonableness of 
the undertaking, and he was persevering and hopeful to a degree which never ad- 
mitted in his often self-imposed tasks, either weariness or discouragement. These 
qualities eminently fitted him to join in and carry to even higher fulfillment the 
plans of his wise and public-spirited father, for whom he had the most beautiful feel- 
ings of trust and affection. Together they labored for the development of the little 
hamlet, and even in its early days Oneida began to be known as a busy and public- 
spirited village, attracting to itself men of integrity and good character. Mr. Hig- 
inbotham's efforts were put forth in behalf of religion, of education, of increased 
business and railroad facilities, of wide streets, and town extension on every side. 
In particular, he labored long and patiently to arouse public interest in the cause of 
higher education It was one of the deepest wishes of his heart that Oneida should 
have an academic boarding and day school of the highest order, and he spared 
neither time, pains or money in tlie effort to establish the Oneida Seminary on an 
honorable and scholarly basis. Again and again he came to the rescue when the 
seminary was in need; started subscriptions, at times guaranteed and even paid from 
his own purse, the salaries of the teachers, and spent time and thought in securing 
fine school grounds, a good building, library, and apparatus, and became the per- 
sonal friend and adviser of the teachers in everything that looked to the better 
equipment of the school, and the interest of the young people of Oneida and vicin- 
ity. In these labors were associated with him as trustees of the seminary (which 
was opened in 1858), such men as Messrs. Breese, Hand, Ellinwood, Goodwin, Stone 
and others. In everything that he did Mr. Higinbotham had always in his mind to 
do that which should be best for the poor as well as the rich, and in many unosten- 
tious ways he gave help to those whom he saw struggling under adverse circum- 
stances. The park on lower Broad street near the Central railroad, and the lands 
upon which stood all the church buildings except one, were given by Mr. Higinbot- 
ham. On March 1, 1874, he was baptized in and united with the Presbyterian 
church, of which many of his relatives were members, and he was, all his life, a rev- 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 309 

erent and constant reader of the Bible. During all his long life he preserved habits 
of temperance, purity and regularity, and he enjoyed almost uniformly good health 
until within a few years of his death. Mr. Higinbotham married, in 1849, Eliza, 
daughter of Nicholas P. Randall, an eminent member of the Onondaga county bar. 
Of their union three daughters were born: Julia Randall, died February, 1895; 
Louise Adelaide and Eliza Rhobie. 



Messinger, Isaac Newton, who died in Oneida, March 11, 1895, in the seventy-fifth 
year of his age, was for many years an honored member of the Madison county bar, 
and a valued citizen of Oneida. He was born in the town of Smithfield, this county, 
February 28, 1831, the only child of Gen. John M. Messinger, one of the earliest set- 
tlers of the town of Lenox. The General was a native of Barre, Mass., and in the 
year 1808 removed to the town of Smithfield. He was a man of importance in his 
time, being actively interested in military affairs. He was one of the early sheriffs 
of Madison county; represented his district in the State Legislature, and occupied a 
prominent position m the county both politically and socially. 1. Newton Messinger 
was a graduate of Hamilton College in the class of 1839, being a classmate of the 
late Judge Benjamin F. Chapman. He studied law, and in July, 1843, was admitted 
to the bar. He opened the first law office in Oneida shortly after his admission, 
taking as partner Hon. Ithamar C. Sloan, a brilliant practitioner of wide reputation. 
In September, 1863, he formed a partnership with James B. Jenkins, which was har- 
moniously and successfully maintained for a period of ten years, when Mr. Messinger 
retired from active practice (1873). Mr. Messinger was for some time chief of the 
village fire department, and was much esteemed for his bravery in the face of danger 
and disaster. He was also one of the early village presidents, and during the Civil 
war gave valuable aid to the Union cause by raising troops. Prior to the birth of the 
Republican party he was a Democrat. He was Oneida's fourth postmaster, his 
commission bearing the signature of President Buchanan ; he was also one of the 
earliest ticket agents and operators at the New York Central station. The Oneida 
Union pays him the following tribute in an obituary: " Mr. Messinger was a man 
with broad and liberal views of life and character, and was seldom at fault in arriv- 
ing at a correct estimate of men and affairs. His was an essentially cultured and 
refined nature, and ' thus he bore without reproach, the grand old name of gentle- 
man.' With a heart full of sympathy for those distressed in mind, body or estate he 
had, at least, a helpful word to cheer or comfort, and he never pretended to judge 

the merits or demerits of others He was merciful as he hoped to obtain mercy 

and exercised that beautiful charity which shall cover a multitude of sins. Not alone 
in the higher business and social circles, but among the humble and lowly he had 
most attached friends." After his lamented death a meeting of the bar of Oneida 
was held at which resolutions were adopted, and the deceased was eulogized in 
eloquent addresses by Messrs Shoecraft, Jenkins, and others. Mr. Messinger 
was married, September 6, 1849, to Frances Eliza Fiske, daughter of William E. 
and Eliza (Alcott) Fiske, of Canastota. Four children were born to them: John 
Fiske, who died in September, 1854; Lizzie, first wife of A. L. Goodrich, who 
died in 1889; and Mrs. Theodore Coles, and Mrs. A. L. Goodrich, both of Oneida. 



NDEX 



Abbott, Samuel S., 260, 454 

Abercrombie, William, 166 

Ackerman, A. S., 377; John, 297 

Acklev, Calvin, 59; H. Clay, 364; Thom- 
as, ill 

Adams, C W,, Dr., 245; Daniel, 106, 107; 
Edmund B., 336; E. M., Dr., 237; John, 
47. 332; William, 237 

Ager, George, 275, 507 

Agricultural Society, Madison County, 

Aiken, M. C, 351 

Ainsworth, Abiel, 75; Elbert A., Dr., 237 

Alby, Daniel, 90; T.aban, 365 

Alcott, Solomon, 133, 381 

Alderman, John, 149 

Aldrich, H. N., Dr., 313 

Alger, Oliver, 106 

Allen, Charles A., 286; Cyrus 316; Hen- 
rv, 216; H. C, 264; J. D., 343; J. H., 
277; John W., 306; Merton. 401 ; My- 
ron M., 308; Orlando, 401 ; Rufus, 183, 
235, 238; R. and R. G., 231 

Allis, Eh.sha, 333, 338 

Alvord, C. T., 355; Daniel, 248 

Ambler, David, 390 

Amedovvn, Isaac, 61 

Ames, Newton, Charles and Ambrose, 
232; Warren W., 344 

Arasbry, William H., 354 

Amsden, Amos, Dr., 825 

Anderson, Andrew and August, 315; A. 
H.,280: Hiram, 385; Miner, 387; Sam- 
uel J., 384 

Andrews, Ambrose. 166; Ephraim, 332; 
Newton Lloyd. 443, 453 

Angel, George, 339 

Annas. Abijah N., 338, 344; A. N., 342; 
James, 108, 113; John, 228; Mason, 398; 
Uriah, 113; William J., 339; W. Jud- 
son, 339 

Antes, Frank, 340; John, Dr., 44 

Anthony, Myron, 43, 301 

Armour, Danforth, 54; Simon B., 301 



Armstrong, Jabin, 100; John, 400, 466; 
J. A., 397 

Arndt, P. S.. Dr.. 323 328 

Arnold, Ephraim, 85, 338, 340; L. W., 
364 

Arnst, Reiley, 373 

Arrowsmith, George, Lieut -Col., 300 

Atkins, Charles, 406 

Atkinson, William. 333. 345 

Atwell, James S., 319, 337. 466; Joseph, 68 

Atwood, John, 858; Mitchell, 144 

Aubeuf, F. J., 303 

Austin, Harvey, 395; L. A., 895; Wil- 
liam, 103 

Avery, Abel, 367; Amos, 220; Edward 
D.,'265; H. N, 366; Joseph D.. 370, 
371; J. N., 273; J. W.,461; Oren S., 
156.397.398; Ralph H., 301; Robert, 
94, 95, 169, 484; Stephen, 380; T. M., 
343 

Ayer, Perly, 333; William J., 338, 343 

Ay res, J. C, 398 

Aylesworth, Eliphalet, 131, 390, 394; 
George, 367; Henry M., 359, 364, 865, 
463, 483, 506; Jasper, 128 

Babcock, Andrew, 357, 358; Benjamin 
B.,248; Benjamin W., 249: C. E.,Rev., 
286; Ethan, 36; F. D.,210; H. D.,363; 
Hezekiah and Phineas, 37; James A., 
308; John, 361, 363; John and Benja- 
min Waite, Drs., 355; Jonathan. 358; 
Laurens, 358; Leroy and Andrew, 358; 
L. W., 358; Oliver, 36, 42, 162, 189, 484; 
Oliver, and sons Ethan and Oliver, 357 ; 
Oliver R., 189; Phineas, 33, 35, 162; 
William, 263 

Backus, J. E. N.. 283, 844; Levi S., 358, 
308; W. H., 133 

Bacon, Chauncey, 306; James, 113; Joel 
S. 435; Rufus, 351 

Bailey, Arthur. 388 ; Horace C. , 377 ; John 
T. G., 357, 358; Eli S., Dr., 43, 357, 359, 
463 



310 



Baker, Arthur M.. 258; Benjamin, 370; 
George W., 383, 463; James, 407; 
James S., 407; John and Cyrus. Drs., 
105, 373; Joseph J. L., 336-328, 466, 
538; Oran E., 330; Richard M.. 291, 
301; Solomon, S71 ; W. H., 258; Will- 
iam M., 397; William W., 396 

Balcom, Jacob, 116 

Baldwin. Curtis C, 140, 375, 507; David, 
154; Howard L., 303; Nathan, Capt., 
39; Van Ness, 351 

Ballard, Dane, 100; L., 371; Samuel, 353 

Ballou, Arnold, Col., 150, 153, 160, 167, 
335; William and George, 153; Rus- 
sell, Dr., 346; Silas, 154 

Bamford, John, Rev . 317 

Bancroft, Eli, 133; William O., 363 

Bank Canastota, 280, 281 ; of Cazenovia, 
235; Central, Oneida, 302; Chittenan- 
go, 334; Farmers and Merchants. Onei- 
da, 301 ; First National, Canastota, 
281; First National, Chittenango. 334; 
First National, of Earlville. 364; First 
National. Oneida, 301; Leonardsville, 
364; Madison County, 183, 334; Oneida 
Savings. 301 ; Oneida Valley, 300 

Banning, John M.. 349, 352 

Banton, Joseph, 122 

Banyea, Irving, 401 

Barber, Eli, 350, 255; Joel, 249; John, 61, 
152; John E., 383, 464; Samuel, Dr.. 
376 

Barclay, Henry, 483 

Bardeen. Americus V., 348; E. R., 351 

Barker, Daniel, Dr.. 377; Edwin R.,308. 
312. 377,483; G. H., 464; Russell, 33, 
117, 172, 484 

Barlow. Albert R.,275. 383; M. Eugene. 
375 381. 531; Milton, 373; Thomas. 
138, 275, 298, 480, 507 

Barnard, David, 138, 169; David, jr., 
138; Edwin, 213; Pardon, 166,181,483; 
Reuben, 85 

Barnes, Dan, Rev., 23; Gray E., 218; Ira, 
Gage, 338; L. C, 388; Minnie L., Miss, 
466; Otis, 318; Rosel, Capt, 48, 333; 
T. E.,301 

Barnett, James, 203, 391, 460; James A.. 
301; James R., 131, 194, 394; John. 
301; Milton, Dr., 210, 302, 483 

Barott, W. W., 376 

Barr, Robert, 404; R. S., 404; Sherman, 
404 

Barrett, Anthony, 400; A. M.. 377; Caro- 
line, 400; Charles, 400; C. H., 339; 
Frederick, 401; H. M,, 331, 324; Will- 
iam, 400 

Barry, Erastus, 136 



Bartholomew, Albert G. , 54 

Bartle, A. W. , 353 

Bass, Edgar C, 334, 239; W. W., 458 

Bassett. O. D,, 363; Thomas C, 337 

Bates, Archibald, 73, 387; Chester, 333; 
Emilius, 387; Ira, 399; James N,, 397; 
John, 319; Jonathan, 97; William, 319 

Battev, A. W.. Rev., 386; Clarence. 395 

Baum. A. C. Dr., 131, 394; Carl, 350 

Baxter, Daniel R., 155 

Beach, Chauncey, 54; J. D., 329; T. A.. 
371 

Beal, George, 351; Joseph, 349, 300, 519; 
Robert B.. 313; Thomas H., 350. 251 

Beardsley, George, Dr., 391; Henry G., 
Dr., 251, 255 

Beck, Ephraim, 291, 293 

Beckwith, C. Hvde, 80; Roswell, Rev., 
75 

Beden, John R., 344 

Beebe, Albert, 43, 365; Amos, 2.54; David 
and Jo,seph. 48; Edgar, 388; Ellen F., 
Miss, 4.58; Frank D.. Dr., 105. 248, 2.5.5, 
372; J. F., Rev., 310; L. C, Dr.. 386; 
Lucius E., 43, 366; Solomon, 330; Za- 
doc, 37 

Beebee, Alexander McW., 443 

Beecher, Albert, 166; David, 167; Heze- 
kiah, 140, 319; Linus. 1^40; Sylvester, 
140 234, 235; Walter, 33, 140, 484 

Beekman, Charles, 313; C. E., 344 

Beeman, Truman, 155 

Beers. Peter L., 373 

Bell. Ralph 344 

Bellamy, Alfred, 330, 327 

Benedict, Nathan, 149, .350; Robert, 149; 
Samuel, 373 

Benjamin, Charles. 338; Darius 84; De 
Grand, 341 ; EUas and Elijah, and sons, 
83, 83; E. D.. 343; Elias P., 334; Hor- 
ace, 338, 4.59; James, 341; W. H 377. 
383: Warren H., Frank H. and Will 
H., 381 

Bennett, Albert, 365; Carlos, 313. 340; 
Daniel, 2d, 43; David. 93; David. 3d, 
365; D. S., 43, 366; E. C, 366; Frank 
G., 376; Hiram. 375, .507; James A., 
293, 397. 303; J. M., 306; John, 372; 
Willard H , 304 

Benson, E. E. , Rev., 354 

Bensted, John, 378 

Bentley, Artemas V., 196, 339, 345, 347, 
505; Eben, 333; George W., 367; Jona- 
than. 85; J. S.. 338; S.. E. C. and G. 
D.. 363; Zadock T , 195, 301, 338, 339, 
346, 483, 504 

Beniis, R. R., 379; S. C, 376, 379, 381, 
284 



Bergen. George E., 363 

Berry. Erastus, 376: George, 2!>1, 297, 
302 ; George W. , 267 ; Henry, George VV. 
and Frank O., 207; John, 116; Lock- 
hart, 123; Samuel, 61, 124 

Berson, Leon, 399 

Betsiuger, Daniel, 313 

Bicknell. Bennett, 93, 209. 211, 234, 235. 
461; Bennett M., 483; Daniel, 383; 
Harrison C, 876, 382, 464; O. C, 376, 
377, 464; J. B., 208; Moses, 208 

Bigsby, Amos, 263 ; George, 59 

Bill, Allen, 130 

Bills. Charles, 373; Sidney, 374 

Billings. Charles, 263; Samuel, 34; Tru- 
man and Jabez, 101 

Billington, Merchant, Dr., 325. 327; Wal- 
lace. 332 

Bingham, Augustus W. , 61 

Birdsall, Benjamin, 343, 345; Gilbert, 
Dr.. 367 

Birge. John W., 238 

Bishop, Alanson, 371 ; Alonzo. 327 ; John, 
144; Joseph, 350; Robert. Capt., 274; 
R. S., Dr., 3>5; Thomas P., 237 

Bixby, E. C, 373 

Black, John M.,237; Joseph, Capt., 130; 
Joseph, and son John, 132 

Blackstone, Stephen F., 61,71,117, 124. 
484 

Blair, David, 117, 124; E. A., 238; Frank, 
389; Isaac, 389; Jeremiah, 111, 167; 
RoUin Knox, 327; Seth, 124; William, 
117, 124 

Blakeman, Eben and Whedon, 405; L. 
B., 463 

Blakeslee, Eli, 397; Frank, 400, 466; 
Garrett, 401; Morris J , 208; Noah, 
156; Philander, 401 

Blanchard, Charles 368; H. C-. 343,348; 
L. D., 259; Martin, 344; O. M., 343 

Blish, John, 363; John D., 254 

Bliss. Edward, 130; Norton, 395; Rich- 
ard, 351 

Blodgett, David, 130, 306; Elijah, 61, 
63. 118; Ephraim, 61, 134; George W., 
339 

Blye. Frank, 312; George D., 343 

Boardman, A. V., 320; Moses, 113 

Boden, E. R.. Dr., 396, 298 

Bogardus, Stephen, 86 

Bond, Henry, W.. 01, 118; Israel, 118 

Bonney, Benjamin, 146; Benjamin F.. 
351, 253; Homer L., 289, 398; Levi, 
90; William F., 195, 300, 248, 483 

Boon. Sanford, 352; & Son, 280 

Bort. Benjamin. 314 

Bordwell. Charles, 234 



Bostwick, John, 434; William, 351 

Bosworth, Elihu, 100 

Bouck. John, 318 

Bouckville, 600; business interests of, 
379, 380 ; churches of, 380 ; post-office, 
380 

Bowen, Elias, Rev., 4.55; Samuel. 84, 
341 

Bowler, George, Rev., 355 

Boyer, Frank, 288 

Bradin, John, 253 

Bradlev, Frederick, Dr., 105. 372; Lent. 
98; William. 166 

Bradner, C. J., 405 

Brainard, Daniel A., 63; Nathan, 364; 
Stephen and Daniel, 59; William G., 
267 

Brand, James H., 43, 363; Nathan V., 
43, 361-364; Samuel, 42, 361; WiUiam 
B., 483; William H., 43, 363 

Brasse, Charles W. , 371 

Breese. Samuel 300, 303, 304; Samuel 
Sidnev, 33, 323, 484. 503; Sidney B., 
399, 301 

Brevoort, John, 330 

Brewer, James E, 395, 398, .530 

Brewster, Alexander, 38 

Bridge Amos. 407, 409; Benjamin S., 
381; George, 53; Jesse, 54; Rodney, 
383; William, 408, 409; W. F., 404 

Bridgeport, business interests of, 332 
churches of, 333, 333 

Briggs. Albert O., 519; Austin Rev., 48 
William, 319 

Brigham, Albert Perry, 452; Orlando L., 
382, 464; Reuben, 121; Wright, 130 

Bright, James L. . 253; Thomas, 371 

Britt, Alpheus, 397 

Britton, William, 321 

Broadhead, James, 321, 322, 334 

Brockett, H. D., 379 

Broga, A. E., Dr., 407 

Bronson. Greene C.. 131. 494 

Brookfield, churches of. 40, 41 ; first mer- 
chants of, 42, 43; first mills in, 42; first 
physicians in, 43; gazetteer of the 
town of, 539-546; hamlets in, 368; list 
of settlers of, from 1796 to 1800, 39; 
])Togress of improvements in the town 
of, 3.55-368; railroads in, 356; schools 
of, 462, 483 ; settlement and settlers of, 
33-40; supervisors of, list of, 541; tav- 
ern permits in, in 1797, 40 

Brookfield Agricultural Society, 356 

Brooks, Charles G., 264; Colon, 298. 313; 
Nelson O., Dr., 399; Roger, 106, 107; 
Shubael, 73 

Brown, Adon P., 523; Adon P.. 364; Al- 



213 



fred, 145, 149; A. L., 373; Charles, 
224, 228; Daniel, Capt., 33; David H., 
332; Duane, 210, 320, 493, 500; D. M., 
368; Edwin J., 512; Eleazer, 36; Elea- 
zer and Simeon, 35; Elijah, 143, 145, 
148; Elijah W., 354; Ephraim C, 54; 
Everett, 395; Frederick and John, 395; 
George, 80, 401 ; George C. 194,228; 
Healy, 221; Henry, 367; Hiram, 276, 
324; H. C, Dr., 359; IraD.,308; Isaac, 
34 483; Jabish, 34; James, 377; John, 
218, 220, 350; John S., 112; Josiah, 61; 
J. Emery, 289; Levi, 108, 401; Lyman, 
359; M. H., 358; Nathan, 34; Nathan 
T., 363, 364; Nicanor, 61, 119 265; Oli- 
ver. 33, 484; Olmstead, 144; P. P., 196; 
Richard R., 332; Robert and Solomon, 
106; Samuel L., 364; Simeon, Elder, 
36; Timothy, Capt., 46, 166, 330, 354; 
Warren and E. V. , 351 ; Washington E. , 
254; Wilber M., 249; William, 124; W. 
B., Dr., 255; W. D., 389; WilUam H., 
43, 263 

Brownell, Nathan, 268, 358, 483 ; Nathan, 
jr.,20J, 358; Nicanor, 263, 268; Put- 
nam C, 358, 483; Sijmuel, 61, 119; 
Samuel R., 382, 464 

Browns Sons H. C, 280 

Brownson, Oliver, 155 

Bruce, Benjamin F., 195, 196; Edom N., 
281 ; H. K. W., 281 ; Joseph, Major, 139, 
140, 167, 270 

Bruen, Robert L.. 277 

Bryant, Byron S., 338, 343; Reuben, 76 

Buck. Clark, 54; Perley, 283 

Buckingham, C. M., 244; Reuben, 146 

Buell. Clinton C, 261, 453; Eli, jr., 454; 
F. C, 263; Hiram, 363; Ichabod, 138; 
Luther, 455; Thomas, 100, 101 

Bugbee, Oliver, 78 

Bulkley, John W., 32, 98, 102, 103,160, 
166, 484 

Bull, Virgil, 301 

Bump, A. M., 391, 394, 461; family, the, 
129; Jeremiah, 390; Jonathan, 155; S. 
G., 388 

Bumpus, Benjamin, 113; Isaac, 113; 
Jesse, Abner and Seth, 110 

Bunker, Fiancis, Capt , 85 

Burchard, Eh, Rev., 461 ; Horace B., 260, 
454; Seneca B., 249 

Burden, Henry, 239; John, 212 

Burdick, Adin, 367;-' Arvilla, Miss, 363; 
C, K., 362; De Lloyd, 341; Ehsha. 38; 
Ethan, 42. 362; Perry, 93, 217; Samuel 
H., 34; Thompson, 38; Wallace E., 339, 
345, 347, 523; William and Thompson, 
83; W. H.,362 



Burgess, Harrison, 384, 385; Levi, 74 

Burhans, Ira, 379 

Burke, Daniel C, 295, 519 

Burn, George F., 251 

Burnett, Milton, Dr., 104, 372 

Burnham, Abner, 122 

Burr. George F., 248; Joseph, 227; J, H. 

Ten Eyck, 235; Theodore, 214; Will- 
iam M., 224, 227, 235. 458 
Burroughs. Alanson, 401; Erastus B. , 

Dr., 104, 372; L, B., 213; LeanderW., 

483 
Burton, Amos, 875; David, 48, 330; 

James, 233; John T,, 331, 376; N. J., 

331 ; William, 224, 233 
Bush, Charles, 409; Mills, 387 
Bushnell, Holden, 332; Rueben, 333; 

Zina, 333 
Bushy te, O. W., Dr., 359 
Butler, Daniel, 113; J. P., 253 
Button, Albert, 368; Edward, 189; James 

and Ransford, 331 ; John and Elias, 35. 
Byer, Nicholas, 214 

Cady, Argelus, 167; C N., 278; Daniel, 
493; Daniel B., 326; James, 54 

Cadwell, Colonel, 271; Ebenezer, 138 

Cain, William, 331 

Calhoun, P. H., 234 

Calkins, Caleb, 391,393, 460; Ebenezer, 
139 

Callanan, James, 457 

Calvin, Sauford G., 484 

Calway, Robert. 300 

Cameron, A L., 395; Charles. 391; Delos 
W., 225, 458, 482; James, 153 

Camp, Abner, Dr., 93, 112; H. A., 387; 
John 124; Thaddeus and Lebbeus, 54 

Campbell, Ale.xander, Elder, 459; Alex- 
ander and George A., 340; Archibald 
B., 254; A. E. B., 252; Daniel, 
Allen, James Steward. Isaac, Archi- 
bald, John, sons of Widow Patience, 
99; Henry, 395; Horace A., 262, 370, 
371; James, 484; John and Charles, 
sons of Widow Nancy, 99; John A., 
131, 324, 394; M. M., 373; S. A., 305 

Campton, James, 33 

Canal, Chenango, inception and con- 
struction of, 176-178; Company, Ch t- 
tenango, 178; Erie, inception and con- 
struction of, 173-176 

Canals, various proposed, 176 

Canastota, banks of, 280, 281 ; celery in- 

' dustry in, 337; churches of, 285, 286; 
effort to develop salt springs in, 274, 
275; electric lighting of, 284; fire de- 
partment of, 283; gazetteer of, 592, 



313 



593; hotels of, 382, 283; incorporation 
of, 276; manufacturing interests of, 
277-380; mercantile business of, 280, 
281; newspapers of, 381, 383; po-t- 
office, 275; present village officers of, 
376; schools of, 284; settlement of, 
273, 273 ; water works of, 283 ; Savings 
and Loan Association, 381 

Canaseraga in early days, 50; 330, 618 

Candee, Julius. 351 

Card, Albert, 224; Everet S, 224; Milton 
E., 233, 334; Peleg, 141,312, 313; Rich- 
ard. 156, 397 

Gardner, \V. H. and E. K., 234 

Carey, Elisha, 170, 178 

Carl, Peter P.. 323, 327 

Carlon, Joseph, 405 

Carpenter, Austin M., 483; Calvin, 335; 
D.,302; Elijah, 113; Ezekiel, 183, 234, 
482; George W., 331; H. W.. 297; 
Jesse, 111, 112; Levi D., 189; Solomon, 
459; Wesley M., Dr., 386 

Carrier, Asa, 35; David, 189 

Carrington, Elisha, 131, 132, 172, 393 

Carrol, Ella, Miss. 466. 

Carscadden, C.,301, 513 

Carter, B.. 93; Bailey, 145; Barry, 215, 
217; Jonathan, 54; Robert, 47 

Carver, Austin, .54, 409; L, J., 315 

Cary, Joseph. 106 

Case, Homer T,, 367, 463; Joseph, 
Chauncey. David, Lester M. and J. 
Milton, 110; Loren, 389; Lucius, 389; 
Milton L., 341; W. H., 250; William 
N., 248 

easier, Herman. 376, 283 

Caswell, Gilbert, 33, 484 

Catlm, Sidney, 373 

Cavana, Martin, Dr., 395 

Cazenovia, an old post- office record of, 
79; early business interests of, 80, 81; 
churches of, 76-78, 340-343; early town 
meeting proceedings in 78, 79; gaz- 
etteer of the town of, 547-553; hamlets 
in the town of, 255; lawyers of, 337; 
manufacturing interests of, 331-344; 
mercantile operations in, 337-230; phy- 
sicians of, 237; post-office, 80; progress 
of improvements m the town of, 223- 
245; public library, 243; school matters 
in, 243, 455-459; settlement and set- 
tlers of, 65-76; supervisors of, list of, 
548; tax list of, in 1811, 225-237 

Cazenovia village, banks of, 235; census 
of business establishments in, in 1803, 
223; nre department of, 237-239; ga- 
zetteer of, 547-5.53; hotels of. 236, 237; 
incorporation of, 234; list of officers of, 
24-25 ; newspapers of, 235, 236 



Cazenovia Seminary, 455-458 

Cazenovia Hall Association, 339 

Cazenove, Theophilus, 66 

Cazier, Matthias, Rev., 100 

Celery industry. 337 

Chaffee, Ezra, 130; H. E., 395 

Chamberlain, Ephraim, 268; James F., 
182, 219. 220. 461 

Chamberlayne. John R., Dr., 237 

Chambers, John. 166; W. P., 313 

Champlain, E. Frank, 363, 463 

Chandler, Charles, Henry and Winthrop 
H., 403; C. C, 463; Matthew, 230, 
231; Orrin, 331; Thomas, 230; Will- 
iam H., 404 

Chaphe, Albert, 333; S. F., 233. 

Chapin, E. Volney, 363; H. E., 313; 
Samuel, 392 

Chapman, B. Franklin, 141, 313, 4.S0, 507; 
Duane, 399; George W.. 288, 313, 507, 
518; Noves P., 275; Richard, 333; 
Samuel. '330; Sandford P., 483; Ste- 
phen, Colonel, 141, 372, 312, 313, .507; 
Warham. 113 

Chappell, Chester L., 228; C. Will, 303; 
Peter, Ensign, 162 

Chariton. A. N., 320, 331 

Chase, B. E., 297; D. D. and Lvman, 
Dr.s., 210; J. M., 258 

Chawgo, George, 46 

Chenango Twenty Townships, the, 2-4. 

Cheney!^ F. B., 297; P. D., 297 

Cheesebro, J. H. and A. D., 368; Paul, 
367 

Cheesebrough, Harris, 38 

Chesley. Charles O., 276 

Childs, Perry G., 33, 179. 224, 235, 484, 
.503; Walter, 74 

Chittenango, banks of. 324; beginnings 
of, 317 ; churches of, 339, 330 ; tire de- 
partment of, 328 ; gazetteer of, 619, 631 ; 
hotels of, 333 ; incorporation and offi- 
cers of, 327 ; lawyers of, 325, 326 ; manu- 
facturing interests of, 321-323; mer- 
cantile interests of, 318-321; news- 
papers of, 334; physicians of, 335; 
post-office, 327; proposed southern 
railroad from, 335; schools of, 328, 465, 
466 

Chittenango Falls, 401 

Chittenango Landing, 331 

Chittenango Station. 331, 631 

Chittenango White Sulphur Springs, 334 

Christman, John and Peter. 46 

Chubbuck, Emilv (Fannv Forester), 312, 
461; Samuel, 215, 220; Wallace W., 
258 

Church, Benjamin, 98 

Clark, Charles, 64, 251; Daniel, 100, 102, 



314 



INDEX. 



103; Edwin, 43, 363; Elisha A.. .'54; 
Erastus, 369; Ethan. Lieut, 162; E. J., 
276, 280; F. G.. 229; George C . 331; 
Guy H,, 264; Henry, Elder, 3.5. 36; 
Henry, jr., 33. 484; Harry N., 229; 
James, 269; Jeremiah, 79, 111, 118; 
Jesse, 106; Joel W., 434; John, Dr., 
371; John C, 327; Joseph, l(i7, 357, 
492, 502; Joseph F.. 243; J. W., 344; 
Lucius P.. 196, 303. 308. 310, 357, 483. 
502; Maxson, jr., 357; Moses and Sol- 
omon. 110; Oliver, 141, 162. 166, 275; 
Ransom F., 339, 343; Rav, Dr., 43, 
364; Robert, 409; Samuel D.', 327 ; Silas. 
Dr., 346; Stephen, 42; Stephen, jr., 
166; Sylvester, 166; Thomas A., 319; 
Welcome, Dr., 43, 364; W. O , 264 

Clarke, Augustus P., 225, 458; Benja- 
min F., 224; Benjamin T., 183, 227, 
238; Frederick, 359, 506; Hazzard P., 
361; Hosea B., 462; John, Uv,, 103, 
104, 160; J. Deloss, 367; Mattison, 358; 
Samuel D., 228; Wait, 87, 364. 462; 
William Newton, 445, 446, 450'; W. M., 
358 

Clarkville (Brookfield), business interests 
of, 357-360; gazetteer of, 541-543; law- 
yers of, 359; newspapers of, 360; phy- 
sicians of, 359; post-office, 357; schools 
of, 360 

Clary, Joseph, 318 

Clemens, Francis, 118; Samuel, Col., 117 

Clements, Isaac N., 458 

demons, Samuel, 61 

Cleveland, Benjamin F., Dr., 136, 376; 
Erastus, Gen., 32, 33, 116, 124, 126, 
159, 166, 168. 181, 874, 376, 484; G. B.. 
267; William P., 208, 210 

Clockville, churches of, 314, 315; early 
business interests at, 312, 313; gazet- 
teer of, 595; lawyers of. 313; mercan- 
tile interests of, 314; physicians of, 
314; schools of, 314 

Clough, John. 124, 353 

Clow, William. 313 

Cloyes, Ezra, 482; H. D., 211 ; Sidney B., 
362, 263, 535 

Cobb, H. H., 335, 318. 327; Irene. 315; 
Nathan, 318;^Peter P., 227; Sanford, 
327; Simon 298; William, 272 

Cody, Kendall, 401 

Coe, Albert E.. 293, 391. 460; Alanson. 
186; David, 133; Emmet, 394; E. Em- 
mons. 301, 303; Isaac, 134; John M., 
336; Lewis, 404; Lewis E.. 379, 380; 
Rensselaer, 409; Samuel. 119; W. Em- 
met, 371, 894, 461, 484; Z. E., 331 



Colburn, George, 403 

Cole, Adelbert, 230; C. T., 383; Frank. 
831; George, 883; John B., 290; Luraan 
E.. 208; O. R., 383; T. A.. 383; W., 
895 

Coles, Theodore, 305 

Colegrove. Eli, 83. 83 

Coleman, C. J., 466; Horatio, 343; Noah 
T., 342, 345 

Coley. Harrison, W., 301, 517; Joseph. 
Elder, 86 

Colgate, James B, , 453; Samuel, 447; 
William. 438 

Colgate Universitv, from foundation to 
the present, 429-453 

Collins, E. H., 351; Giles, 101; Hiram, 
366; Irving, 370; James. Rev, 286; 
Job, 262; Joseph, 1st, Solomon, Heze- 
kiah, Job, Peter and Joshua,39; Joseph, 
and .sons Job, Peter and Joshua, 368; 
Naihan, Dr., 345; Nathaniel. Lieut- 
Col., 61, 166; Samuel, 43, 863; Sheffield, 
357; Solomon and Hezekiah, 368; 
Stephen, 34; Stephen P., Dr., 345 

Collis, H. M.. 218 

CollLSter, F., 378; F. S., 464; Tames, 61, 
117; Royce. 149; Samuel, D"r., 878 

Colson, Ebenezer, 59 

Colton, Clinton L., 410; Edward B., 124; 
Henry H., 329; Le Grand, 381, 336, 
411, 518 

Colwell, Joseph, 64, 348 

Colyer, Abram. 397; Jacob, 320; John, 
321 ; Peter, 384 

Comstock, Abel, 364 

Coman, Benjamin, 461 ; Ellis, 196; Henry 
B., 208. 310, .529; Smith, 189; Stephen. 
93, 311; Winsor, 33, 93, 170, 312, 484 
Ziba, 92, 95 

Conant, Thomas, J., 435 

Cone, Ephraim. 118 

Conger, L. D., 366 

Conine, Lucius M.,320; Washington, 331 ; 
Wiley, 394 

Conklin, Lewis V.. 332 

Conley. Frank, 395 

Cook, A. F., 311; Barnabas, 406, 408; 
Charles H., 131, 398; David, 32, 33, 
134, 151, 156, 484; F. W., 406; James, 
54; Le Roy, 231; Moses. 171; Moses 
H.. 166; Orange R., 54, 405 

Coolidg, James D., 132, 379, 380, 383; 
Sylvanus, 380; William, 379, 380 

Coolidge, Daniel, 106, 113; H. A., 335- 
Isaac. 106 

Coon, Almeron M., 468; Arza. 339; Ed- 
win N., Dr., 339, 336, 348; Eugene E., 



293,301,303; E.G., 297; J. E., 864; 
Jonathan, Luke and Pardon, 339; W. 
W., 363 

Cooper, Charles, 400, 406; E. A., 276; 
Royal and Dorm an, 131, 393 

Coplev, H. W., 218; John, 221 

Cornell, A.. 461; Elijah, 86; J. D., 283; 
Stephen, 217 

Corson, Joel, Dr., 276 

Cos.sett, W. F.. 351 

Costello, John R., 331, 327 

Cotes, Warren S. , 384 

Cotton, C. L., 262, 364; Willard, 140 

County clerks, 483, 484; seat, the first, 33 

Court of Admiralty, 472; Chancery, 472; 
Common Pleas, 477; County, 479; Su- 
preme, 474; Surrogate's, 480 

Court house and other public buildings, 
484 

Courts, evolution of the, 467-481 

Covell, Charles, 387; Charles W., 329; 
James, 74 

Cowan, Lucie n D., 183; P. D., Rev., 286 

Cowen, James, 54 

Cox, Thomas, 248, 434 

Coye, John, 344 

Craine, Lucus, 59; L. J., Miss, 463; Ros- 
well, 59, 62 

Cramphin, Alexander, 186, 210. 483, 500 

Crandall, Adelbert, 358: Arthur W., 363; 
Charles. 338; E. Bowen, 80, 236, 347 ; 
F A.. 336; Hiram S., Dr., 364; L A., 
362-364. 463; Nathan, 166; Perry, 237; 
Thomas A., 360, 463; William, 80; W. 
D., 363 

Crane, George, 33, 484; William, 358; 
W. M., 358 

Cranson. Giles, 313, 314 

Craw, B. E., 343 

Crawe, Mortimer W., Dr. 255 

Crawford, Joel, 118; John, 291, 308; Jo- 
seph H., 232 

Crawshaw, William Henry. 450 

Crichton, A., 323 

Crispe, George, 331 

Crocker, Amos, 103, 161, 252 

Cronk, John, 276, 280, 331 ; Charles, 276, 
280 ; M rs. Etta, 380 

Crosby, E. G., 397 

Cross, Calvin, 145; Dwight, 206, 208; Jef- 
ferson 313; William T., 399 

Crou.se, C. E., 378; Daniel, 374, 275, 280; 
George, 280, 334; Jacob, 380; James, 
318, 324, 327; John, 274, 281, 324 

Crowell, Adelbert E., Dr., 269 

Crumb, Joseph, 42; Joseph H., 339, 342, 
459; N. A., 360, 525; Sylvester, 84; 
Varnum, 357, 358 



Cruttenden, Will H., 334, 339, 334 

Cummings, F. E., 306; Hiram, 336, 493 

Curtis, Abel, 381 ; Allen, 384, 385; Asa, 
375; Edward. 73; E. H.,392; Harry, 
131, 394; Hiram, 327; Isaac, 377; John 
G., 131, 394, 461, 483; Joseph, 124. 248; 
Joseph, Robert, Samuel and Timothy, 
121; Joshua, 342; Lester, 387; H. G., 
383; J. A., 458; W. T., 461 

Currier. Floyd, 353; Frank, 216; George 
M., 370 

Curry, Eben, 348 

Gushing, H. M., 330, 4.58; Thomas, and 
sons, 151 

Cushraan. A. J., 377, 464; E. N., 262; E. 
Watts, 349, 351, 3.57, .530 

Cutler, Charles, 131, 394 

Daboll, Sherman, 359, 483, 506 

Daggett, A W., 363 

Daharsh, Philip, 47 

Dana, A.sa, 78, 160, 484; Federal, 156. 

Jacob A.. 224, 337; L. D., 306 336, 

483, 493; Sardis, 156 
Danforth, Milton E., 370, 371 
Daniels, Augustus, 400; Elijah, 113; 

Erastus, 63, 361 
Damon, Daniel, 75 
Dapson, Thomas, 303 
Dardis, Andrew, 80, 338, 332, 458; John 

A., 232 
Darling. Francis A., 282 
Darrow, David, 93, 217; Joseph E., 218- 

J. J., 465 
Dart, Ernest C, 262 
Dascom, Samuel, 251 
Dauby, Lewis J., 373 
Davenport, Francis, 284 
David, F. B.. 371 
Davidson, S. M., 406 
Davis. Clark W., 403 ; Eugene, 395 ; Evan 

D., 389; George W., Dr., 394; Pardon, 

359, 506; William, 395; William H., 359 
Dawson, Isaac, 237 
Day. Eri, 409; Michael, 71 
Dean, David P. and James C, 229; D. 

R., 458; Isaac, 75; J. C, 458 
Dearborn, David, 503 
De Clercq, Charles, 350,^, Hendrick, 74 ; 

Isaac L. . 230 " 

Deering, Charles T., 64, 351 
De Forest, Abel, 311; Abel B., 308 
Delamater, Isaac and John, 332; J. Har- 
vey, 340 
De Laney, 546 
Delaney, James E., 283 
De Lano, Milton, 284, 336, 411, 483 
De Long, Willis, 367 



216 



Denison, Nathaniel, Joseph and George, 
38 

Dannie, John, 330; Jonathan. 137 

Dennison, M. L., 394; R., 358 

Derbyshire, James, 86 

De Ruyter, churches of, 86, 87 ; cream- 
eries in, 340; gazetteer of the town of, 
554-508; progress of improvements in 
the town of, 338-349 ; schools of, 459, 
460; settlement and settlers of, 82-86; 
supervisors of, list of, 557 

De Ruyter village banking interests in, 
847; churches of, 349; early industries 
of, 339-341; fire department of, 347, 
348; gazetteer of, 555-557; hotels of, 
344; incorporation and officers of, 338, 
339; lawyers of, 346, 347; Masonry in, 
849; mercantile interests of, 341-343; 
newspapers of, 843; physicians of, 845, 
346; post-office, 344; railroad expecta- 
tions in, 345; water works of, 348 

De kuyter Banking Co., 843 

Deuel, W. Estus. Dr., 325 

Devan, David. 394 

Devereaux, Horace, 293, 297, 801; Pat- 
rick, 393; Thomas A., 518 

Devolant, F. C, 364 

Dewey, F. E., Dr.. 394; Frank W., 400; 
Manford J., 296, 303 

Dewitt, G. W. and G. M., 331 

De Wolf, Delos, 189 

Dexter, C W., 301, 403. 404, 408, 409; 
E. N., 212 

Deyo, James, 371 

Dick, Levi, 134; Thomas, 131 

Didama, John, Dr.. 156, 399 

Dietz, William, 267 

Dillaye, Henry A. and F. C, 343; R. D., 

QUO 

District attorneys. 481, 483 

Divine. William, 53 

Di.K, William, 134 

Dixon, A. K., 364 

Dodge, Ebenezer, 442-446; Francis, 130; 

James, 458 
Donaldson, Alexander, jr., 308, 483; 

John. 387 
Donnelly, P. H.. 235, 458; William, 230 
Doody, Rev. Father, 242 
Doolittle, F. W., 286. 288; Luther, 106. 

107, 114; William, 156, 398 
Doran, Edward M., 289; Michael, 316 
Doremus, David D., 235; D. H., 289 
Dorion, Severe, 230 
Dorrance, D. G.. 301 ; James, 64, 104, 251 ; 

John, Dr., 131, 394, 484; W. C, 391, 461 
Douglass, Andrew, 394; Andrew S. , 131, 

157,262,394; Herbert H., 301; John 



and Daniel, 153; J. S.. D., 225; New- 
ell. 262; N. L., 363, 264; William E., 
300, 302, 308; Zebulon, Col., 46, 139, 
166, 167, 170. 336 

Dow, John, 264 

Dowd, Willard F., Rev., 219 

Downer, Abner, 337; Albert H., 327. 466; 
George E.. 334. 327; Joel. 158; Joel G., 
157; John, 183; William B., 157 

Downey, Cornelius, 373 

Downing, Roswell B., 299, 301, 303, 
308 

Drake, Apollos, and children, 143, 149, 
351; Eli B., 384; Manning. 350 

Draper, Horace V., 332 

Drew, Edgar, 321 

Driscoll, M.. 329 

Drver, J. W., 351; Wheeler, 350 

Duffey, Peter R., 385 

Duke, Frank C, 397 

Dunbar, David, 58; George, 221; James 
H,, 188, 368; Thaxter, 91 

Dunham, Albert, 819; Albright, 858; D. 
J., 408 

Dunster, Charles 378; J. L., 877 

Dunton, Ebenezer, 400 

Durfee, John, 885 

Durham, J. T.. 528 

Durhamville, 316 

Durkee, Justus. 398 

Durst, John, 332 

Duttcn. Zinah N , 352 

Dwinelle, Justin. 80, 284, 480. 483. 503 

Dygert, Henry, 290; Peter, 47, 290 

Dykeman, Enoch, 156 

Eagan, George, 365 

Eagleville (Eaton Center), 221 

Eaines. A. D., 382 

Earll, Jonas, jr.. 189 

Earlville, banks of, 264; churches of, 265, 
266; gazetteer of, 580-583; great fire 
in, 265; hotels of, 264, 265; lawyers of , 
263; manufactures of, 263, 264; mer- 
cantile operations in, 261, 263; news- 
papers of, 359; physicians of, 262; post- 
office, 261 ; settlement of. 2(jl 

East Boston, 831 

East Hamilton, 269, 585 

Eaton, churches of, 93; gazetteer of the 
town of, 558-508; progress of improve- 
ment in the town, 207-322; railroad 
bonding in, 233; schools in, 94, 464, 
465; settlement and settlers of, 88-94; 
supervisors of, list of, 560 ; town meet- 
ing proceedings in 94 95 

Eaton village, business interests of, 214, 
216; churches of, 317; gazetteer of, 



INDEX. 



217 



564-566; physicians of, 816; schools of , 

215; Wood, Taber& Morse Co. at, 316 
Eaton Center (Eagleville), 567 
Eaton, Charles P. 331; George B., 349; 

George W., 435, 488, 441, 443; John, 

367; John R., Dr., 333, 335; Nathan, 366 
Eddy, Otis, 43, 363; W. and H., 273 
Edgarton, Erastus, 134; John, 132, 379; 

L.,353; William, 380 
Edson, Nathan, and family, 53 
Edwards, Henry, 367 ; Perry, 333 
Eells & Mott, 303 

Ehle, George, 827; Peter and sons, 48 
Eisaman, Henrv and W. , 395 
Eldred, Rufus, '91, 93, 214; Zenas, 93, 214 
Eldridge, James B., 182, 357, 261, 480, 

48 1, 498 
Ellinwood. Jeremiah, 131; Samuel, 133 
Elliott, Charles J.. 357; H. A., 358; 

Fletcher, M.,258 
Elhs, Abner, 95; Arthur N., 278; Elna- 

than, 353 
Ellsworth, Elmer, 363 
Elmore, John, 841, 884; John L., 343 
Elphick, Fayette E., Dr., 407; Luther, 

407 
English, George E ,889; Henry C, 389; 

Joseph, 113; L. D. 387. 389 
Ensign, E. L., Dr., 386; George N., 389; 

Seba and Linus, 155; Thomas, 389 
Enos, Benjamin, 335; Joseph, 318 
Erieville, business interests of, 383-385 ; 

churches of, 386; gazetteer of, 604, 605; 

physicians of, 385; post-office, 385 
Esselstyne, William, 156 
Evans, H. J., 353; William, 393 
Everett, R. John, 336, 493 
Everton, John, 106 

Fairchild. Charles S., 340; John, 225; 

John F,, 148, 235, 352, 353; Lewison, 

232,483; L. R., 250; Nehemiah, 133; 

R. E.. 196; Sidney T., 334, 325; Will- 
iam, 349 
Fancher, J. H., 380; Rufus and F. M., 

314 
Farnam, S. H., 301 
Farnhani, Daniel, 315; Elisha, Col., 155, 

234; Roland A.. Rev., 406 
Fair, Edwin and Levi, 279; L. W., 263 
Farrell, Israel, Dr., 43, 364; Michael, 305; 

T. C, 245 
Farwell, William F., 210; William W., 

461, 463, 500 
Faulkner, A., 368; S. M., 353 
Fav, Asa, 73; David, 71 ; Day, 73. 113; 

James L., 260, 454; Jonas, 224, 233; 

Nahum, 374 



Fearon, A. D., 300 

Federal Hill, 138 

Fellows, H. Julian, 239 

Felt, David, 61, 98; Samuel, 98; Will- 
iam, 363, 363 

Felton, David, 316 

Fenner, churches of, 156, 401 ; early man- 
ufactures in, 156; first merchants in, 
156; first schools in, 157; first town 
meeting in, 155; gazetteer of the town 
of, 568-570; progress of improvement 
in the town of, 386- 401 ; prominent farm- 
ers m, 401; school system of 400; set- 
tlement and settlers of, 150-155; super- 
visors of, list of, 569 

Fenner Corners, 400, 570 

Ferguson, John, 348; John A., 398; 
Thomas A., 378 

Ferriere, Angel de, 137 

Ferry, Joseph, Dr., 345; Josiah E., 519 

Field, Judson, 275, 279; Newcomb and 
Charles, 293; Solomon, 155; William, 
311; W. L.,313 

Financial panics of 1836-8 and 1857, 185, 
189 

Finch, John, 337 

Finney, Cyrus, 92 

Fish, D. L., 368; Joseph, 298; R. J., 297, 
305, 308, 521 

Fisher, F.B., 258; Robert, 75, 343; Thom- 
as, 339 

Fish, David, 43, 365; Luman and Per 
Lee, 145; M. L.,463 

Fiske, Fred C, 277; F. M., 374; S. W., 
343; William E., 202, 380 

Fitch, A. D.,463; Alphonso, E., 325, .534; 
Elliott. 269; J, W., Dr., 391, 293; P., 
360; Reuben, 130; S. A., 43, 866; Wil- 
lard R., Dr., 391 

Flower, Ithuriel, 155 

Flaherty, John V., 827; P. J., 465 

Foord, Alvin, Dr., 237; Henry, Dr., 237 

Foot, Noah B , David Y. and Franklin, 
Drs., 269 

Foote, Arthur A., 528; Elihu, 166; E.W., 
348; F. H.,297; Isaac, 480; John, 183, 
348, 2.52, 2,56, 497; John C, 353; John 
J , 194, 19.5, 348, 253, 301; Nathaniel, 
310, 503, 517; Reuben, 58 

Forbes, Andrew, 367; Gerrit A., 377, 
477, 483, 501; Myron H., 366 

Ford, John, 130 

Forman, Jonathan, 223; Samuel S. , ex- 
tract from letter of, regarding the set- 
tlement of Cazenovia, 66-71; 72, 131, 
234, 394, 483 

Forrester, Fanny (Emily Chubbuck), 94 

Fort, W. M., Prof., 329 



INDEX. 



Forte, Irving, C, 236; John, 390 

Forward, Isaac, 380 

Foskett, David, 155 

Foster, A. Lawrence, 210, 499; C. F, 
263; Gideon, 83; H. S., 393; John L., 
409; Joseph, 57, 58; J. P., Rev., 285; 
Lyman B., 348; Robert, 409; Samuel, 
33, 484; Timothy, 155, 337 

Fowler, John, C, 335; Loring, 483 

Fox, C. A., 343; Samuel J , 101 

Francis, Aaron, 138; A. W., 348 

Franklin, Benjamin, Dr., 353 

Frederick, H., 383 

Freeborn, David and Gideon, 71; Pal- 
mer, 385 

Freeman, Henry, 403; Philip, 54; Tim- 
othy, 47 

Freemyer, John, 45 

French, Andrew J., 288, 299, 301,319; 
Austin B., 301; Benjamin, 319; Benja- 
min D., 297, 338; Edward B., 398; Ho- 
bart, 338, 466; Jairus, 324; Jarvis, 327; 
J. H. H., 319; John Owen, 48; J. W.. 
318; M. D., Dr., 373; R. B., 319; Sam- 
uel, 483; Theodore B., 337 

Frink, Asa, 38 

Frost, Clark A. , 300 ; D. H , 308 ; George, 
405 ; Joseph, 33, 484 ; Lorenzo, 403 

Fry, Thomas, 93, 317 

Fryer. George R., 403 

Fuess, Louis, 377, 464 

Fuller, Abiel, 138; Amos B., 160; Amos 
W.,484; Edward, Dr., 335; Ezra, 58; 
George K., 318, 337, 335; Samuel, Dr., 
318, 335; William K., 170, 178, 321, 335, 
327, 482, 493 

Furman, James, 347 

Gage, Alanson G., 387; Eleazer, 83, 84; 
Eli, 33, 484; Fordyce R., 387; George 
E., '887, 388; Jeremiah, 33, 159, 338; 
Samuel, 338, 385 

Gale, W. Hector, 298, 309 

Gardiner, Charles, 260, 454; Charles B., 
353; Hulls., 355 

Garrett, J. F., 367; J. G., 368 

Gasten. John, 54 

Gary, George, Rev., 455 

Gaston, David, 92, 94, 161, 170, 173, 308 

Gates, Daniel, 324; David, 36, 37; Frank, 
323; Frank H., 334; Ralph J., 156; 
Roscoe, 394; Samuel C, 371 

Gay, Elisha, G., 297; Harlan L., 331; 
Lyman, 320, 466 

Gaylord, E. F., 136, 377 

Georgetown, churches of, 149 ; early in- 
dustries of, 350, 351 ; early merchants 
of. 148 ; gazetteer of the town of, 571- 



574; progress of improvement in the 
town of. 349-355; schools of, 466; set- 
tlement and settlers of, 143-148; super- 
visors of, list of, 573; town meeting 
proceedings in, 148, 149 

Georgetown village, busiaess interests 
of, 352, 355 ; churches of, 354 ; gazetteer 
of, 572-574; newspaper of, 355; phy- 
sicians of, 353 ; post-ofRce, 353 

Gere, Amos, 149 

Germer, H. G., Dr., 276 

Gibbs, Federal C, Dr. 157; Levi, Dr., 
345 

Gibson, John, 350 

Gifford, B. R., Dr., 378; Gilbert L.. Dr., 
2.55; H. O., 339; John. 85; John K., 
334; Paul and Henry W., 182 

Gilbert, Agur, 121, 381; Daniel, 237; 
John D., 371; Orrin, 371; Orsamus, 
100; Warren J., 409 

Giles, Charle.s, Rev., 455 

Gill, E. D., 395; Sumner, 213 

Gillet, Daniel M., 154, 156, 400; Martin, 
156, 400 

Gillett, Joab, 237; Simeon, 33, 90, 94, 
484; Simeon, jr., 61 

Ginney, William and Timothy, 394 

Girvin, E. J , 298 

Gleason, Frank, 393 

Godfred, Frank W., 359 

Goff, Isaac Newton, Dr., 337; J. O., 315; 
L. Newton, 234 

Goldstein, Julius M., 300, 306 

Goodell. John, jr.. Dr., 245, 385; J. Wes- 
ley, 336 

Goodenough, M. M., 453 

Goodrich, Alfred L., 296 

Goodsell, Lewis B , 351 

Goodwin, Henry C, 357, 347, 483,498; 
Le Baron, 339; Samuel, 133, 375. 376, 
S. H., 290, 393, 301.304 

Goosens, B. W., Rev., 310 

Gore, the, 3 

Gorton, Ambrose E., 319, 321,338; Ben- 
jamin, 357, 463; Henry S., 244; O. M., 
367, 463; Orson, S , 366; Samuel, Var- 
num and Benjamin. 38 ; Solomon, 
43, 365; Thomas R.. 367, 463 

Gough, Leonard, 398, 399 

Gould, F. D., 358 

Graham, Dwight, 254; James, 273; Silas, 
Dr., 269 

Granger, Otis P., 206, 210, 461, 481, 499 
Grant, George, 334, 327 
Graves, Henry M., 251 ; Hiram, 331; Or- 
son, 389 
Gray, Ephraim, 101. 103; George W., 
359, 506; John, 366 



319 



Green, A. W., 331; Charles, 268; C. D., 
Dr., 267; Edward. 32. 33. 484; Edwin 
C, 383; Henry G., 264; James, 71, 78, 
106. 113, 223; Richard, 113; Thomas, 
211; Washington S., 364 

Greene, Erastus A, 362; Charles, 269; 
William, 2d. 462 

Greenhow. John, 282 

Greenland. William and William S.. 227 

(rreeuly. Thomas, Dr., 64, 161, 172, 348, 
249. 355 

Greenwood, Levi P., Dr., 385; Paul, 122 

Gregg, Absalom, 402; E. K , 404; John 
402 ; Taylor, 402 

Greiner, Paul, 377 

Greminger, Nicholas, 320 

Gridley, Philo, 350, 482, 497 

Griffin. A. M.. 43, 363; H. T., Mr.s., 384; 
Milton J., 466; Timothyr395 

Griffith, George M., 352; Jeremiah, 79; 
W. H ,Dr., 325, 405 

Griffiths. H. B., 343; Paul, 110 

Griner, George P., 403 

Groat, William R.. 276, 280 

Groesbeck, Peter. 319 

Groff, Henrv. 228 

Grout, Edward M., 449 

Guernsey, Sylvanus, Dr. , 399 

Guest, William P., 345 

Guiteau, Calvin. 70 

Gullerat. F. H , 283 

Gunn, E. W., 343.244 

Gurley, John F . 211; Jonathan, 311 

Hackley. E. C. 230 

Hadcock, John, 54, 409 

Haight, Reuben. 47 

Hakes, Henry, 400, 466 

Halbert. E. D.. 353 

Hale, Fannie J.. Miss, 464; Reuben, 139 

Hall, Abuer, 391 ; Albert, 381 ; Charles 
W., Dr.. 317; Ebenezer. 145, 148, 353; 
Jesse W., 229; John, 95, 140, 484; Na- 
thaniel. Deacon. 140; Nathaniel, Dr., 
139, 140; R. P., 263; Reuben S., 371 

Halliday. Samuel, 374 

Hallock, William, 33, 166. 484 

Halsev. Hugh. 309. 499 

Hamblet. Phineas. 113 

Hamblin, David. 401 ; E. S.. 397; Lucian. 
401; O. B.. 401; William. 401 

Hamlin. Joshua, 33, 484; William, 395 

Hamilton, churches of, 63-64, 369, 370; 
election return of 1799 in. 02; first law- 
yers in, 64; first mercantile operations 
in, 64; first physicians of, 64; first town 
meeting in, 61; gazetteer of the town 
of, 574-585; list of settlers in from 1796 



to 1803, 60. 61 ; progress of improve- 
ments in the town of, 846-370; schools 
of, 453, 454; settlement and settlers of, 
54-61; supervisors of, list of. 576 

Hamilton village, churches of, 259. 360; 
early improvements in. 347 ; electric 
lighting of. 251 ; fire department of. 
249. 250; gazetteer of. 577-580; hotels 
of. 354, 255 ; incorporation of, 348 ; law- 
yers of. 356. 357 ; legislation affecting. 
349; manufacturing interests of. 353, 
254; mercantile interests of, 251-253; 
newspapers of, 257. 258 ; officers of. 248, 
348 ; physicians of, 255 ; post-office, 351 ; 
schools of. 360. 361 ; water works of. 
350 

Hamilton. Arthur T., 463; David, 110, 
384; Frank, 389 ;F. F., 399; George and 
Dr. J. H., 390; L. L., 218 

Hammond. Henry C, 336; W. R., Dr.. 
378 

Hanchett. Sylvanus D.. Dr., 335 

Hand, Theodore, F., 300-303; Theodore 
F.. jr., 399, 301, 303,304 

Hannum, H. A., 339 

Harbottle, C. V.. 330, 465; Joseph, 330 

Harder, Anson, 364, 506 

Hardie, W. H., 343 

Hardin, Daniel, 363, 365, 463; Dennis, 
43, 363, 364; Henry B., 363 

Hardy, George, 383, 464; Shadrach. 130 

Hare, James, 353; J. L., 352; W. A., 353; 
W. H., 352; William W.. 353 

Harmon, John, '252, 254; Rawson, 92 

Harrington. Benjamin. 320; Elmer. 409; 
Giles. 288; Nathaniel, 409; P. D., 320, 

Harris, Frank, 341 ; George W., Dr., 353; 
John, 381; Mason, 44; Thomas and 
WiUiam, 112; T. F., Rev., 400 

Harrison. D. V.. 279; E. M.. ,jr., 276, 
279, 283.x Joseph P., 145; Robert, 320 

Hart, Abram, 338 ; Elias K., 268 ; Edward, 
351; E. C , 351, 353 

Hartjen. Christian, 351 

Hartshorn, David, 61. 98; Jacob. 98; 
William M., 357 

Hascall. Daniel. 433-435, 438^40 

Haskell, E. F., 501; D. Eralzman, 324 

Haskins, Daniel A., 182 

Haswell, Simeon, 110 

Hatch, Abial. 119. 134; Abner, 330, 321; 
Benjamin. 100, 111; Daniel, 92; Eras- 
tus, 124; Guy, 153; L. O., 366; Mala- 
tiah, 100, 103, 160; William, 59, 482 

Hatfield, Abram, 271 

Hathaway, H. H., 288, 314, 315; Luther, 
54 



Havens, George M., 359, 506; Peter B., 
Dr., 64. 255, 257 

Hawkins Herbert H., 258; S. K.. 371; 
Van Rensselaer, 362 

Hawks, J. Q., 353; Zadoc, 145 

Hawley, Reuben, 50, 273, 318 

Hayden, Elijah, 61, 90. 92; Joseph, 113; 
Josiah, 114, 383 

Hayes, Nathan, 408; Ory G., 339 

Hayward, Lester, 3T1 

Haywood, F. S.,208 

Hazard, Paul, 121; Robert, 111, 113 

Hazeltine, James, 405 

Hazelton, Thaddeus, 113 

Hazzard, Russell, 383, 463, 464 

Heacock, T. O.. 312 

Head, A. D., Dr., 216; Isaiah S, 370; Jar- 
vis A., 371; Jo.siah, 121; Sanford, 103 

Hearsey, John, 335 

Hecox, Austin, 395; Charles L., 395 

Heffron, John, Dr., 114, 385; Lorenzo, 
Dr., 245 

Henderson, J. A., Mrs., 124; Wilber M., 
483 

Henry. Alvan, 113; C. H.. 370; Robert 
and William, 93, 214; S. H., 224 

Herrick, Elijah, 124 

Hess, David, 396 

Hewes, Benjamin, 101 

Hewitt, John, 85 

Hicks, John F., 156; Lyman, 313 

Higgins, F. D.,377; James, 253 

Higinbotbam, Niles, 300; Sands, 182, 
289, 290, 304, 306 

Hill, A. C, 344; Ambrose. 290, 30 i, 302; 
Ambrose W., 299, 302; Federal, 270; 
Herman A., 462, 463; Horace, William, 
Julius and H. E., 340; John, 398-400, 
466 ; M. B. , 378 ; N. B. , 401 ; R. A. . 302 ; 
Samuel, 398; Webster C, 396. 398, 399; 
William G., 301; William H., 339 

Hills, John and Gift, 140; Selah, 138 

Hinckley, George W., 363; Wiot, 38 

Hinman, Amadeus. 406, 407; A. J., 406; 
Grove, 406; James, 112; Lewis, 409; 
N. J., 407; Palmer W., 407 

Hintermister, T. H. and Otto, 322 

Hitchcock, A., 230; C. A., 320, 337; Dan- 
iel, 148, 149; Luke, 320; Samuel, 274; 
Seth, 95; Simon C, 183, 324; S H. and 
S., 306; Thomas, 273; T. E., 327 

Hitchman, Michael, 283 

Hoadley, A. M.,263 

Hoag, Beman, 85 

Hobbie, John, 228. 235 

Hobart, Clarence L., 284, 520; J.. 466 

Hodge, Fred W., 397; Hattie, Mrs., 398; 
John J., 391 



Hoffmann, H. C, 277; S. B., 350 

Holbrook, Daniel, 123 

Holden, Henry T., 303 

Holdridge. F. D., Mrs., 229; Thomas, 113 

Hollenbeck. Matthew. 144 

Holmes, Alexander H., 208: A. M., Dr., 
213; Daniel, 404; Epenetus, 209, 461, 
499; E. M., 235; George W., 387; Har- 
mon L., 394; Henry, 358; John, 182; 
Joseph, 74; J. N., 264; S. G., 353; Sid- 
ney T., 196, 202, 310, 347, 480, 499 

Holton, Rufus, Dr., 43 

Home for Destitute Children at Peter- 
boro, 391 

Hopkins, Elisha B., Dr., 378, 383.464; 
Harvey L., 380; Isaac, 318; William, 
317; William, and sons, 92; William I., 
139 

Hoppm, B. B., 196; Curtis, 102, 167, 215, 
370 

Horton, Chaffee C, 407; Lyman O., Dr., 
372 

Hosley, Joseph and Benjamin, 47 

Hostler, E. J., 407 

riotchkm, Nathaniel, 383 

House, Benjamin, 53, 54; Charles, 296, 
397, 300; Doliver E., 297; Eliphalet, 
and sons, 376 

Hough, William J., 234, 225 

Hovey, Isaac, Dr., 210 

Howard, Adelbert, 389; Ad in, 375, 377; 
Ambrose, 381; Artemas, 254; Ethan, 
106; F. B., 376; Ira B., 353; Jefferson, 
400, 466; Nathan, 381; N. S., 374; Sal- 
mon, 1.30; Vinson R., 364 

Howe, A. L., 218; Henry C, 218,324; 
Moses, 130 ; Otis B. , 2.53, 262 

Howell, Albert, 395 

Howes, Henry, 343 

Howland, A. H., 383 

Howson, John W., 80, 835, 458 

Hoxie, Arthur S., 463; Ezra K., 304; 
Luke, 301, 364, 365, 463; Stephen, 33, 
35, 159 

Hoyt, David P., 331 

Hubbard, Calvin, 368; E., 338; Edward 
G., 289; Frederick, 313; Fred F., 276, 
279, 283; John F., 177, 178; J. M.,327; 
Robert F., 148 note; R. J., 224; Ste- 
phen, 340; Thomas, 319, 248; Thomas 
H., 32, 64, 256, 482, 496 

Hubbardsville, 368, 269, 584, 585 

Hudson, H., 289; Milton Y., 384 

Hueston, Thomas, 101 

Hughes, Evan G., 387 

Hull, Andrew C, 216, 383; Charles W., 
Dr., 216, 434; Daniel, 331 ; Henry, 126, 
377; Herman A., 367 



INDEX. 



Humphrey, James. 366 

Hunt, Edward, 383; Eleazer, 33, 144, 

S.'jO, 484 ; E. L. , 296. 298 ; E. Leland, 

520; James, and sons, 85; Norman, 

216; Sherebiah S, 268 
Huntington, Charles, 166; Frank, 367; 

Nehemiah, 131, 160, 161, 173, 181, 390, 

391, 394, 460 
Huntley, O. D., 243; William W., 243 
Hurd, Bethel, and sons, 144, 351 ; Jabish 

N. M., 32. 80, 81. 228. 224. 483 
Hurlbut, William, 277, 331 
Hutchings, Mary C, 373 
Hutchins, Roswell, 166 
Hutchinson, David, Lieut., 152; Emma, 

Miss, 243; F. H., 318; H. P. and L. H., 

Huyck, P. J., 401; Willis J., 466; Willis 

P., 400 
Hyatt. Charles, 401; F. A., 401; Heze- 

kiah, 155; Orlando, 401; Newell, 401 
Hyland, D. W., 267 

Indian occupation of Madison county ter- 
ritory, 14, 15 

Indians, Oneida, 21-25; territory ceded 
by treaties with the, 2 

Ingalls, A., 395; A. G., 269; John. 255 

Ingraham, J. J., 280 

Insurance Company, Madison Countv, 
183 

Isbell, Abner, 218; Frank, 389 

Ives, Amasa, jr., 156; Samuel, 156; W. 
C. 131, 394; William H., 377 

Ivey, Hugh, Rev., 372 

Jackson, Amasa, 385; Andrew 400; Ar- 
thur H., 391; Asahel, 78, 106, 107; D. 
A. and L. C, 308; Elijah, 149, 350; 
Eliphalet, Capt., 33, 106, 107. 160, 172; 
Eliphalet S., 78, 114. 387; E. S., 181, 
234, 232; George, 351; James, 267; 
Jedediah, 106, 107; John, 113, 114, 350, 
387; Rensselaer, 80, 183, 224; Sala- 
thiel, 114, 387; Samuel T. and Frank 
E..230 

Jacobs, Edward, 333 

James, John and William H.,387; Thomas 
L., 258 

Jaqueth, Perry, 343 

Jarvis, Benjamin F., 335; Thomas N., 
*^73 277 279 

Jenks, Elmer D., 338, 339, 341, 345 

Jenkins, Benjamin, 330, 328; B. R., 327; 
James B., 291, 510; James E., 195; 
Timothy, 507-510 

Jennings, Canfield, 385; C. H., 385; J. 
M., 267; William, Capt., 140, 370; W. 
M., 269 



Jepson, E. P., 345 

Jermy, William K., 520 

Jerrold, Jesse, 350 

Jewell, Oliver, 236 

Jillson, E. S..384. 385 

Johnson. Brainard, 395; B. B., 383; 
Charles J.. 254; David B., 183, 231, 455, 
503 ; Ebenezer, 236 ; Eli.sha, 38 ; Frank- 
lin, 315; G. W., 318; Henry A., 239; 
James, 391, 460; John A., 210, 525; 
Levi. 54; Nathaniel, 121; Noble S., 
224; William H., 353; Winchester, 395 

Jones, Annie, Mrs., 466; Charles and C. 
L. H., 344; C. A.. 280; Daniel, 166; 
David D., 213; D. M., 388; D. W., 
389; E. W.. 294; Gilbert, 315; H. L., 
321; Richard, 320; Richard R., 318; 
Samuel, 134; Solomon. 98; S. L.. 389; 
William R., 311; W. P., 312 

Jordan, Samuel, 359, 360, 462 

Joslin, Eliab, 374 

Joslyn, Lewis, Dr., 291 

Joy, M. R.. Dr., 399 

Judd, Charles, 388; E. A., 331, 327; Silas, 
381, 399; S. N., 388 

Judiciary system, evolution of the, 467- 
481 

Jurden, T. H., 301 

Justices of the peace, first, appointed in 
the county, 484 

Kaiser, Nathaniel, 312 

Kearns, John, 389 

Keating, Daniel C, 300 

Keegan, John, 355 

Keeler, H. L.. 398. 399; John. 230 

Keenev, Marvin, 312 

Keesler, A. A. , 278 

Keith, Ambrose. 368; Eugene. 389; E. 

D., 267; Henrv, 358; Henry P., 366; 

Hosmer H., 257; H. W., 248; Thomas, 

38 
Keller, Harley S., 224 
Kelley, James A., Rev., 311; W. S., 385 
Kellogg, Charles. 336, 338, 466; Charles 

F., 156, 400, .522; Daniel, 481; Daniel 

F. , 323, 324, 327 ; George, 324 
Kelly, John. 398; Joseph L., 252 
Kendrick, Asahel C.,435; Nathaniel. 434- 

436, 438-440 
Kenfield, E. B.. 306 
Kenna, Lawrence, 396 
Kennedy, Alfred D., 480, 483; Charles 

L., 196, 210, 325, 326, 480, 483, 490, 493; 

Jacob, 103; James, 318; John, 62; John 

M., 294, 301 ; John P. , Samuel, Isaac and 

James. Drs., 325; Robert, 320, 335, 337, 

465; Samuel, Dr., 318, 338 



INDEX. 



Keiiney, Benjamin, 144 

Kent, Joseph V., 387 

Kenwood, 316 

Kenyon, A. E., 368; Edward P., 249; 

Gideon and Thomas, 39, 368; John, 

365; John E., 366 
Kern, Lambert B., 196, 339, 347, 459, 482, 

490, 505 
Kershaw, Marsden, 381; Robert, 381; 

Thomas, 262 
Keyes, J. J., Rev , 77, 240 
Kibbie, Philip, 101 
Kilbourn, Jesse, 80, 81, 234, 235 
Kiley, Michael H., 235, 482, 516 
Kilroy, Daniel, 288 
Kimball, W. R. and B. R., 212 
Kimberly, J. S., 250 
Kincaid, Egenio, 434 
King, Daniel H.. 313; F. P., 43, 363; 

George, 263; Nathan, 93; Nathaniel, 

Brig.-Gen., 64, 166, 250, 496 
Kingsbury, Lemuel, 33, 159 
Kingsley,' Amos, 434; Herbert E., 360, 

463; Stephen, 113 
Kinnev, Frank, 369; F. H., 267; Hoyt, 

265; H. B.,303; H.J.,268; James. 2i3' 

Samuel, 107; William H., 275, ,507 
Kirkland, Samuel. Rev., 32 and note 
Kling, Arvillo, 366, 367 
Klock. Conrad, and sons, 137; Henry S. , 

302, 304; John, 330; Joseph, John and 

Conrad, 312 
Kneiss, Thomas Y., 141 
Knowles, John, 45, 161, 178, 179, 334, 327, 

332. 334, 335; John, jr., 46 
Knowlton, Ebenezer, 75, 224, 231 ; Ebe- 

nezer B., 228; Edward, 233; David C, 

199 
Knox, Harmon, 406; John, 113; William, 

110 
Krumbhaar, Alexander, 188 

Ladd, Bradley, 149 

Lake, Seneca, 80. 236 

Lakeport, 631; business of, 333, 334; 

churches of, 334 
Lamb, Aroswell, 170; Charles, 360, 463; 

E. D., 368; Edwin M., 370, 371; E. P., 

Dr., 353, 466; Harrison, 409; Martin, 

166 
Lamphere, Fred W., 321; John A., 318, 

334 
Lane, James D. and Robert W., 377; 

Robert B., 126 
Langdon, Jarvis, 140 
Langworthy, Christopher, 364; O. S., Dr., 

355; Samuel, 35 



Lansing, Eugene M., 2.59; William E., 
334, 336, 337, 483, 483 

Larkin, David, 433; James. 39, 368; Le- 
roy, 368 

Lathrop, Philetus, 343 

Lawton, John, 433 

Lawrence, Pitt. 148, 350; Thoma.s, 141, 
313; William. 319 

Leach, Carl, 407; Clement, 314; Madi- 
son, 354; Milton, 334 

Leavenworth, Baird, 316; O. W., 863; 
Wolcott, 263 

Lebanon, churches of, 103, 373; early 
business interests of, 104; first physi- 
cians of, 104, 105; gazetteer of the town 
of, .580-591 ; progress of improvement 
in the town of, 368-374; settlement and 
settlers of, 96-103; supervisors of, list 
of, 587; town meeting proceedings in, 
103. 103 

Lebanon village, business interests of, 
369-371 ; churches of, 372 ; gazetteer of, 
588-590; physicians of. 371. 372; post- 
office, 371 

Ledyard. Caleb, 224, 225, 237; George S., 
224, 231 ; Jonathan Denise, 71, 179, 183, 
188, 234, 335, 335, 504; L. Wolters, 234, 
325 

Lee, C. A., 379; Erastus H.. 34.8,338; 
Philip, 317; Stephen, Col.. 139, 166, 167 

Leut, Henry A., 371 

Leele, Wilfred A., 518; W. F., 398; W. 
S., 301, 303 

Leggett, James, 288 

Leland, Joshua, 61, 90, 314; Uriah, 188, 
461 

Lenox, churches of, 141; division of, 286- 
288; early business interests in, 270- 
273; gazetteer of the old town of, ,591- 
.596; progress of improvement in the 
town of. 370-310; settlement and set- 
tlers of, 136-141; supervisors of , list of, 
593 

Lenox Furnace, 272 

Leonard, Reuben, 43, 357, 362, 363 

Leonardsville, banks of, 364; churches 
of, 365; gazetteer of, 543-545; lawyers 
of, 364; manufacturing interests of, 361, 
362; mercantile interests in, 362, 363; 
physicians of, 364; post-office, 363; 
schools of, 364 

Levy, Samuel, 279, 331 

Lewis, A. Eugene, 249, 2.53; A. P., 350 
Daniel, Capt., 141, 374,380,410; Ed 
ward, 139; Henry, 377; Hiram, 212 
Isaac, 172; John E., 218; J. G.. 283 
John James, 443; Judson W., 121; L 



233 



D., 381, 383; Samuel, 93, 124; W. W., 

320 
Lighthall, Lewis, 336 
Lillibridge, James H., 403, 400; H. H., 

407 
Lincklaen. John, Col., 33,66-73, 106, 160, 

331 ; Ledyard, 232. 235 
Lindslev, Aaron, 110; Albert, 409 
Lints, Charles, 313 
Lippitt, John W.,302; W. G. 2.'35; W.K., 

352 
Litchfield, Elisha, 183, 234; E. B. and E. 

D. , 337 
Littlefield. Waldo, 118 
Livermore, Charles O., 43, 366; D. D., 

43, 268; Favette, 380; Josiah, 39; J.V. 

R., 43, 366; Samuel, 43, 365 
Livingston, James, 131, 393; Thomas. 44, 

318 
Lloyd, Edward, 383; F. O., Dr., 356 
Lochner, Conrad, 300 
Lockwood, Abram, 239; Job, 138 
Logan, W. J., 323 
Long, Henry R.,263 
Loomis. Albert E., 394,397,303; Alfred, 

400; Earl, Dr., 291; Edward, Dr., 291, 

301; George S.. Dr., 310, 376; G. E., 

329; Helen C.,Mr.s.. 466; Hiram, 366; 

Silas. 202; Thomas T.. 315 
Lord. Andrew P., 172; William, 59 
Loucks, A. A., 315; Hazelius, 303 
Louder, Samuel, 138 
Lounsbury, J. M., 344; 
Loveland, Andress, 130 
Love, C. E.,406 
Lowd, Caleb, 366 

Lowe, C. H, S., 403; James, 403, 40.5 
Lowell, Gideon, 131 
Lower, E. C, 383; John. 48 
Lownsberry, Monroe, 396; William, 400; 

William E., 523; Wilham P., 396 
Loyster, J. A.. 336 
Lucas, John, 135, 130, 375; John S., 126; 

John T., 376; Phineas. Dr., 131, 394 
Luce, A. J., 397 
Luescher, A., Rev., 311 
Lull. Almon, Dr.. 376 
Lumbard. Thomas, 93 
Lyman, Isaac. Dr., 79. 81, 237; Wads- 
worth, 407 
Lynch. J. C.,395 
Lvnden, William J., 403 
Lyon, Ebenezer, 78. 106, 107, 113; Frank 

'D., 370; Isaac, 334; Jabez, 130, 160; 

Merritt, 389; M. D.. 389; W. W., 385 

McAlpin, Theodore, 400 
McCabe, Martin, 234 



McClellan, James E., Dr.. 346 

McClanathan, William, 61, 120 

McClure. Samuel. Dr., 132, 136. 379 

McConnell, C. F., 280; James, 315 

McCrelhs, William, 61 

McCune, Robert. 124 

McDuffee. Cyrus T.. 288 

McElwain. Alexander, 149 

McFarland, James, 398 

McGahan, J. H., Rev., 339 

McGraith, Frederick, 388, 389 

McGregor, Alexander, 302 

McGuiiiness, Calvin, 289 

McHenry, Luke, 334, 337 

McLoughlin, Joseph, 398 

McLean, John. 49,5 

McMahon, JohnH., 279 

McMorrow, Peter, 353 

McMullen, Thomas, 117 

MacDonnell. J. V., Rev., 360 

Mackey Brothers, 409 

Macomber, William. 331 

Madison, churches of, 126, 127 ; early mer- 
cantile interests in, 125, 136; gazetteer 
of the town of, 597-601: hop growing 
in, 383; leading farmers of, 383; prog- 
ress of improvement in the town of, 
374-383; school system of, 383, 468, 
464; settlement and settlers of, 114- 
134 ; supervisors of, list of, 598 ; town 
meeting proceedings in, 134, 125 

Madison village, business interests of, 
376,377; churches of, 378, 379; gazet- 
teer of, .598-600; incorporation of. 375; 
lawyers of. 378 ; physicians of, 377 ; 
post-office, 377 

Madison county, agricultural societies in, 
188; assembly apportionments of, 183, 
183; assessed valuation of, taxes, etc., 
183, 184; beginning of settlement in, 
25-30; bonding for railroads in, 412- 
414; change of location of county seat 
in, 173; changes in agricultural prod- 
ucts in, 417; cholera in, 185; civil list 
(State senators and members of assem- 
bly), 418^31 ; county seat question in, 
160, 161; court house, second, in, 185; 
cycle path board of, 415; drainage of 
swamp lands in, 171; early schools in, 
429; effect ot canals upon, 178; efforts 
to change county seat in, 413; erection 
and organization ot. 31. 159; e.stablish- 
ment of county poorhouse in, 180. 181 ; 
first courts held in, 483-488; first elec- 
tion in, 33; first meeting of board of 
supervisors of, 169; first officers of, 33, 
33; first water works in, 171; genesis 
of, 1 ; geology of, 9-14 ; highways, open- 



INDEX. 



ing of, in, 181, 182 ; Homoeopathic Med- 
ical Society, 4iJ7, 4:^8; in the Civil war, 
193-206; in the Spanish war, 418; in 
the war of 1813, 166-168; lakes and 
ponds of, 8. 9; law library, 490; legis- 
lation relating to, 189, 410, 411; Med- 
ical Society-. 530-534; political affairs 
in, preceding the Civil war, 190-193; 
poorhouse, 415; prosperity in, during 
second quarter of century, 188-185; 
public improvements in, daring the 
Civil war, 206; railroads in, 417, 418; 
rivers and creeks of. 8; roads and 
transportation in, 168-171; silk indus- 
try in, 184; supervisors' action regard- 
ing salaries of county officers, 411 ; tax 
and valuation statistics, 414, 415; to- 
pography of, 7 

Madison, James, 221 

Maginnis, John S , 435 

Mahan, James, 278 

Maine, Asa R.,155- Daniel, 33, 484; Da- 
vid, 34, 339; D. F., 3.58; Henry C, 148 
note; Paul S., 155, 398, 399,484; W.P., 
331 ; Zadoc, 463 

Malcolm, William, 50 

Mallory, Ephraim, 384 

Malloy, James P., 305 

Manchester, Gideon, 368; Joseph, 119, 
131,134; Job, 121; William, 124, 125; 
W. H., 526; T. B., 381 ; W. T , 348. 268, 
269 

Manley, Ehjah, 132 

Mann, Charles A., 189; Daniel P., 194 

Mannering. HoUis, 393 

Mansfield, Joseph L., 313 

Marcey, William T., 131, 394 

Markham, Abijah, 124 

Marquisee, Louis, 395 

Marsh, A. J., 367, 463; Isaac, 43, 365; M. 
M., Dr , 210; Samuel 33, 43, 365, 484 

Marshall, A. E., 329; Fred, 409; F. F., 
339; I., 362; James, 401; Justice W., 
333; Simeon, 113 

Martin, Abraham, 370; Hibbard,208 

Martindale, W. S. and Frank, 391 

Mason, A, A., Dr., 310; Charles, 3.56,477, 
483,497; C. E.,367;E. L., 381 ; Joseph, 
257, 480, 498; Myron H., 288; Venoni 
W., Dr., 276, 410 

Mather, M. P.. 237 

Mathers, Joseph, 400 

Matthewson, Sylvanus, and .sons Win- 
chester and Stephen, 130 

Matteson, Dyer, 111, 113; James, 482; 
John, 161, 170; Mrs., and sons John, 
Abraham. Eli and Nathan, 130 

Matthews, David, Capt, 162; John, 46 



Maybury, F. F., Dr., 210; Franklin T., 

208 
Maynard, Amos, 33, 166, 167, 484; Charles 

E., 384; Jesse. Amos and Moses, 115; 

Joseph, 155; J. B.. 404; Joseph E.. 384; 

Moses. 380,482; William Hale, 444 
Mavne, T. E., 302 
Mayo, Udell, 333 
MaxHeld, Charles C, Rev.. 310 
Ma.xon, Samuel A., 299, 300 
Maxson, C. E.. 343; Charles H., 338, 339; 

Charles R., 43. 363; Corry, 367; Eli, 

367; Paul and Perry, 3.5, 36; Ray and 

John, 36; Russell, Dr., 364; S C, Dr , 

364 
Maxwell, John, 303; M. F., 255 
Mead, Benjamin Rush, Dr., 399; Calvin, 

401; H. P., Dr.. 210, 212, 213; Powers 

R., Dr., 399. 400; Theodore, Dr., 399 
Meader, Laurel E.. 395 
Meaker, A.. 363 

Medbury, O. A.. 216; Thomas, 384, 385 
Medical Society, Madi-son County, history 

and proceedings of, 530-534; members 

of. list of, 534-536 
Medical Society, Madison County Hom- 
oeopathic, 537, 538 
Menzie, George L., 301; Thomas, 138, 

273 
Merchant, Benjamin, 85; Bradley, J. 

Warren, and M. R., 342; J. W.. 338 
Mereness, Benjamin B , 383, 463 
Merriam, George H., 283 
Merrick, Constant. Dr., 103-104, 371 
Merrill, C. M.. 404; D. J.,404; George 

Edmands, 452; J. H., 404; Solomon. 

sr., and sons, 130 
Merrills, Jared, 155 
Merritt, Jacob. 339 
Messenger, H. D , 385, 347; James H., 

360, 463; Jo.seph, 83; O. C , 316 
Messinger, Isaac Newton, 275, 391, 297, 

301, 302; John M., Gen., 391, 394, 483 
Mile Strip post-office, 394 
Miles, George W., Dr., 395, 300, 399; 

John, 155; William, 73 
Miller, Albert, 395; A. C, 358, 463; 

Charles, 313, 314; E. L.. Dr., 216; 

Francis C, 297; George, 409; Garrett 

G., 391, 461; G. S., 395; J. B., 377; 

Levi, 314, 395 
Millington, Philander, 333 
Mills, William, 90, 238; William D . 464 
Milmoe, P. P., 282 
Miner, Harris Coats, 196, 202, 338, 347, 

505; Paul R., 248; R. L., 347,505; 

Seth, 166 
Mitchell, David, Dr., 237, 319; David J., 



257, 347, 482, 498; Daniel Q., 347, 505; 
F. S., 343; H. P., 343, 345; James, 218; 
Joseph, Thomas and Benjamin, 85; 
Nash, 138 

Mix, J. W., 279 

Mixer, Nathan, 95 

Mofifett, Joseph, Dr., 245 

Monroe, C. P., Dr., 346 

Montgomery, Charles E., 373 

Montross, John, 280 

Moody, A., 395; Mrs., and sons David 
and Samuel, 130 

Moore, Elijah, 354; Franklin W., 384, 
385; G. C, 384, 385; Roderick, Capt., 
101, 103; S. D., 384; S. P., Dr., 403, 
405; Sidney W., 305; William. 75, 332 

Moot, Conradt, 272; Daniel B., 281 

More, Edward Stanley, 522 

Morey Brothers, 389; Zabina M., Dr., 210 

Morgan, Albert, 366; C.,358; Emery D_, 
366; F. D.,a63; Harry, 377; John, 377, 
383; John J., 37; Jonathan, 32, 33, 484; 
L. J., 377 

Morris, Benjamin, 90, 91; Harvev, 343; 
Isaac, 290; John H.. 61, 90, 91; Joseph, 
172; Thomas, 91, 170, 210; William, 212 

Morrisville, cemeteries of, 210; churches 
of, 213; fire department of, 213; first 
merchants in, 208; gazetteer of, 561- 
564; hotels of, 212; incorporations of, 
208; lawyers of, 209; manufactures of, 
210, 211; mercantile interests of, 212; 
officers of, 208; physicians of, 210; post- 
office, 209; schools of, 209, 461, 462 

Morse, Alpheus, 215, 216, 221, 283; Ben- 
jamin, 90, 95; Brothers, 216; Elijah, 
188; Ellis. 181, 214-216; George, 211, 
328; George E., 196; Harvey C, 140 
Harvey G., 139; Henry B., 196, 198 
Hezekiah, 95, 214; Isaac, 73, 78, 183 
Joseph, 33, and family, 90, 91, 214, 215, 
484; Lyman, 290; Silas E., 244; Walter 
196 

Morton, Levi, 124, 125 

Moseley, Arunah, 98; Frank, 228; Zinah 
J., 352, 353 

Mosher, James, 371 

Moshier, Charles H. , 306 

Mott, David C, 248, 349; Joseph, 353; 
Joseph Addison, 252; J. C, 380; Sam- 
uel R., 390; Smith, 2.52 

Mowry, A. W., 358; J. W., 218 

Moyer, John G., 46 

Muir, John, 55 -« 

Muller, Louis Anathe, romantic story of, 
146-148 

Mulligan, P. E., 229 

Muhiford, E. S., Dr., 346 



Munger, Elias, 400; George B. Dr., 399, 
401, 405; Horace, 167; Jonathan, and 
descendants, 151 

Munn, Asa, 403, 409 

Munnsville, business interests of, 403- 
405; churches of, 406; gazetteer of, 614, 
615; hotels of, 406; physicians of, 405 

Munroe, A. B., 301; C. P., Dr., 386; 
Henry, 232; Ivers, 514; Loring, 301 

Munson, Chauncey, 269; David and 
Charles, 42, 363 

Murder trials, notable, 488-490 

Murphy, T. L., 386 

Murray, Sanford, 400 

Murtagh, F., 212 

Muzzy, Thaddeus, 409 

Myer, John C, 288, 389 

Myers, L. J., 304 

Myrick, Thomas S., 235 

Nash, Abner, 55, 61; Clark R., 268, 269; 
Elijah. Zenas and Thomas, 59; George 
E. 264. 267; Henry K., 339; Le Roy, 
262, 263; R., Dr., 131, 394; W. J., 406 

Needham, John, 151, 156; John, jr., 156 

Neflf, A. O., 378; Duane, 383 

Neil, Jonathan, 340; Levi, 106 

Nellis, J. D., 313 

Nelson, early business interests in, 114; 
gazetteer of the town of, 601-605 ; pro- 
gress of improvement in the town of. 
383-389; prominent farmers of, 389; 
settlement and settlers of, 105-113; 
supervisors of, list of, 608; town meet- 
ing proceedings m, 123 

Nelson (Nelson Flats), 605 ; business in 
terests of, 387-377; churches of, 388; 
post-office, 387 

Nelson, Samuel, 495 

New Woodstock, 343-345, 553; business 
interests of, 343, 244; churches of, 345; 
physicians of, 245 

Newitt, E. S,, 343 

Newton, Parker, 263 

Nichols, Alfred, 262, 506; A. S,, Dr., 263; 
Carlos, 232; David, 106, 113; E. R., 
229; Hanford, 148, 350; Henry, 227; 
Isaac, 73; John, 333; L D., 341; Sam- 
uel, 153, 156; S. C, 339 

Niles, I. Newton, 364; John, 101, 103; 
John, Ephraim, Isaac, Calvin, Nathan 
and Samuel, 118; R. A., 239; W. S , 
370 

North, H. W., 43, 363; Richard, 85 

North Brookfield. 545, 546; business in- 
terests of, 365, 366; churches of, 367; 
schools of, 367 

Northrup, Barzillai and Amos, 130; I. J.. 



323; John, 353. 403; John H., 318; R., 
391,460; R. H.. 306; Walter E., 391, 
295, 297, 399, 300, 303, 303, 460; W. T., 
276 

Norton, Albert S , 308 ; Edward, 194, 308 ; 
Francis, 74; James, 208; Jerome A., 
353; Joel, 390; Joseph, 384; Joseph A., 
370; Lyman O., Dr., 105 

Nourse, I. J.. Rev., 42 

Noxon, W. B., 330 

Nye, Jame.s. 338, 339; James W., 346, 
480, 481, 497; Jonathan, 166; Julius, 
Dr., 268. 269; Theron, 368; Thomas, 
255; Thomas C, 344 

Oaks, William, Dr., 355, 328 

O'Brien, Thomas, 297 

Olby. Laban, 43 

Olin, Daniel. 166 

Olmstead, Elijah, 143, 144; Jonathan, 57, 
58, 434; J. P., 337 

Olney, James D. and Burt. 305 

Oneida, banks of, 300-302; business firms 
of, in 1870, 293: Chamber of Commerce, 
307; churches of, 309-313; electric light- 
ing in. 395; fire department of, 394; 
gazetteer of, 593-595 ; growth of build- 
ing in, 393; hotels of, 306; incorpora- 
tion of, 398; lawyers of, 391; list of 
present merchants of, 307; manufac- 
tures m, 391,303-306; newspapers of, 
308, 309 ; officers of, 397 ; organizaticii of 
the new town of, 288, 389 ; paving and 
sewering in. 396; physicians of, 291; 
police and fire boardof. 395; post-office, 
291; schools of, 398-300; settlement of, 
389, 290; street railways in, 397; water 
works of, 393 

Oneida Lake (post-office), 316 

Oneida Valley, 315; churches of, 315 . 

O'Neil, J. H.. 331 

Orton, Thomas, 254 

Osborn, Lucien M.. 443 

Osgood, Samuel, 434 

Ostrander, Alexander, 132 

Otis, Charles, 58, 261; Charles G.. 263; 
Ephraim, Dr.. 86. 345; Norman, 342 

Ottoway, George Henry, 284 

Owen, A. H., 403; C. F.. 218; John, 253 

Owens, Gideon, 47; W. W., 344, 348 

Paddleford. Amasa, 381; John, 103 
Paddock, Aaron, Belden, Isaac and 

Nathan, 339; Simon D., 331, 331 
Page, Daniel, 83; William, .54 
Paine, George F.. 300 
Palmer. Benjamin, Dr.. 291; Elias, 374; 

George, 34; George, Dr., 269; Hum- 



phrey, 90; H. C. 318; Joseph S.. 394, 

483; Lawton, 35, 36; Noyes, Capt., 

163; Perry G., 132; Smith M., 363 
Palniiter, Chester, 358 
Paisley, John, 45 
Pardee, Albert, 409; A. B., 408; Jared, 

261 
Park, Erastus E.. 156 
Parker, Abijah, 121; Abraham. 113; 

Charles. 349; David. 145, 3.53; Edward, 

75, 337; F.. 380; Fred C, 315; G. C. 

305; Hugh. 309; James H . 375, 381; 

J. J., 353; James M., 276. 280; Wilson, 

353; Zadock, Dr , 136, 377 
Parkhurst, C. V., 386; L. A.. 517 
Parks. L. 363 
Parmalee, George R., 384; Horace, 407; 

Mo.ses, 317, 319; Nelson, 352; Sheldon 

and Solomon. 404 
Parmelee, George, 385 
Parr, Nelson B., Dr., 359 
Parsons, Charles H., 296; E. B., 347, 459; 

Gideon, 153; J. R., 364; Reuben. 233, 

235 
Partridge, Ephraim. 118 
Patrick, Jacob, 33, 47, 159, 160; Silas, 

124 
Patten, William H., 278, 281. 284 
Patterson, Israel, 112; Robert, 353; Will- 
iam H , 276 
Fattison, John, 124 
Paul, W. R., 404 
Payne, Abiel. 93; Abraham. 62. 339, 346. 

.504; Bradford, 351; Charles, 260, 454; 

Elisha, 33, 56, 61, 247, 434, 461, 484, 

495; J., 461 ; John C, 143; Samuel, 56, 

61. 62,432-435; Samuel and Zattu. 155; 

W. A.. 368; Walter C. 366; William. 

and family, 145: William, 148 
Pearl, Mary E.. Miss. 464 
Pearlman. Benjamin, 400 
Pease, E. W., 351 
Peasley, Enos and Amos, 86 
Peck, Frank A.. 323; George, 133; George 

G., 455; Ira, 73; John, 433,455; Josiah, 

221; Nathan, 268; Samuel, Dr.. 255; 

Timothy H., 366 
Peckham, Augustus N., 381 ; Charles and 

George, 119; Gicjeon, 350; Giles, 124; 

Van Ness, 353 ' . " 

Pecksport, 383, 601 
Peebles, David, 123 
Peet, Eber, 227; H. I. and E. L., 380 
Pennock, Charles F., 822, 337, 333, 336, 

411; Ebeuezer, 323, 334; John, 218; M. 

S.. 318 
Perkins. Daniel. 115; Edward, Dr., 291; 

Jeduthan, 74; Reuben, Capt., 278 



Perry, Abial, 124; Andrew, 409; Charles, 
344; C. H., Dr., 522; Eugene M., 466, 
483; George. 272, 320; Henry, 320 

Perryville, churches of, 399; gazetteer of, 
569, 570; manufacturing interests in, 
397; mercantile interests of, 398 ; phy- 
sicians of, 399; post-ofifice, 398; schools 
of, 466 

Persons, S. E., Rev., 77 

Peterboro, churches of, 395; gazetteer of, 
607-609 ; hotels of, 390 ; lawyers of, 393 
mercantile operations in, 393, 394 
physicians of, 394 ; post-office, 394 
prominent farmers of, 395; schools of, 
391, 460, 461 ; settlers of, 389, 390 

Petrie, Daniel, 33, 130-133, 134. 166, 393, 
394, 484; Thomas, 394; T. Foster, 208 

Pettitt, S, K., 312, 314 

Pfeiffer, Anton and Joseph, 371 

Phelps, Francis C, 329, 458; Heman H.. 
291; Henry S., 208, 212; Isaac, 381; 
John, 383; Joseph, 98, 138; Leo. 380; 
Moses, 132, 124; Thomas W., Col., 139, 
159, 160 

Philipp, C. Herman, 296 

Phillips, Abram, 290; George W., 369; 
J. W., 334; L. P., 280; William, 80; 
W. E., 360, 463; W. H., 335, 236 

Philpot, E. C, 203 

Pickard, James and Joseph, 45 

Pickens, Lot, 155 

Pierce, Benjamin, 33, 57, 61, 484; Eu- 
gene, 263; Ezra, 124; John, 85; J. O,, 
221; Theophilus, 57, 58, 61; William, 
247; William, 2d, 248; William, broth- 
er of Theophilus, 58; William, son of 
Theophilus, 58; William S., 375, 381 

Pierceville, 220, 221,567 

Pike, Leroy B., 370 

Pilbeam, J., 383; T. W., 378 

Pme Woods, 221, 568 

Piotrow, Valentine and Frederick G., 
253 

Plank, Josephs., 327 

Plank road era, 187, 188 

Plato, William H., 295 

Policy, Charles F. . 295, 297, 302 

Pool, Abijah, and sous, 266; Cyrus O., 
335; Gideon Randall, 366; J. H., 347, 
370, 533; Oliver, 108, 189; Samuel, 367 

Poolville, business interests of, 266, 267 ; 
churches of, 267, 268; gazetteer of, 583, 
584 

Pope, Arthur R., 364; E. A., 358; E. M., 
340; L. D., 371 

Porter, A. L., 323; Curtis, 255; Nathaniel, 
Rev., 455, 457; Orrin, 409 

Potter, Albert P., 308; Charles M., 324; 



George, 301; John, 54; Stephen M., 
Dr., 237, 483 

Powell, Enoch, Rev ,313; Jason, 138; J. 
E., 306; Robert, 434 

Powers, Henry, 254; N. C, Dr., 131, 394, 
399; Philander. 54; William, 33, 54, 
484; W. C, 391, 460 

Pratt, Charles E., 237; Daniel, Dr., 1.56, 
400; Elijah. Dr., 131, 482; James, Dr.. 
114, 209, 210. 215; John, 92, 95; Jona- 
than, Dr., 134, 126, 377; Jonathan, 
James and David, Drs. , 130; Matthew, 
92, 183, 403, 406; S. S., Rev., 217; Tim- 
othy, 324 

Pratt's Hollow, 219, 220, 567; churches 
of. 220 

Pray, John, Elder, 130; Lewis, 157; Wel- 
come, Dr., 157 

Preston, Harlan C, 339, 347, 524; Hiram. 
156, 400 

Prior, Asahel, Dr., 136, 140, 166 

Pritchard, John, 350 

Pryne, A., 236 

Pulford, David M., 235 

Purdy, Albert G,, Dr., 104, 216, 291, 373; 
Joseph, 144; William H., 295 

Putnam, Darwin, 383; Elijah, Dr., 378; 
John, Dr., 378; S. Kimball, 249 

Quackenbridge, Emerson, 409 
Quackenbush, H. C , 408 
Quality Hill, 138, 370 
Quinn, E , 362 

Rabie, Eugene, 216 

Railroads, inception and building of, 

179, 180 
Rainbow, C, A., 343 
Rainey, W. W., 343 
Randell, S. D., 366 
Ramsey, John H., Dr., 399 
Randall, A.sa, 166; J. J., 244; Norman, 

409; Ogden, Dr., 291; Robert, 36; 

Thomas L, 297; Walter F., 396 
Randolph, R. F., 249 
Rankin, Aaron, 54; Jairus, 404, 405; 

Matthew, and sons, Aaron and Jairus, 

53 
Ranney, Ebenezer, Rev., 408; Ores, 54 
Ransom, B. A., 296; Charles H., Dr., 

386: D., Dr., 262; Edward, 466; Ed- 
win D., 400; Eli, 401; Loren, 401; 

Orrin, 401; Reuben, 55, 62; Russell, 

155 
Rasbach, David H., 275, 281, 324; J. 

Clarence, 378, 281, 286 
Rathbone. Amos, 106 
Rathbun, A. S., 305; L. V., 305 



238 



INDEX. 



Ratnour, Barney, 288, 297, 306 

Rawson, Samuel, 160 

Raymond, Asa. 131, 393; Charles A., 
Rev., 453; John H.. 435 

Raynor, Lewis, 224, 235 

Rechtenwald, William, 277 

Reed, Gilbert, 166; James, 343 

Reeves, Silas, 113 

Reidy, John, 213 

Regiment, 114th, roster of officers of the, 
and history, 197-199; 157th, history of, 
199, 300 

Remick, Charles E., 297, 483 

Remore, C. P., 239 

Ressegieu, J. A., Dr., 263 

Reynolds, E., Miss, 460; George W. Rev., 
395; H. M., 304 

Rhoades, William, 350 

Rhodes, J. E,, Rev., 285; Wilmer, 268 

Rice, Ambrose W., 263; A. C, 253; C. 
H., Mr. and Mrs., 353; Fordyce, Dr., 
337; Israel, 124; John, 113; J. W. T. 
and Wilham W., 229; L. A., Mrs., 
352; Luther and Joseph, 132; L. L., 
235; William W., 235, 340 

Rich, Coman, 301 ; Eugene, 395; James 
W., 395; Joseph, 84;'^Reuben, 395 

Richards, Charles E., 389; John H., 389; 
William, 388, 396; W. L., 389; W. R., 
387 

Richardson, Eldad, 113, 114; Eldad, 
Lemuel, Asa, Benjamin and Eri, 109; 
Eri, 113, 383; E. G , 308; George W., 
406; J. v., 306; Nelson, 384 

Richmond, Abizar and David, 130; Da- 
mon. 367; Isaac, 54 

Riddell, David, 318; Robert, 48, 179, 318, 
337, 335 

Rider, Anson, 189; John R, 338, 342, 
347; Matthew G., 34S; Simeon, 196, 
340; Zenas, 86 

Rightmyer, Dennis, 400 

Riley, Barnev, 234 

Ring, David,' 86 

Risley, Allen, 307, 463; Frank, 366; 
Stephen, 130 

Ritter, John, 314 

Rivenburg, John, 409; Sidney, 293 

Roach, Alanson, 400 

Roads, early, 25-30 

Roantree, J. E., 381 

Robbins, M. B., 382 

Roberts, Charles E., 308; De Witt C, 
280; Eliakim, 81; Hiram, 155, 236; Irv- 
ing B., 276; Martin, 94,95; Pliny, Dr., 
43 ; Sidney, 231 

Robertson, John, 153 

Robie, George L., 308; Harry, 353; Jon- 
athan and Harry, 350 



Robinson, Henry T., 373; Pliny, Dr., 
364; Sarah A., 459; Seneca, 153 

Rockwell, Hiram L., 288, 396. 297, 300, 
336, 511; J. W. and Thomas, 409; 
Thomas, 403 

Roe, Charles, 68 

Rogers, Albert C, Dr., 359; A. H., Rev., 
260; David, 21.5, 220; Edward, 375, 378. 
506; F. D.,357;G. C.,362;Henrv, 323; 
H. C , 362; John 36, 364; Jo.siah and 
Medad, 58, 247; Thomas and James, 
35, 36; Mulford, 260, 439, 454 

Rollo, Eber, 459 

Root, A. E., 321; Elam, Dr., 44, 105; E. 
Lamb, Dr , 372; Francis J. and Elmer 
C. 253; Frank, 354; Franklin W,, Dr., 
245; George H., 377; Lyman 126, 397; 
Menzo, D., 388; Peter P., 434; Portous, 
189; .Solomon, 124, 221, 383, 455; Syl- 
vanus, jr., 380 

Rose, Charles E , 415; C. N , 37«; J. T.. 
Rev., 342 

Ross, M. H. B., Rev., 312 

Rouse, C. H., 230; E. C. 328; George L., 
334, 235, 328, 458; Henry A.. 229 

Rowe, I. W., 262, 263; J. L., 263 

Rowland, Eugene A., 449 

Rowlands, J. M., 254 

Royce, L. M., 253 

Ruby, R. B., 304 

Russell, A. M., 350; Enos, 360, 463, 463; 
F. M., 343; George B, 520; Henry, 
339 ; James P. , 338 ; O. A. , 324 ; Thomas, 
338; William and Samuel, 354; W. C, 
373 

Ryder, Henry, 344 

Sabin, Sullivan E. , 371 

Sabins, Pliny, 339 

Sadler, George S, , 386 

Sage, Isaac, 93, 214, 217; Orrin W., 224, 

232, 3C4 
St. Clair, Major, 376: Samuel, 61; Theo- 
dore, 115 
St John. G. H., 362; H. C, 301; Milton 

W., 361, 363 
Salisbury, Eber, 351 ; George, 383 ; 

George W., 80, 225, 385; James, 89; 

John, 89, 378; J. W., 378; Samuel, 111; 

Samuel C, 282 
Saltsman, Ervin, 397 
Sanders, Augustus L., Dr., 359; E. C, 

303 
Sanford, Abram, 260, 454; Daniel P., 

295; George H., 301, 302; William, 

131 
Sanger, Jedediah, 37; Joseph, 317 
Satchwell, George E., 464 
Satterlee, George C, 344 



INDEX. 



Saunders, Augustus, 38; B. Fred, 466; 
E. Sophia, Miss. 463; M. A. and L. A., 
358; O. O.. o63 

Savage, Enoch L.. 352; Hiram, 2,53; 
James L., 244; John, 75. 243; R. C, 
Rev., 63 

Sawdy, Fay, 205 ; L. L. , 263 

Sawyer, A. E..305 

Saxe, A. J., Rev., 329 

Sayles, Gerrit S , 813; L W., 332; George, 
111; Sylvanus, 106, 111 ; William, 132 

Schaffer, J. H.,346 

Scheifele, G. L., 308 

Schellinger, P., 345 

School commissioner districts in the 
county, 428 

School moneys, first appropriation of 
public, in the county, 424 

School system, common, genesis and de- 
velopment of the, 423-427 

Schuyler, Jacob, David and Hon Yost, 45 

Scofield, Newman. 290 

Scott, Levi and Welcome, 368; R. J., 331 

Scoville, Allen S., 331 

Sears, Baruas, 435; Eleazer H. , and sons, 
339; George, 339, 341, 345; Irving 
Smith, 460; Lewis, 340; Stephen G., 
338, 341, 345 

Sea\'er, Robert, 52 

Seeber, Jacob, 45; John A., 298 

Seelev, Thomas G , 292. 302 

Sellic'k, Drake, 155 

Senate, Isaac, 138 

Senn, Joseph D., 482, 514 

Sennet, James S., 273 

Sergeant, John, Rev., 23 

Sexton, Ezra, 143 

Seymour, C. M., 213; Erastus, 245; Silas, 
100, 103; Silas W., 370, 371 

Shaffer, Chauncey, 327 

Shapley, David and Dunham, 98; D. B. , 
373 

Shed, Jonathan 84 

Shed's Corners, 557 

Sheffield, James D., 262 

Sheldon, Albert N , 196, 257, 260, 454, 
482. 498; Albert Smith, 257, 523; John, 
101; Orson and William L , 370; Will- 
iam L. , 371 

Shepard, Aaron, 149; Elijah, 350; John, 
85; L. E., 320; Nathan, ijll ; Samuel, 
212; Ralph, Dr , 10.5, 373 

Shepardson, Francis C. , 368 

Shephard, Nathan K. , 462 

Shepherd, Allen, 338 

Sherburne, Lorenzo, 346 

SheritTs, 482, 483 

Sherman, Ephraim, 273 



Sherrill, Henry I., 454, 465; Samuel, 103 

Sherwood, Homer W., 316; J. T., 276; 
Lorenzo, 356,497; Luman, 504 

Shields, Patrick W.. 55 

Shipman. David, 130 

Shoecraft, Matthew J., 522 

Shumway, Charles, 521 

Siloam post-office, 394, 610 

Silsby, Jonathan, Dr., 237 

Simmons, William A., 375, 381; Zarah 
and sons, Benjamin and sons, and Gid- 
eon, 121 

Simonds, Waterman, 54, 409 

Simons, Frank D., 339; Harry, 312, 313 

Sims, Edward, 319, 324, 327; Horatio, 
112; Joseph, 113, 391, 460; William. 73 

Sinclair, Samuel, 90 

Sisson, Eugene P.. 248 

Siver, Winfield S., 320, 328 

Sizer, Asa B., Dr., 32, 126 170, 175, 377, 
378, 481, 483 

Skadden, William, 409 

Skelton, Charles, 283 

Skenandoah, 271 

Skidmore, Walcott, 133 

Skinner. Averv W., Prof., 299; Benjamin 
F., 262; William, 313 

Slater, Elisha, Nathan and Dr., 83; J., 
358 

Slingerland, Gilbert, 332 

Sloan, A. S., 188; Andrew S., 209, 499; 
A. Scott, 208; Andrew Scott, 347, 483, 
505; Ithamar C, 291, 298. 347, 505; 
William, 53 

Sly, A. M , 265 

Slyke, L. P., 405 

Smalley, Sylvanus, 32, 33, 138, 141. 170, 
484 

Smith, Adon. 258; Adon N., 254, 373; Al- 
exander, 182; Alvin, 243; Asa, 291, 292; 
A. D, , Dr. , 237, 345 ; A. Y. , 318 ; Benja- 
min, 140; C. L., 337; C. W., 263, 364; 
David, 73, 113, 243; Daniel, 57; D. E., 
377; George, 375; George R., 382; 
George William, 4.52; G. Wells, 517; 
Gerrit, 181, 206, 390-393, 395.460, 494; 
Harvey. 243, 387; Hermon,406; H B., 
225; H. K , 389; Hubbard, 33, 339, 344, 
345, 484; Ira K., 343; Israel, 338. 341. 
343; James, 70; James W., Dr.. 386; J. 
Dayton F., 373; John, 47; John Adams, 
256, 498; John E., 337, 415. 480, 482; 
Jonathan, 73, 248. 318; Joshua, 61. 97, 
101; Justus B., 97, 104.369; J. Hunt, 
195, 2.58; Nathan, 144, 344; Peter 32, 
33, 127, 138, 133, 160, 178, 480, 482, 484, 
493; Peter Skenandoah, 131-134, 394; 
R. J., Rev., 379; S., 387; Samuel C, 



230 



378; Seth, 2d, 155; Sidney Dayton, 373; 
S Perry, 210, 502; Walter K., 400; 
Ward, 388; Wiiliam S.,97 
Smithfield, churches of, 134, 135. 395; 
early lawyers of, 131 ; earl)- physicians 
of, 131 ; first newspaper in the county 
published in, 135; first schools in, 133; 
gazetteer of the town of, 605-601 ; list 
of early merchants of, 131 ; manufac- 
turing industries of, 131-133; progress 
of improvement in the town of, 389- 
396 ; schools of, 460, 461 ; settlement and 
settlers of, 127-131 ; supervisors of, list 
of, 611; town meeting proceedings in, 
134 
Smith's Valley, business, etc., of, 372, 

590 
Smyth, Winfield S., 224 
Snedeker, W. H., 333 
Snell, Addison, 409; Ira L., 301, 302 
Snow, Charles N., 131, 394; Jonathan, 
53; M. E., 366; Seth, 92, 118; Simeon 
and Eleazer, 92 
Snyder, Clinton D. and W. J., 332 
Solon, William, 181, 132, 393 
Solsville, business interests of, 381, 382, 

600, 601 
Soper, B. W., 320; Goodwin P., 297. 301, 

302 
Souter, John W. W., 276 
South Brookfield, 367, 546 
South Hamilton, 269 
South Lebanon, 273, 590 
Southwell, Phineas, 33, 75, 484 
Southworth, Oscar L., Dr., 864, 463; W. 

H. , 365, 463 
Spaulding, K. Reid, 400; Samuel, 409 
Spear, Eli, 341 ; Martin, 224, 839, 342 
Spencer, Charles and Hamilton, 276; H. 
T.,267; Ichabod S., Gen., 139, 140, 167, 
181, 275, 507; Ira, Dr., 346; Israel S., 
275, 507; Joshua A. and children, 139, 
140, 167, 493, 507; J. Austin, 167; J, C, 
274; Reuben, 333; Rodman and sons, 
130; Thomas, Dr., 130, 140, 275; Will- 
iam, 315 
Sperry, George, 249; J. E., 404 
Spooner, Edward H., 308; E. J., 409; 
Frank M., 356, 360; H. L., 356, 357, 
360; Stillman, Dr., 291,301 
Squyers, W. T., 366, 367 
Stacy, Consider H., Dr., 261; Nathaniel, 

62 
Stafford, Francis, 286,301, 302; Truman, 
126, 375, 376; Henry, 400, 466; Nor- 
man, 276, 278, 281, 284; Van Buren, 
400 



Stanbro, William, 308 

Stanley, C. M., 230; Bowman H , Benja- 
min F. and C. M., 228; Lewis, 73 

Stanton. Albert C, 352; C. B., 237; E. 
M., 343 

Stapleton, Charles W., 249,483 

Stark, E. C, 297 

Starr, Albertus, 248; Elisha, 231 

Stearns, Thomas W., 43, 361 

Stebbins, Charles, 168, 183, 224. 235, 335, 
455, 503; Charles, jr., 235; Gilbert, 121 ; 
John, 224, 231 ; Samuel, 462 

Steere, Esek., Capt., 248, 251, 253,254 

Steers, B. C, 361 

Stephens, Albert G , 336; D. W. C, 297 

Sternberg, Edward P., 334 

Stevens, Charles E., 303; D. W. C ,302; 
Francis F., 308, 211, 483; Gaylord, 166; 
Richard, 385 

Stevenson, James, 385 

Steward, Nathan, 34 

Stewart, Charles B., 290; Daniel, 157, 
209, 319, 333, 334; Edward S,, 235; 
Henry, 405; Henry Y., 306; James, 
Dr., 105, 372; James J., 301 ; James S., 
208, 483; Myron, 408; Oliver, 52; Os- 
car M., 353; Philetus, 146; Robert, 
153, 157, 301, 319, 322, 324; Robert G , 
280; R. I., 292; Walter H., 324, 483 

Stiles, Orrin M., 249 

Stillman, Arthur J., 857, 358. 360, 463, 
468; Barton G., 338, 340. 459; B. G., 
jr., 360; D. B., 359; Ethan, 462; F. 
W., 321; J. L. ,463; John P., 462; John 
T., 358, 360; Noyes, 364; Richard, 357 

Stillwell, Alanson, 210 

Stimson, Barna. 112; Barna J., 249, 257, 
359, 506, 525 

Stisser, Lewis J., 288 

Stockbridge, churches of, 408 ; first town 
meeting in, 54; gazetteer of the town 
of, 611-617; progress of improvement 
in the town of, 402-409; prpminent 
farmers of, 409; school system of, 409, 
467; settlement and settlers of, 50-54; 
supervisors of, list of, 614 

Stockbridge village, 615; business inter- 
ests of, 406, 407 ; churches of, 407, 408 ; 
hotels of, 407; physicians of, 407; post- 
oflBce, 407 

Stoddard, A. A., 353; C G. W., 294; 
Grove, 292; J. F., 353. 466 

Stone, Anson, 54; Asaliel, 483; Asahel 
C, 131, 390, 391, 394. 870, 482; Eras- 
mus, 391, 398; George P., 347; George 
W., 505; Hiram, 385; H. C, 397; John 
J., 233; Lewis B., 234; Moses, 385; 



231 



Oliver, 112; Robert Erasmus, 306; 

Walter C, 282; Watson A., 291, 299; 

William, 131 
Storke, William L., 224, 458 
Storrs, Otis, 312 
Story, Amos, 290 
Stow, Samuel, 215 
Stowell, Clinton, 369; Daniel, 101 ; Enoch, 

97; Joseph, Dr., 104, 262, 371 
Slower, John B., 481 ; John G., 356, 257, 

325, 326, 496; Samuel, 59 
Stranahan, Samuel, 132 
Stratton, Benjamin, 85 
Streeter, Robert, 120 
Striker, W. W., 398 
Stringer, Charles, 254,404; C. A., 305; 

William, 404; William H., 404 
Strong, Alvin, 301 ; Hezekiah, 237 
Stroud, Charles, 281 ; S H., 286, 288 
Suiter, Frank, 321 
Suits. Charles. 313; Wallace, 276 
Sullivan, agriculture in, 335; churches of, 

49; first mills in, 46; gazetteer of, 617- 

622; list of first settlers of, 46; progress 

of improvement in the town of, 317- 

337, prominent farmers of, 335; schools 

of, 465, 466; settlement and settlers of, 

44-50 ; supervisors of, list of, 618 ; 

swamp lands and their dramage in, 

336 
Sumner, Henry T., Dr., 54, 405, 407; 

William O., 403 
Sunderlin, R. J., 244 
Surrogates, list of 481 
Sutclitfe, Marcus H., Dr., 378 
Sutherland, Adelbert, 269; Thomas G., 

283 
Sutton, Abram, 85, 340; Allen, 338, 340; 

Lindley and James, 340 
Swain, John, 124 
Swan, E., 333; Lyman D., 371 
Swayze, W. M., 305 
Sweet, Martin P., 346, 504 
Sweetland, Zadoc, 334, 231 
Swift, Samuel and Thomas, 106 
Swinny, L. R., Rev., 87 
Switzer, W. L., 363 

Taber, Charles S., 286; Clark, 345; Gil- 
bert, 344, 459; James, 300 

Taft, James, 53; John, 129 

Tallett, M. E., 343 

Tanner, Marvan, 262; Ralph, 123, 136, 
376, 377 

Tappen, R. J., 320 

Taylor, Frank, 388; F. M., 80, 236; Gad, 
149; James M., 251; James Morford, 
443, 450; Jerry, 320; Myron, 131, 393; 



Noah. 73; Richard, 101; Stephen W., 
435, 441; Thomas C, 394; T. C, 394; 
WiUiam, Dr., 284, 405 
Tayntor, Ira B. , 465 
Teale, B. S., 415 

Teller. Isaac Thompson, Dr., 325, 337 
Temple, William, 54 
Ten Evck, Henry, 224, 233; Jacob, 74, 

81, 183, 234, 235, 455 
Tenney, Asa, 101 
Terry, T., 377 

Thayer, Jonathan, 101, 371 ; Jonathan, jr., 
104, 369; Orrin, 371; Sylvester, 216, 
370, 371; T. W., 232 
Thomas, Ralph Wilmer, 429; Richard, 

325; Samuel, 75, 324, 335, 334 
Thompson, Alpheus, 130; Elihu, 267; 
Elijah, 120, 134; Nehemiah, 131; Oren 
A., 327; Ralph, 465; Samuel, 83; Ste- 
phen 124; Theodore C, 293 
Thomson, Sylvester, 371 
Thorn, G. W., Rev., 217 
Thorpe, Owen, 354 
Throop, Dan, 59; James Mott, Dr., 105, 

372 
Thurston, Alonzo, 260, 454 
Tibbits, George, 113, 284 
Tibbitts, Perry. 400 

Tillinghast, B., 306,208, 210; Clark. 210, 
232,461; George S, 208; John, 208; 
Otis H., 194 
Tillotson, Abraham, 73; J. C.,458; L. B., 

339 
Todd, John C, 194; R. B., Miss, 463 
Tompkins. Brownell. 117; B. Fitch. 524; 

F. M.. 353; Gilbert. Capt., 123 
Tondeur, Cleon, 276; C. H., 284; Felix 

andC. H.. 278 
Tooke. W. E.. 258 
Topliff, ElishaC, 208 
Torpy, J. W., 885 
Torrev, Daniel, 155; Martin, 369; N. W., 

261 
Towns, erection of, in 1807, 88; genesis 

of, 31, 32 
Towns, Asa C. 71 
Tovvnsend. Edward, 208 
Tract, the Canastota. 5; the Cowasselon, 

5; the New Pew Petersburgh. 5; 
Tracts, purchasers of various, 6, 7; va- 
rious, 5 
Tracy, Albert, 506; Albert H., 378; C. 
D., 318; Phineas, 378; Phineas L., 506 
Transportation, early, 26-28 
Travis, H. O., 286 
Treat. Asahel, P., 43, 365; Julius, Dr., 

405 
Trevor, J., Dr., 255 



INDEX. 



Tripp, Benjamin and Joseph, 86; Melvin, 
351, 252 

Troup Robert. 115 

Trowbridge, M. J , 234 
^Truesdell, H. A., 264 

Trumbull, Oliver, 139 

Truman, Adelbert W., Dr., 346 

Tucker, Alonzo, 244; Bishop, 73; Charles 
E., 196; F. W., 343; Julius, 381; J. J., 
344; Laban, Dr., 262; Samuel, 213 

Tuckerman, Abram, 384 

Tully, Owen, 363, 364 

Tupper, P. W., 333 

Turnbull, George, 276 

Turner, Benjamin, 113; Charles, 198; 
Eugene, 466; J. D., 155; Robert, 405; 
Sanford, 405 

Turnpikes, 168-171 

Tuthill, David, 33, 484 

Tuttle, A. C, 358; David, 130, 169; John 
P., 299, 300; J. Otis, 312, 314; Phile- 
mon, 71 ; Thomas and Jesse, 106 

Twist, Alpheus, 151 

Twogood, D. C, 376, 383, 384, 336, 411 

Tyler, Peter, 131; Samuel, 73; W. I., 321 

Tylesworth, Sylvester, 341 

Ufford, Beach, 181 
Underdown. Stephen, 269 
Underbill, Charles W., 348, 257, 537 
Underwood, Charles K., 483; Joseph, 86 
Upson, Miles, 303 

Valley Mills. 408, 616 

Van Allen. Smith, 282 

Van Brocklin, Solomon, 404 

Vane, Frank, 195 

Van Epps, Everard, 140 

Van Evra, L. N., 292 

Vander Hess, L., 401 

Van Hooser, A.. D., 274 

Van Horn, Burt, 296 

Van Home, Daniel, 166 

Van Loon, David, 407 

Van Rensselaer, Schuvler, 503 

Van Riper, Austin, 235; A. W., 233; 

Caleb 74 
Van Sice, John P., 257 
Van Slyck, E. D., 249, 258 
Van Slycke, Garrett and George, 45 
Van Slyke, F. L., 403 
Vanvalen, E. S., 336; James, 363 
Van VIeck, Daniel, 281 ; Harmonias, 131 
Van Wagner, L. A., Dr., 365, 366 
Vedder, Estella M., 284 
Veling, Joseph, 289, 300 
Villages, incorporation of, 183 
Vollmer, B,, 229 



Vrooman, Martin, 47, 140 

Wade, Jonathan, 434 

Wadsworth, Avery, 405; Benjamin, 111 ; 
Henry, 351; J. B., 311 

Wager, I. A., 366 

Wagoner, Charles, 353; Charles E., 394 

Waite, George, 372; Orange, 262, 265 

Walden, Philo. 218 

Waldron. George G., 251, 258; G. R., 
257, 258 

Walker, Ferdinand, 251 ; Henry S., 342; 
Jacob, 130, 333; James, 155; Russell, 
83; Samuel, 130, 244; Silas G., 338, 343 

Wallace, A. E , Dr., 359; Jason T., 296, 
297; John O., 208; M., 317 

Walrath, Charles, Jo.seph. Charles I., and 
D. H., 293; C. A., 397,301; Daniel 
322, 327; Daniel D., 324, 336, 327 
George, 327; Gilbert. 331; James, 337 
J. D., 314; John H., 48, 324, 327, 331 
John H. and Henry I., 317; Joseph H 
and Alfred, 321; Marcus C, 327, 410 
Richard R., 330; Richard R. and D. 
D., 333; Peter, 334; Peter, Jesse and 
Abel, 333 

WampsviUe, 315, 596 

War of the Rebellion, 193-206; quotas, 
enlistments and drafts in, 301-205 

War, Revolutionary, 18-21 

War of 1813, 162-168 

Warr, William W., 301 

Warcup, Robert, 395 

Warner, H. G., 188, 326, 493; Judson W., 
393, 395, 305; N., 333; N. P., Dr., 245 

Warren, Abner, 402; Isaac, 75, 343; 
Perry, 367 

Warrick, J. E., 380 

Washburn, E. M., 371; J. D., 264; L., 
269 

Waterman, Luther, 61, 63; Stephen C, 
388, 289, 297, 301 

Waters, Bigelow, Col., 58, 61, 261 ; Gardi- 
ner, 365; Henry, 262 

Watkins, William, 225, 228, 239, 240 

Wat.son, Austin A., 313; D. S., 278 

Watts, John Richard, 237, 340 

Way, George, 313; William, 353 

Wear, Robert, 306 

Weaver, George M., 235; J. B,, 282; P. 
T., 280; Rufus, 106, 113; Russell, 107 

Webb, Christopher, 75; F. L., 331; Job, 
85; John P., 138, 140, 141; Nathan, 73; 
Sidney B., 262 

Webber, Chandler, 73; Peter, 133; W.T., 
403 

Webster, Abraham, 100; Amos, 155; 
Hiram, 340; P. A., 245 



233 



Wedge, Charles O., 350; Eugene, 254; 
James E., 196; Lewis, H. 374; Stephen 
J.. 373 

Weed, W. G., 343, 345 

Welch, Charles, 383; Rosea and David, 
35; James W., 257 

Wellington. Calvin, 218; David, 109; 
David Gerry, 257, 498, 537; Erastus F., 
253; Erastus, 349, 370; Jonathan, 113 
■Wells, Alfred, 375, 376; Chauncey P.. 
385 ; Damon, 334 ; Enos, 153 ; E. B. , 377 ; 
Gardner, Joshua and Robert, 109 ; 
• Henry. 455; James, 399; Jason B.. 196, 
339, 459; Iob._127; John, 55; John 
Aldrich and W. Delos, 229; Joseph V., 
399; Joshua, 465; J. R,, Dr., 210; L. G.. 
Dwight W. and Edward G., 228; Mat- 
thew, 84; Samuel, 391. 460; W. D., 225 

Welton, Edward E., 348; James K., 352 

Wendell, B. Rush. 324, 456, 513; Burr. 
244; F. F Mrs., 457 

Wermuth. Abraham. 401 

West, Asa, 145. 149; Charles C, 327; D. 
B . 203, 248; William W., 251 

West Eaton village, churches of. 219; 
gazetteer of, 566, .567; industries of, 
217, 218; schools of, 319 

Westcott, James H., 304; John H., 303 

Whedon, Hiram. 54. 403, 406 

Wheeler, Alonzo W., 379; A. C. 375, 381 ; 
Brothers, 409; Clark, 333; Daniel, 99, 
247,369; Elisha. 369; Erastus, 99,253; 
Erastus D.. 348; E. C, 460; J. O., 363, 
364. 365. 463 

Whipple, Hull, 387; Jeremiah, 32, 111. 
181, 233, 387, 483; William, 111 

Whitcomb, Calvin, 134 

White, Arthur, 282, 324; A. B.. 341; 
Charles, 406, 407; C, C, 406; Charles 
M.,353; Clarence A., 283; Daniel and 
Daniel D., 34; E. R., 377; G. C, 377; 
Hugh. 319; H. H., Dr., 263, 364; James 
and Alexander, 120; James D., 189; 
John, 134, 125; Lemuel, 183, 334, 234. 
235; L. M., Mrs., 229; Nehemiah, 75, 
231. 237; Samuel, Capt., 145, 350; Sam- 
uel D., 257, 359, 506, 522; Sarah E., 
Miss, 400 

Whitford, Albert, 42. 363; Calvin, 202, 
358. 360. 463, 483; Edwin, 361, 365, 
463; G. L., 3.58; Hamilton J.. 43. 361; 
James. Dr.. 346; Joshua, 37; William, 
37 

Whitman, Allen S., 288, 395,301.303; 
Franklin M., 380, 301; Roswell, 371; 
Seth S., 435 

Whitmore, Dwight, 353 ; Epaphroditus, 



Dr., 148, 149, 3.53; Francis, 100; George 
B.. 264; Joseph. 262. .506; Seth. 230 

Whitnall, T. S., 238, 447 

Whitney, Frank E.. 387 

Wibert. Benjamin, 86 

Wick wire, Charles M., 249; Jared, Sam- 
uel. Nathan and Hiram, 122; Lewis, 
248; N. R., 248; Samuel and Charles, 
352 

Wiggins. Frank M.. 409,467 

Wightman, G. W.. 244 

Wilber. Vincent, 318 

Wilbur, Benjamin. 166. 391; B. A., 212; 
George, 312; Nathan B., 341 

Wilbor, Carlton C. Rev., 457 

Wilcox, B. B., 262; Earl, Dr., 262; F. B., 
2.54; G. W., Dr. 256; H. T.. 250; Josiah. 
94; M. M., 353; Solomon, 313; Willard 
D.. 338 

Wilcoxen. O. S., 133 

Wiley, E. J., 269 

Wilkin, T. D.. 305. 333 

Wilkinson, Israel, 359 

Williams, Amzi. 461 ; Charles H. S.. 225; 
Dwight T., 208; Eleazer, Rev., 23, 271; 
Elijah and David, 350; Elisha, 33, 78. 
484; Frederick A.. 282; F. E., 364; 
Harvey, 394; Jame.s, 59, 298; John,' 
183, 324, 227. 235, 236, 319 ; Leonard, 
331 ; Menoris, 149; Oliver, 394; Thomas 
and John, 231 ; WiUiam, 333 

Williamson, Charles H.. 43, 361. 365, 463- 
R. H.. 263; W. H.. 263, 373 

Willis, Elisha, 214; Spencer and Elv, 
262; William, 263 

Wills, William. 237 

Wilson. Edgar N.. 482; F. E., 229; John. 
71; John W.. 276. 280; Jonathan M., 
301, 407; McGee, 409; Theophilus, Dr., 
237; Thomas, 54, 155, 407 

Wiltse, A. J., 380 

Wimmet, John. 289. 316 

Winchester, Samuel B., 216 

Wing, Stephen Mead, 284, 520 

Wingman, L. M., 195 

Witherell. George, 234 

Witherhead, George A., 236 

Witter. W. E., 301 

Wolf, John W., 303 

Wood. Adelbert, 409;Asahel. 113; David, 
54, 85 406; Enos 267; Enos and Allen 
N., 316; Francis. 113; H. C . 308; Job, 
111; Levi, 84; Merritt C , 344; Plilan- 
der, 463 

Woodbury, John N., 391, 394, 461, 463 

Woodcock, John. 401 

Woodford, James H., 375 



Woodruff, O. L., 253 

Woods, David and Jonathan, 318, 506 

Woodward, Arnold, 228 

Woodworth, Benjamin, 155; Erastus, 

155; Lysander, 401; Martin, 156. 400; 

Melvin, 401; Morris, 395; Orriu J., 399 
Woolaver, Nicholas, 166 
Wooley, William B., 339 
Woolver, Ralph Hopson, 533 
Worden, E. L., 363; Jesse B., 348 
Worlock, Cyrus, 398 
Wright, C. A., 358; D. E., 395; Frances 

M., 394; Gideon, 130; I. O., 391, 394, 

461 ; Nathaniel, 85 ; Orrin, 54, 405 



Wylie, Moses, 103; Thomas, 166, 483 

Vates, Andrew, Rev., 465; Henry, 465, 

John B., 178, 317, 331, 322, 337, 328; 

385, 465, 480. 491 ; John G., 321 
Yates Polytechnic Institute, 465 
Yaw, David, 106; Joseph. 33, 106, 107, 

484; Thomas J.. 359, 506 
York, John, 38; J. F., 368; Lodowick, 

462; Robert P., 339, 343 
Young, Lawrence. 400; Waller H.. 336 
Youngs, John B., 274 

Zinimer, Rudolph. 406 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



Chapman, Benjamin Franklin, 632 
Chappell, C. Will, 634 
Childs, Perry G., 633 
Coolidg James, 645 
Curtis, S. Allen, 636 
Ensign, George H , 639 
Farnam, Stephen H., 644 
Forbes, Gerrit A.. 640 
Haskell. Edward F..637 



Hickox, W. Jerome. 641 

Hubbard, Calvin, 643 

Kelley, James A . Very Rev., 638 

Ledyard, Jonathan D., 625 

Lincklaen, John. 639 

Miller, Hdgar Lake, Dr., 643 

Payne, Elisha. 630 

Smith, John E., 646 

Ten Eyck, Jacob, 648 



PERSONAL REFERENCES. 



Abbott, Frank J.. 3 

William Wallace, 3 
Abell, Jabez W.,3 
Adams, Edmund. 147 

Herbert E..4 
Allen. Orlando, 186 

Spencer B. , 179 
Andrews, Calvm G., 4 

David, 148 

Newton Lloyd. 190 
Angel, George F., 148 
Atkinson, John, 4 

William, 4 
Audas, Garritt, 5 
Austin, Harvey O., 5 
Avery, George F. , 6 

Baker, J. S., 158 
Richard M., 7 
William M., 9 



Baldwin, Charles C, 11 

Walter M , 163 
Bamber, Robert, 160 
Barker, George H. . 20 
Barkinson, Theodore Joseph, 13 
Barott, W. E., 23 
Barrett, Adelbert M., 33 

Gerry F., 15 
Barton, Avery, 8 
Bass, Edgar C, Dr., 13 
Baum, Carl, 15 
Beal, George, 14 

Thomas H., 15 
Beckwith, Edward Griffin, Gen.. 167 
Behr, Joseph, 8 
Benjamin, Frank M., 17 

Warren H., 21 
Betsinger, Peter, 7 
Betts, W. D., 11 
Bicknell, Bennett, 19 



INDEX. 



235 



Bicknell, Otis C , 30 
Bitz, John 101 
Black, L. D.. 14 
Blair Alvan, 202 

Charles C, 157 

Seth, 16 
Bliss. Norton A., 1.54 

Russell Joseph, 185 
Block, Fritz C, 146 
Blodgett, Ludrum, 172 
Blowers, Truman S., 157 
Boardman, George Smith, Rev. Dr. 
Boden, Edwin R., Dr., 9 
Bonney, Benjamin F., Col, 10 
Bridge, William L., 11 
Broad, John H., 18 
Brockett, H. D., 20 
Brooks, Nelson O., Dr., 147 
Brown, Brewster .S., 8 

C. F., 182 

David H., 196 

Enoch D., 164 

Eugene, 18 

Everett, 31 

H. Clifft, Dr., 142 

Oliver T., 172 

William Delos, 33 
Bruce, E. N. , 22 

Thaddeus, Major, 201 
Buckingham, C. A., 12 
Buell, Warren J., 19 
Bulger, Edward, 6 
Bumpus, Pearl D., 14 
Burchard, Sylvester, 17 
Burdick, James F. , 7 
Burnham, Sylvester, Rev , 189 
Burr, William M., 10 
Burroughs, Lorenzo J., 12 
Burt, Abrani L., 173 
Bushnell, Addison, 169 

Holtou A., 195 

Calkins, Caleb, 35 

Tracy, 35 
Campbell, John A., 161 
Carl, Peter P., 28 
Carpenter, Austin B , 34 

George W. , 35 

Henry W., Dr., 175 
Case, Lester M., 31 
Cavana, Martin, Dr., 25 
Chafee, Hiram E., 37 
Chapin, Dwight, 26 

Frank W., 27 

Samuel, jr., 24 
Chasmer, George W. , 174 
Cheney, Prentice D., 24 
Chesebro, J. H. and A. D., 83 



Childs, Walter, 29 
Clark, Ira, 29 
Clarke, M. J. , 31 

William Newton, Rev.. 152 
Clements. Isaac N.. Prof., 30 
Cleveland, C. A., 35 
Cody, Francis A., 23 

Kendall, 33 
Coe, D. R., 27 

Duane W.. 37 

E. Emmons, 34 
6 Mary, Mrs , 29 

W. Emraett, 154 
Coleman, Carlos J., 197 
Coles, Theodore. 26 
Coley, Joseph, 204 
Coman, E. R. , 165 
Comstock, Julius C, 31 
Conkliu, Lucius Edwin, 196 
Conley. Frank P., 33 
Conniff, Thomas, 38 
Cook, Chauncey B., 145 
Coon.s, Charles A., 165 
Cooper, Charles H., 195 

Frank, 36 
Cotton, Hamilton, 173 
Couch, Elsena M., Mrs., 36 
Cramer, Norman L. , 25 
Crandall, Franklin R., 176 

Irving A., 34 
Crawshaw, W. H., 178 
Crayter, Lucian A., 148 
Cronk, Jeremiah, 38 
Crumb, Joseph H., 163 
Cummings, Lincoln L., 33 
Cunn ngham, Edwin R., 30 
Curtis, Elizabeth G., Mrs., 28 

Samuel 173 

Damon, Edwiu S., 43 

Loren N.. 197 
Danehy, John, 43 
Darrow. C. F., 45 

J. J., 44 
Davis, Clark W. 199 

I. Willis, 43 

John H., 158 

Ward Adams, 42 
DeClercq, Gilbert C, 174 
De Lano, Milton 38 
Denison, Milton L. , 46 
Deuel, Walter Estus, Dr., 194 
Dewey, Manford J., 40 
De Witt, George W., 45 
Dexter, C. W., 198 

Edwin N., 44 
Dodge, Amos P., Dr., 41 
Donnelly, P. H., 188 



Drake, Frank C, Dr., 40 
Dunham, E. E., 154 
Dunlap, Edward H., 40 
Dunster, John L. . 46 
Dyer. Benjamin W , 38 

Eaton, Henry E., 156 
Edgarton, John, 47 
Edgerton, Frank L., 173 
Eggleston, Jerome, 170 
Eisaraan Bros., 155 

Willard, 48 
Ellis, Ferrand F., 160 
English. George E., 48 

Henry Charles. 49 
Enos, W, E., 46 
Evans, Lewis Vincent, 47 

Fairchild, Sidney T., 114 
Faulkner. Alonzo, 181 

Ephraim. 160 
Faurot, Henry, Capt , 52 
Fearon, George T., 164 
Ferguson, Almira, 49 
Fisk. David L,, .53 
Fitch, Jared W., Dr., 50 

S. A., 191 
Fort, William M., 168 
Fox, Charles A. , 50 

Eugene C, 50 
Francis, Adelbert W. , 53 
Freeborn, Leonard W. , 51 
Frink, George \V., 144 
Frost, Clark A., 49 
Fuller, John H., 51 

May, Miss, 193 

Gardiner, Frank D., 200 

Hull S., Dr., 54 

J. L.. Dr., 192 
Garrett, J. F., 55 
Gifford, Barton R , Dr., 1.52 
Gill, Edgar D., 55 
Goff, L Newton, Dr., 181 
Goodwin, Sands H., 53 
Gorton, Ambrose E.. 176 
GostHug. G. & E., 164 
Green, A. W., 160 
Griffith. William H., Dr., 153 
Griswold, John D. . 54 
Gulbran, Charles G.,54 

Haines, E. A., 67 
Hall. Jesse Wilson, 55 
Hamblin, Lucian D., 58 
Hamlin, George N., 64 
Hammond, WilhsA., Dr., 66 



Harp, Christian, 8 
Harrington, Giles, 59 
Harris, Frederick D , 183 
Hathaway, Henry H., 155 
Hay, Arthur, 63 
Haywood, Isvphene, Mrs., 161 
Hazeltine. William E., 60 
Hecox, Charles L. , 66 
Hickox, Remington B., 64 
Higinbotham, Niles, 307 
Hill. Charles A , 60 

John, 63 
Hiuman, William J., 62 
Holdridge, Reuben, 66 
Holleubeck, J. W.. 63 
Holmes, George W., 67 
Hopcraft Thomas, 142 
House, Charles, 59 

Eliphalet. 64 
Howard. Adelbert H., 68 

F. H., 151 
Howson, John W., 198 
Hubbard, Edward G., 158 

F. F., 67 

John F., 57 

Robert F., 56 

Robert J., 56 
Hughes, John Charles, 68 
Hunt, Frank L. , 58 
Huntley, James F., Dr., 60 
Hutchinson, Leroy H., 68 

Nathan Bailey. 180 
Huyck, Philip J., 57 
Hyatt, Francis A., 207 

Smith K., 59 

Ingalls, Albert, 69 

B. Franklin, 163 
Isaacs, I. Henry, 69 

Jessup, Samuel, Rev., 70 
Johnson, William J., 69 
Johnston, A. S., 71 

Bros., 155 
Jones, David W. , 73 

Richard T., 71 
Joy, Milton R., Dr., 71 
Jurden, Thomas H., 70 

Keating, Daniel, 184 
Keeler, Charles F., 163 

James R., 75 
Keith, Ambrose, 74 

Frank, 72 

Watson D., 76 
Kelloway, W. M., 165 
Kelly, Dennis. 75 
Kennedy, Harriet, Mrs., 74 



Kennedy, John M., 75 
Kenyon, A E., 163 
Kinney, Calvin T., 73 
Kliug & Payne. 73 
Kuapp, James W. , Dr., 179 
Knovvles, James H., 166 
Knox, William, 73 

Lamb, Calvin Augustus, 76 
La Munion, A. J., 79 
Langvvorthy, Orthello S., 80 

William F., 143 
Larkin, Leroy, 80 
Ledyard, George S. , 78 
Lee, Charles A., 182 
Lewi.s, A. E., & Son, 79 

Benjamin, 81 
Lindsley, A. W., 78 
Lippitt, W. G..78 
Lloyd, Frederick O., Dr., 191 
Looniis, Edwin Dwight, 77 

Silas L., 77 
Loucks, Howard, 81 
Love, Charles E., 78 
Lowe, C. H S., 203 
Loyster, J. A., 77 
Lum, William Tappan, Dr., 201 
Lynch, James C, 82 
Lype, Norman, 76 

McCarthy, Tames, 84 
McGregory; J. F., 178 
Marble, Fred, 1.58 
Marcellus, Albert, 87 
Maine, Paul S., 83 
Marquisee, Lewis, 90 
Marshall, Charles P., 83 

James W., 85 
Matterson, H. H., 168 
Matson, William E., 144 
Maxon. Samuel A., 88 
Maxwell, John, 86 
Maynard, Charles E., 145 

W. H., Rev., 192 
Messinger, Isaac Newton, 209 
Miller, Albert E., 84 

Jacob H., 82 

Levi, jr., 90 
Mitchell, Thomas H., 167 
Morgan, Francis A., 82 

John, 89 
Moody, Adalbert, 90 
Moore, Sidney W., 88 
Morse, George, 83 
. Silas E. , 84 

Walter, 85 
Mott, David C. , 88 
Muuroe, Loring, 187 



Near, J. De Forest, 91 

William S., 91 
New, Jefferson, 161 
Newton, Alfred J., 176 
Nichols, Omar A., 196 

Orville A., 92 
Niles, R. Olmstead, 93 
Nixdorf, William G., 92 
Northrup, Irving J., 91 

Joel, 91 
Nourse, J. Harvey, 93 

O'Brien, Thomas, 93 
Owens, William W., 94 

Parsons, Cyrus, 95 
Peet, Mary A., Mrs,, 97 
Pennock, Charles F., 201 
Perkins, Gardner H., 96 
Perrv, nee Anna H. Wells, 96 

Eugene M., 98 
Pfaff, Otto, Dr., 94 
Phipps, David H., 94 
Potter, George H., 94 

Henry H., 180 
Pratt, Charles E., 95 
Preston, George, 97 
Price, George H., 99 

Ratnour, Barney, 184 
Rawson, Josiah, 40 
Reeve, Jonas L., 104 
Reidy, John, 103 
Rice, Baxter, 200 
Rich, James W , 100 
Richards, Wellington R., 104 
Richardson, A. E., 100 

Sidney J., 105 
Richmond, AsaN., 159 
Riddell, E. L., Mrs., 103 
Rightmyer, Dennison R. , 102 
Robbins, Herman D., 102 
Roberts, De Witt Clinton, 101 

Thomas R., 106 
Rockwell. Hiram L. , 170 
Rogers, J. F., 102 
Root, Alfred E., 200 

Samuel, 203 

Solomon, 103 
Rouse, George L., 99 

H. J., 99 
Rowlands, J. W.. 101 

Sabine, A. M., 118 
Sadler, George S., 119 
Salisbury, George W. , 106 
Salsbury, Julius Eugene, Dr., 171 
Sawyer, Ambrose E., 113 
Scheifele, George L., 113 



238 



INDEX. 



Scott, Henry, 113 

Loren R., 108 
Scoville, J. Edward, 125 
Sheldon, E. B., 115 

William P., 108 
Shepardson, Frank Lucius, 169 
Sherman, Edgar D., 183 

William C, 119 

William C, 111 
Sherwood, J. T., 121 
Shute, George S., 115 
Sikes, John H., 120 
Sisson, Eugene P., 192 
Smith, Aden N., 115 

Alonzo D., Dr., 186 

Charles Edward, 126 

Horace K., 107 

Ira E., 124 

Jame.s W., Dr., 179 

Joseph, 108 

Lucian B., 125 

Sidney D. , 178 
Snell, Morey, 109 
Snyder Brothers, 149 
Souter, John W., 121 
Southworth, Oscar L., Dr., 116 

O. W., 116 
Spaulding, Philander, 183 
Spear, Annie Augu.sta, Mrs., 124 
Stafford, Henry M., 109 

Norman, 119 
Stanbro, William, 116 
Stanley, C. M., 145 
Stanton, Albert C, 121 
Stebbins, H. L., 118 

John, 113 
Stephens, Albert G., 120 
Stewart, John G., Ill 

Robert A., 184 
Stillman, Arthur J., 107 
Stimson, John E. , 121 
Stisser Family, The, 110 

William H., 147 
Stoddard, Albert A., 122 

J. Floyd, 123 

S. J., 117 
Stone, John E., 112 

Lewis B., Rev., 143 
Stradling, Thomas, 151 
Stroud, R. W., 120 

Tabor, Byron, 159 
Tackabury, N. J., 166 
Tallett, Morell E., 129 



Taylor, Harvey I., 16 

James Morford, 189 

William, Dr., 131 
Tayntor, Joseph, 150 
Thomas, Ralph W., Prof., 191 
Thompson, Gideon, 127 

Luther Brownell, 126 
Tifft, W. A., 131 
Tillotson Family, The, 127 
Timmerman, Silas, 130 
Tondeur, Cleon A., 193 
Tooke, James N., 129 
Tripp, Melvin, 128 
Truax, James, 126 
Tucker, ElivaB., Mrs., 131 
Tuttle, Abraham, 130 

Charles N., 156 

Irving, 130 
Tyler, W. I., 166 

Ufford, Joel. 132 

Van Valkenburgh, A. T., Dr., 108 

Wager, Philip H., 137 
Walrath, Elgin Daniel, UIS 

George, 135 

Peter, 188 
Warner. A J., 182 

Judson W., 137 
Warrick, J. C, 169 
Waterman, Stephen C, 141 
Watkins, William, 133 
Watts, John R., 132 
Weaver Bros., 134 
Webb. Frank L., 194 
-Wells, Edward G., 133 
Wentz, George. 142 
West, W. M., Gen.. 135 
Westcott, James H., 141 
White, C. C , 134 

Charles M., Dr., 136 

Samuel, 173 
Williams, William R., 140 
Wilson, John H., 136 
Winchell. Wallace M., 133 
Witter, William E., 140 
Wood, Fred R., 137 

M. C, 146 
Woodbury. John N.. 135 
Wright, De Estin, 186 

York, Jared F., 149 



PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Chapman, Benjamin F. , facing 032 
Chappell, C. Will, facing 302 
Childs, Perry G., facing 503 
Coolidg, James, facing 880 
Ensign, George H.. facing 639 
Farnam, Stephen H., facing 644 
Forbes, Gerrit A., facing 501 
Hickox, W. Jerome, facing 041 
Hubbard. Calvin, facing 268 
Miller, Edgar Lake, Dr., facing 642 
Payne. Elisha, facing 556 
Smith, Gerrit, facing 392 
Smith, John E., facing 646 



Ten Eyck, Henry, facing 648 

Map of Fortification at Wood Creek, 17 

Map, Old, of Central New York, facing 
26 

Map, Outline, showing Madison County 
and The Gore, facing 3 

Map, Outline, of Madison County, pre- 
vious to the division of Lenox, in 
1896. facing 32 

Map. showmg the division of Lenox, in 
1896. facing 286 

Muller Mansion, The. 147 



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